Walking Season

For some time the birds have been telling us that Spring is on its way. The morning chorus is a full orchestra to wake up to and it's the perfect time for spotting a huge variety. But until this week, apart from the birds, the almond blossom and the daffodils, there have been no other signs of spring. The winter in the south of Spain has been the worst and wettest on record. But “no hay mal que por bien no venga” (from all bad things something good will come), so at least now all the reservoirs are full and the drought of the past ten years is officially over. Now the sun is out again and work has begun on repairing the storm damage. There are many landslides to clear away, roads, tracks and irrigation channels to be mended and many houses and buildings with leaks and problems. Even the village school was condemned because a crack appeared in the ground and the children had to be relocated. Assessing the total damage will take some time but on the whole the Alpujarras got off lightly in comparison with the rest of Andalucia where crops have been ruined and whole communities have been flooded or isolated.

Now in the last half of March the walking season begins. This year will be particularly spectacular with wild flowers and herbs; it will be so green and with water gushing from every nook and cranny you might think you are in some sunny Lake District. For those who have been here already it will be like going somewhere new because even the footpaths and tracks have changed. We have been busy re-writing route notes, finding new routes and making sure that existing ones are safe. And if the temperature continues to rise as it has done recently we will soon be cleaning out the swimming pool and getting it ready for the summer. We usually give a bottle of champagne to the first person to swim a length, although a hot toddy would probably be a more adequate prize!

If you are still wondering about a pre-summer holiday do look at our Special Offers page. You could relax on a short break in this glorious mountain air, or if you can get away in the middle of May you could benefit with a 20% discount on our all-inclusive one week walking holiday package, an opportunity not to be spurned.