This Week in Photos: 9th – 15th of February – Spanish Edition (7)

A slightly different taste this week, as we were in Andalucía, chasing sunshine. It always amazes me how much there is to see in Spain in February. I’ve tried to distil our trip into a series of galleries, roughly for each day or place. For a more in-depth look at the botanical finds from the trip, see This Week in Plants (7) – Bonus Spanish Edition

We arrived in the dark on Tuesday 10th of February. After waking to a beautiful view of Pico Castellejos, we headed for our first hike of the trip. We passed the famous ‘Skull Rock’ near El Chorro, before setting off on the Sendero Escalera Árabe SL-A 207, accompanied by Iberian Ibex, Griffon Vultures and Peregrine Falcons!

**Pico Castillejos** (1074m) viewed from our apartment, situated north-east of Coín (Foreground), Málaga province. 11.02.26.

Escalera Árabe SL-A 207

Sendero Escalera Árabe SL-A 207, El Chorro, Malaga Province. This is an easy, alternative 3.7km loop near the famous Caminito del Rey (and it doesn’t require booking, unlike Caminito del Rey). 11.02.26.

Álora

Álora is a small, whitewashed town, or ‘Pueblo blanco’, situated along the Guadalhorce River, north of Coín. It has a distinctively local feel. Álora is home to a castle (Castillo de las Torres), which was built in the 9th century by the Moorish state of Córdoba. 11.02.26.

Marbella Old Town

12.02.26

Sierra Negra & de Matagallar

Parking at the start of the Sendero Camino de la Fuente. We took a circular route through the pinewoods, which were tantalisingly located only 15 minutes south of our apartment in clear view (Below).

The view of the Sierra Alpujata range from our apartment in Coín.

We followed the SL-A 59 Nacimiento – Cerro Alaminos and saw a suite of species we have become quite familiar with over the past few years. For more information on the botanical finds from this area, see This Week in Plants (7) – Bonus Spanish Edition. 13.02.26

Views of **Sierra de Mijas** through the pines, from the SL-A 59 Nacimiento – Cerro Alaminos. 13.02.26.

Frigiliana

Before flying back, we headed to Frigiliana, which the Rough Guide for Andalucía describes as ‘a pretty Moorish hill village clinging to the lower slopes Monte El Fuerte’. It didn’t disappoint and had that distinctive Mediterranean feel. And doors, so many beautiful doors! 14.02.26.