Mourning in Cartajima

A very special man, Juan Corbacho, passed away on 16th September 2009, at 12:30, in Cartajima. When we met Juan, he had been cleared from throat cancer for many years. But sadly, the cancer came back at the beginning of the year.

He will be missed by all his family and friends. Yesterday was his funeral (17.09.09), our first funeral in Spain. As is the custom here, family, friends and neighbours go and present their condolences to the family of the deceased and accompany the family and the deceased during an all night wake. We went to the family house to say our farewells to Juan and offer our support to his wife, children and family in the afternoon. The house was so full of family, friends and neighbours that we didn’t stay very long but went back again in the evening when there was a little less people in the house.

Juan was so little in his refrigerated coffin, only his head showing amongst the white satin cloth. He had lost so much weight. His face though was peaceful. He died peacefully surrounded by his family. And he was taken the following day to the village church and the cemetery surrounded by so many people. We had never seen such a crowd in the village apart from at festivities celebrated in the village. We were told that people came from Ronda, Juzcar, Pujerra, Farajan, Igualeja, etc.

He was such a lovely man, that everybody couldn’t help but like him. We took to him as soon as we met him. He was a very generous man who would help anybody any time. He was down to earth, honest and direct as well as being sensitive and warm. He was witty and liked jokes and joking. We spent many an evening in his company at Baltasar and Amalia’s bar, laughing with him.

He was little and thin but so strong and full of life and so animated, always gesticulating his arms about while talking in his hoarse voice. He loved flamenco, a passion he passed down to his Down syndrome son, Adrian, and loved bull fighting. We have a better understanding of the art of bull fighting thanks to Juan. He would explain to us while watching some corridas on the TV, the rules, the reaction of the public, the passes, etc. And he would know immediately whether a bull would be a good one or should be sent off. He also loved collecting mushrooms and would go as far as Grazalema to collect them. I used to see him in the Sierra de las Nieves while walking with guests during the mushroom season. The mushroom season is about to start....

We will never forget you Juan. Showing us how to cut Jamon properly, giving us the key to his gate so we could park our vehicles somewhere safe from fireworks during any festivities happening in the village... We will never forget 2 years ago, inviting us to his house on Christmas Eve. What a wonderful night it was, spent with his family, feeling part of his family. And actually driving to our house on New Year’s Eve to physically take us to his house to spend New Year’s Eve with his family! Since we were on our own, he told us they were our adoptive family for that night! What an honour! And how generous and thoughtful! We will never forget these very special moments.

The church service was very quick; Juan would have actually laughed at it as the priest was talking so fast, it looked as if he was late to catch a train!!! Nobody stood up to say something about him, and I felt it such a shame that the life of such a man wasn’t celebrated (I guess, too short a time to prepare an eulogy or maybe not the custom), but I feel the need to at least do it here, in our blog.

After the short rather noisy service (the church was full and lots of people were standing outside), we all followed Juan and his family to the cemetery. Some of the villagers took some long church candles to presumably walk with them lit, but it was so windy and stormy that the candles never got lit. I wonder if Juan saw the funny side of this...

We then gathered round the “pigeon-hole” like tomb where his coffin was slid in, and everybody watched the village builder, Jesus, blocked the tomb with bricks and cement. There were so many people, and the alleys being narrow, we were spread out in the cemetery, amongst graves. We couldn’t see much apart from tops of heads and right in front of us, an expense of land in front of the cemetery full of cars, where a 4x4 was trying to get out and ran into 2 cars in the process while being supposedly guided by another man!!! So surreal, but a great reminder of the Andalucian practical outlook on life, life goes on. When Jesus finished his work and the crowd started dissipating, we walked down to the grave to hug again distraught Juan’s daughters and wife and immediate family.

Saddest day in Cartajima. We will miss you Juan. Rest in peace.

September walking in Andalucia

Even though it is September now, it is still very hot here in Andalucia, but temperatures were just fine for walking this morning, with a lovely cool breeze keeping us cool!

We have got some friends staying with us and Zuzka and I fancied going walking. We walked to parauta from Cartajima, a great path in hot weather as it meanders through Sweet Chestnut groves, which provided us with some lovely shade.

The sweet chestnuts are looking great now in their spiky green husks. The villagers in this valley are now hoping it will rain soon in order to enable the sweet chestnuts to get bigger.

The sky was an amazing clear deep blue, providing a dramatic contrast to the white pueblos blancos and the grey limestone outcrops of Los Riscos and the round features of the mountain Almola.

To round off nicely our walk, we wondered in the little streets of charming Parauta. Here are a few photos of our walking and of the white village of Parauta.

Summer walking in Andalucia, Spain

I have managed to fit in a lovely walk despite the heat! Rona, a friend of ours, came to visit us to exchange some Reiki sessions with me and we went for a walk the following morning in the Genal Valley. Rona is a reflexology and Reiki practitionner and a hang glider instructor and she also runs Suroma holidays, offering activity holidays, law of attraction courses and yoga and 5 rhythm dancing workshops. We meet up once in a while to exchange Reiki sessions, which is always great! We should do it more often really!

We set off for our walk at about 9am and it was already quite hot! But, thankfully, the path we followed meandered through Sweet Chestnut woodland, enabling us to walk mainly in the welcome, cool shade of these majestuous trees. They are actually in bloom at the moment, turning the whole valley yellow. Their yellow blossom is very pungent and I would imagine that the pollen count would be quite high at present in the upper Genal Valley!

The bottom of the valley was also very cool and shady, where we crossed a cristal clear river, which eventually joins the Genal River.

We don't normally advertise walking holidays in the Summer because of the heat, but on the rare occasions we have had walking guests, we normally set off walking at 8am. This way, most of the walking is done when it is still cool. If you are walking independently in Andalucia, try setting off about 8am and aim to finish your walk by 10:30 / 11am.

We then reached Parauta, a Pueblo blanco or white village and enjoyed a welcome andalucian breakfast (toast with olive oil and a coffee) in the lovely courtyard of the restaurant El Anafe, which is covered with flowers. What a lovely way to start the day!

Christmas walking holiday in Andalucia, Spain

Since it is too hot to be doing any walking at present over here in Andalucia, we are planning our next special walking holiday: a Christmas walking holiday in andalucia for those who fancy doing something very different for Xmas this year. We are mainly aiming this Christmas walking holiday to singles or divorced, widowed or recently separated people who enjoy walking in small friendly groups. Christmas can be so stressful but also very sad if you are going to spend it on your own. So, we would like to make it a fun and relaxing time!

We have chosen this time the Altamira apartments for the accommodation of this Christmas walking holiday. The flats are very nicely decorated and cosy with wood burning stoves and central heating. They will make a perfect setting for a fun and friendly holiday. These lovely flats are self-catering, but if you fancy having a fully relaxing holiday, there are 2 bar/restaurants in the village where you can have delicious tapas or meals at very reasonnable prices.

As per usual, the walking will be tailored to the group's need. December is normally nice and dry, so we should be able to enjoy lovely walks in nice weather, in the Genal valley and in the Sierra de las Nieves national park.

An added bonus, for those who are fed up with the Xmas count down and all the commercialism associated to it, Christmas is not a big thing here in Andalucia. They celebrate instead the 3 Wise Men (6 January). So, you can easily get away from it all over here!

For more information on this special walking holiday, click on our Christmas walking holiday.

How about yoga and walking holidays in Andalucia?

A friend of ours, Kate McHardy, is teaching Yoga classes at the Hotel Molino del Santo in Benaojan, Andalucia, Spain, just outside Ronda, and I thought it could be a good thing for me to join this yoga class in order to stay supple. And... I love it! She is such a great teacher and I feel so energised after each yoga sessions. It is a very round practise, which not only gives you a good work out but is also very relaxing and centering.

I am so delighted with these yoga classes, that I thought it could be a good idea to offer a yoga and walking holiday in Andalucia this August to start with... The hotel Bandolero would be a great venue for it since David and Ivan have now a lovely spacious Art gallery / workshop room upstairs with French windows leading onto the terrace, looking over the swimming pool.

So, we are now working on a yoga and walking holiday package with kate and David and Ivan and we should have it advertised on our website shortly.

Let us know what you think about a yoga and walking holiday in Andalucia. Is it a good idea? Is there anything that we should include in particular?

We look forward to hearing your thoughts on this.

Relaxing break in andalucia, Spain

It is now getting rather hot in our Genal Valley, Andalucia, and the walking season is winding down now. We have been busy though walking with another delightful guest, Barbara, who joined us for a Relaxing break in Andalucia.

We went walking in the morning to different white villages of the Genal Valley (Alpandeire where we had great views over Morocco, Cartajima and Parauta) and, as Barbara was very fit, we also walked in the stunning Biosphere Reserve of la Sierra de las Nieves where we walked up a steep footpath through the indigenous Pinsapo pines, stopping to take in the views and the flowers still in bloom. After about a 400 m climb, our effors were rewarded by the superb views over Ronda, San Pedro (Costa del Sol), the Genal valley and its white villages and Torrecilla (the highest peak in the National park at over 1900 meters). We then meandered down a wider track and stopped to have a picnic half way down while enjoying the views. We went to see afterwards, the impressive 26 meters high Pinsapo de las Escalateras nearby.

Barbara also enjoyed some of the wellbeing activities on offer and the complementary natural soaps and bath salts which are handmade in Andalucia and sold in Ronda in the Andalucia Soap Campany shop owned by Sara, a friend of ours, situated Calle Sevilla 23. David, actually kindly gave to Barbara these lovely natural products that he has available in the hotel and this made us decide to make it part of our Relaxing Break packages. It will be indeed great for our future guests to enjoy beautiful walks and then relaxing massages or natural face-lifting massages, etc... followed by a lovely bath with natural handmade salts...

Thank you once again Barbara for your kindness and generosity and for the lovely time we had in your company.

We have also decided to have now a minimum number of 2 bookings for our Relaxing breaks so that our guests don't feel too lonely in the evenings in the hotel Bandolero, when it is quiet, as was the case with Barbara.

We are not scheduling any walking holidays now until september but our Relaxing Breaks in Andalucia, Spain are available throughout the Summer. It is in fact an ideal time as you can also make the most of the hotel swimming pool! Click on the following link if you would like to find out more about our Relaxing breaks in Andalucia.

Photos of flowers in Andalucia, Spain - early May

Here are a few photos of flowers we encountered on some of our walks in the Alto Genal, Andalucia, Southern Spain, which were taken by Helen Boyton, early May. She kindly gave us the permision to post them here. The Serrania de Ronda is indeed spectacular in Spring with its incredible variety of wild flowers. This year, early May was exceptionnally great for wild flowers. Contrary to what most people would expect from Andalucia, the Genal valley is very lush in Spring with its forest of Sweet Chestnut trees doning their new fresh green leaves and its wild flowers growing in meadows in more exposed areas or adding some accents of colours under the dapple shade of Oak and Sweet Chestnut woodlands. If you love wild flowers, April and May are the time to visit this non touristic area of Andalucia.













Grey-Leaved Sunrose

White-Leaved Bugloss



Viper's Grass



White Cistus