Ronda Serrania - PUJERRA, JUZCAR, FARAJÁN, JUBRIQUE, LOS REALES

Early Spring in Ronda Serrania

Temperatures along the coastline have lately been 20 degrees centigrade and above that in the sun. This means  that shorts and T-shirts are prudent clothing. Also the coastal spring time is clearly advanced and I felt like I need to check the situation up in the mountains. I choose the Ronda mountain area as my destination. There are still unknown tracks to look into - this time e.g. Pujerra and Jubrique. Accidentally I also encountered Los Reales. Without further hesitation I put on my SHORTS and F1 Jerez Testing T-SHIRT, applied for extended stay-out from Mrs. T and jumped into my rented Polo. I soon got the feel of LOW temperatures of 12 degrees, and only 6 in Los Reales (1452 m). And the wind was CHILLY on the northeastern slopes. The Polo air-conditioning had, at one point, to be switched for the HEATING SYSTEM. Vis-á-vis spring it was interesting to discover how different the situation was on the top of the mountains, at the slopes and down in the valleys.

On Top of the Serrania

I wanted to make my photographic excursion  little more adventurous by choosing the narrow mountain roads; first an uncategorized road turning west from the main road to Ronda (A397). There is a small sign indicating that you might reach Pujerra that way, but the road looked more like a way for cyclists - there where some on the road, too. The road was paved (10 years ago), very narrow and with debris from the mountain slopes in several places. The drive was slow and with a feeling that "there is no return now". I DID arrive in Pujerra safely (from behind the bushes). From Pujerra I took another uncategorized road (that we had used before with Mrs. T). This was a shortcut to Faraján and I knew there where photographic scenes along the route.

A good drive through the mountain area

Plenty of trees in this region, early spring though.

This cultivated forrest was well fenced and maybe carry more value than the orange trees.

No buds seen, yet.

But scenery is photogenic.

Check the shadow!

On the Mountain Slopes

We are used to the road to Ronda by now having used it several times so I paid no attention to the directions once turned off the AP-7. There is a roundabout that takes you almost 360 degrees back and a separate way that leads to the very same AP-7. If you do not pay attention, like I this time, you may end up on this route to the AP-7, pay extra tolls, drive 5 km before finding a flyover to again take you back to the A397. So let's keep concentrated, shall we. In the mountains the road went up and down and the springlike atmosphere changed with change of temperature. On the slopes some flowers where blossoming.

Feeling alive!

Half-way through.

Or early days.

Reaching for the sun.

White and cloudy.

Pujerra

I next reach Juzcár and Farajan, but decided to pass them as we where there recently, see the earlier blog. The MA-7302 and MA-7307 took me, without further stops, to A369 from Ronda to Estepona. This road was absolutely gorgeous. It was in very good shape following the mountain slopes with magnificent views. Mrs. T needs to see this! I soon turned to MA-8305 towards Jubrique and from there I followed MA-8301, also a narrow "curly" mountain road on a southerly direction. In Jubrique I made a classical error and, instead of circumventing the village, I drove right through it. Maybe the very narrow village centers work like a magnet for me. Testreport: A POLO only just passes.

In the Valleys

When approach in Jubrique there is a small stream and next to it what looks like a very nice camping area, see pictures below. The birdlife seems plentiful according to the information board placed among the stream. Then the road divides into Pujerra to the left and Genalguacil straight on. Both lead to a crossing Puerto de Benas Blancas from where there is a road up to Los Reales at 1452 meters and a fantastic view over Costa del Sol and the sierras the other way. The Mirador is called Mirador of Costa del Sol, no wonder. The road up is about 4,5 km and also narrow. Los Reales offer barbecue facilities and picnic tables for anyone interested. Recommend!

The Camping site near Jubrique.

Might be a side stream for river Genal.

Same stream the other way.

Signs of spring in the valley.

Unknown beauty.

This was the story of the approaching spring in Andalucia. This last excursion was interesting and portraits well how springtime gradually takes over ones temperatures climb. What is different to our native Finland is that if we have temperatures of 15 degrees (in late May?) we would certainly enjoy the warmth of spring or even early summer. In Andalucia spring does seem to set in from late March independent from the warm temperatures of December-February. Nature just needs its rest.

Below a view from Mirador Costa del Sol at Los Reales and NOT from an airplane like Mrs. T proposed. Hope you have enjoyed our "Tour de Printemps". I have very much so and hope to be back in April to photograph more and report back on this blog. 

Costa del Sol

Our next post on this blog will be a SUMMARY of our time spent here in Andalucia. Posting will take place still this week but we can inform that our readership has been in total 2366 page views  and 1246 of them have been Spanish. Thank you everyone!