I LOVE TO GO A WANDERING..............
   By Catherine Girdler

The Spanish countryside looked enticing, but without our Ordnance Survey map and handy guidebook we felt a bit lost. The little black and white "coto privado" signs did nothing for our confidence and so we took a few cautious walks along quiet roads, or explored small villages and had to be content with that.

Now all this has changed with the publication of a book of walks in Andalucia and the Costa del Sol. This handy pocket guide includes walks in a variety of areas and they are designed as long walks of around 10km, with shorter variations of 4-6km. We have not yet done the long walks, but are working up to that. Spain is inclined to be hilly! Our timeshare weeks are in February and this is the ideal time for walking, as it is not too hot and there are usually extensive views of the surrounding countryside as heat haze is absent.

Our first walk was in the Parque Natural Sierra de Las Nieves, which is reached from the Ronda road. The Parque is a pleasant place in its own right and in spring it is famous for the wild peonies, which grow on the verges. We had a glorious sunny day for our walk, the sky was blue and the views stunning. We were rewarded after a long, slow climb with views over Gibraltar and the North African Coast. Definitely worth the effort! As we neared the top we found snow in the gullies and someone had made a tiny snowman.

There is a very pleasant walk in the Mijas area, which goes through mixed woodland and grassy meadows, crossing and recrossing a small river. It is useful to have some botanical knowledge, because as there are no signposts instructions are often of the "a large eucalyptus tree will be reached in ten minutes" variety. Curiosities included a ruined cottage, which had an outside bread oven with lovely brickwork, and when we reached the top of the valley we overlooked a long line of beehives. The woodland is inhabited by wild boar although we didn't actually see any. However, we did see impressions of little trotters in the mud and evidence of mud baths being taken in the puddles. We did part of this walk later in the year and the woodland was full of flowers - cistus, lavender, myrtle, rock roses - like a wild garden.

There are several walks, of varying difficulty, in the Parque Natural Montes de Malaga. Forestry tracks are used and there are also plenty of signposts! Breathtaking views of Malaga bay and the harbour are the reward for a steep climb. The whole of the Malaga mountains area provides a wonderful day out, with majestic mountains and plenty of little bars for a lunchtime break.

We have clambered up through mixed woodland, pushing through the foliage, suddenly finding small fan palms, which immediately give a jungle atmosphere. In the middle of one of these woodlands we found a tiny shrine under an overhanging cliff. It was obviously visited regularly but the way to it was far from easy. Perhaps the visit counted as a penance!

My final memory of last winter's walking was the gloriously hot February day when we explored part of the Istan valley. The walking was relatively easy and we were delighted by the abundance of wild flowers, particularly some little lupins, coloured a vivid blue. A tiny bar, with excellent tapas, was our reward at the end of this walk.

If this has made you want to get out and explore, the book is Andalucia and the Costa del Sol, published by Sunflower Books ISBN 1-85691-127-6. It is best to wear walking boots, or some footwear with good ankle support. The way is often rough and it's a long way to get medical help.

Happy wandering!

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