I realise the title of this blog might make it sound like the weather here has been awful, which is really not the case, particularly compared with the rain the UK had a week or so ago & that which Florida has experienced with Hurricane Milton… but we have had some rain over the past couple of days with a bit forecast for tomorrow (our final day in the Mountains) and the weekend too…

Of course, poor weather doesn’t really affect us as we do what we do regardless – generally involves reading in bed for a few hours each morning (news for Pete & something fictional for me!), a late breakfast (for me anyway… Pete can go most of a day without taking on fuel!), a walk, a relax, dinner, bit of telly & bed… it’s much like our lives at home with the Yorkshire hills replaced by Spanish mountains – although the weather is a bit warmer!

On Tuesday (8th October) we woke to the sound of pretty heavy rain which lasted most of the morning… by the time we were ready to go out, it had stopped and the day had turned into a very pleasant, warm day with patchy cloud (a bit like the perfect British summer day – mid to low 20s and a slight breeze… lovely!). We had already decided that, needing a few things from the shops, we would collect supplies and have a little stroll around Cortes de la Frontera as I wanted to capture some shots of the “wall-art” that is dotted around the town… here’s what I captured…

Here is what an online paper (https://www.surinenglish.com/malaga/ronda/cortes-frontera-colours-its-walls-20240617082900-nt.html) said about these murals in June this year: “Cortes de la Frontera has been adding art and colours to its whitewashed walls for several years, but in the last few months this commitment has gone a big step further. This small town of around 3,000 inhabitants, in the Guadiaro valley in the Serranía de Ronda, has around 15 murals and other artwork on the façades of its houses and other buildings that have been painted by different artists. The latest additions were created in May, the result of a project financed with EU funding and sponsored by the Friends of Europe Association and the local town hall. Around 20 artists from four continents painted their creations on these unconventional canvases. “We gave them ideas, about the patrimony of the people, also the human touch, and they created their works of art”, explained Rocío Álvarez, who is a local social worker and in charge of cultural affairs at Cortes town hall. Both she and the president of Amigos de Europa, Javi Morales, were very pleased with the results. The same goes for practically all the residents of this municipality, who have welcomed the project and are full of praise for these creations”.

I’m not really sure what the good folk of the EU might think of this type of funding but, although we didn’t find them all, it was fun having a wander around looking for what might be round the next corner! We might even venture back tomorrow to see if we can find those we didn’t spot…

Yesterday (9th October) was forecast to be cloudy with rain… and the forecast was bob on, although it didn’t start raining properly until fairly late afternoon.

We had already decided we were going to do a walk I fancied which was from El Colmenar (a village around 25km away which is actually home to Gaucín train station although Gaucin is about 10kms from there, up the top of the mountain and El Colmenar is in the valley, down the twistiest road I’ve driven yet! Bit hairy 😳) to the Cañón de las Buitreras (which literally means “Vultures’ Canyon”!).

Here’s what t’internet says: “This spectacular canyon is located on the eastern edge of Los Alcornocales Nature Park, close to the Malaga village of Cortes de la Frontera.

The Guadiana River has gradually carved this narrow canyon out of the rock (limestone and similar) that makes up these mountains. It has stunning vertical walls, and is over 100 metres deep.

The name “Cañón de las Buitreras” (Vultures’ Canyon) is no coincidence. Its steep walls are the nesting ground for a large colony of Griffon vultures… Its waters are also home to otters.”

Although we saw a Heron (too quick for a photo), we didn’t manage to spot any otters but there were plenty of vultures!

The walk was supposed to be about 4.5 miles so we were quite pleased is wasn’t too hot… however, it was pretty humid and warm and, having gone the wrong way at the start, the walk was probably more like 6 miles… as the name suggests, and with this being a canyon, it involved walking up (& down!) a very steep path so not for the faint-hearted…

To be honest, the view from the top was a bit disappointing as you couldn’t really see into the canyon itself… perhaps if we had approached from the opposite direction it might have been better but once we had reached the top, there was no way we were going down again to come back up! The views on the way up were worth it though and yet again, we were walking with vultures!

The drive home from El Colmenar was a bit tense… the weather took a turn for the worst & the cloud came down which meant it felt like driving through a thick fog at some points… not great for me when on a twisty road with confident Spaniards hurtling towards me round every bend! However, we eventually made it back in one piece which was a relief! 😅

Today, we have not done too much… the weather is a little sunnier / warmer than yesterday, & definitely much drier 🙂, but a little overcast… it certainly feels more autumnal which is kind of what we expected when we got to October… we’ve had our last walk down in the valley as we will probably have a last walk up our big hill tomorrow (our last day here) or go mural hunting in Cortes… before we head north to Mérida on Saturday… it will be good to head North and perhaps see more autumnal colours… the leaves on some trees here have started to turn golden / yellow but it’s definitely not full on autumn yet!

So, when I next do my blog we will be in Mérida the capital of western Spain’s Extremadura region. According to the net, Mérida was founded by the Romans in the 1st century B.C and still has some ancient remains… it should be interesting and will also allow us to visit the battle-honour site for the Royal Green Jackets (Pete’s old Regiment) of Badajoz too before we move further north to Salamanca.

Hasta entonces cuidense mis amigos! Xx