Colours from La Concepción, Málaga

This cactus was about to start blooming in a big way.

Hi everyone! It is time to follow-up on Jardin Botánico-Histórico La Concepción just outside Málaga.  I paid a visit there yesterday and found the gardeners busy with preparation for the spring. Last time we visited the lush historical section founded by Marquis of Casa Loring in 1855. There you can discover plants from different parts of the world. Many trees are old and big casting shadows that makes photographing fun. This time I spent time with the new sections to the right and left of the historical part. But before we start our tour let me tell another story.

On a few occasions we have been renting a car for our purposes and we found Sixt to be a partner of choice. Now we needed a car for the two remaining weeks in Andalucia because our own was going to be sent north to arrive at the same time with us. Of course we wanted a good deal for these two weeks and tried to get one from Sixt. Well, no suitable car at the right price was available so we had to shop around. And would you believe it - with the next click we found one internet offer at less than 100 euros. This seemed to be too good to be true. We only needed an all risk insurance but they are not THAT expensive - I thought. And there was some extra charge for the petrol filled up - funny, but no big deal so we ended up using the services of this rival to our normal supplier. The lady at the reception desk at the airport was very friendly, spoke good english and checked my documents; the passport, ID and credit card. They all matched with the same person so I was "released" to set off with a FOUR door VW Polo (instead of a two door Fiesta). GREAT, now off to La Concepción! NO - BETTER CHECK THE INVOICE WITH DETAILS FIRST!!! Mrs T ALLWAYS checks ALL the receipts.  MY GOD - the receipt was for 284 euros. It was all charged credit and not debit as I normally want to do. This required some contemplation and discussion with the service provider. YES, I wanted an all risk insurance and that was about 150 euros so I had got exactly what I required. COMPLAINT REJECTED and I need to do my homework better next time. Then a quick call to get my sins forgiven by Mrs. T and OFF TO LA CONCEPCIÓN with humble promises.

Macrophotography is fun and my favorite.

Cactuses in the new section of La Concepción...

...and more cactuses.

Absolutely lovely!

During our time in Andalucia I have not had much time for macrophotography because the general interest has been in describing larger pictures be it historical, natural or cultural by context. The above are a nice selection of macros with interesting textures. The first one is not a picture of sausages but a flower with plentiful red bloom. We saw one blossoming in Nerja already in February. The cactus garden is next to the Historical Mirador and offer many different kind of cactuses, most of them starting to blossom right now. The next picture below I call "Long John".

"Long John"

Nice color and texture!

My hair looks like this just before I visit, Amador, my barber.

Queing up for the barber?

Jardin Botánico-Histórico la Concepción also organise different kind activities (see www.laconcepcion.malaga.eu). Scientific activities to study, revive and improvement of indigenous flora. Cultural activities allow exhibitions of different art forms to take place in the area. Educational activities focusses on nature conservation, botany and  the environment and the Training Workshops offer courses for young unemployed people in gardening, building, carpentry, plant nursery and irrigation. So far 325 youngsters have been trained. What about photography courses?

A flower widely available.

Thrived with the yellow one.

Green bushes flower, too.

In the 19th century La Concepción was a popular meeting point for politicians, artists and the nobility of Málaga. Several buildings including the Manor House, The Loringian Museum and below Mirador viewpoint was constructed. Today the park cover over 200 species with a few specimens over 100 years old. They come from Europe, America, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Ornithologists can enjoy the birdlife in the park, too.

The Mirador overlooking the A-45.

Floral splendor with northern Málaga in the background.

A lake mirror in the park.

Other activities that are organized in the park is an All Family Fathers Day in March and later e.g. a course in Bonsai arts. For more pictures on the architecture and the venues in the park do visit the above mentioned website.

Red is a strong color in the garden.

A section of the forest is full of Clivias. Fantastic!

A sunny spell from between the trees.

More buds appear all the time.

A combination of purple and green.

Late afternoon light.

I let the below water lily be the last picture this time. This pond is just by the entrance/exit of the park and it is hit nicely by a late afternoon light. Hope you enjoyed this picture cavalcade through Jardin Botánico-Histórico la Concepción. If you have  chance to visit it the next 3-4 weeks should be ideal when the spring time blossom is at its best.

A water lily near the exit.

Follow this blog with news from Andalucia for another two weeks. Then we turn towards Skåne, Southern Sweden.

 

El Chorro, the rock climbers paradise

Gorge of the Gaitanes at El Chorro.

El Chorro is a small village located just north of Alora but it is renowned by its steep cliffs that forms a ravine and huge climbing opportunities for climbing enthusiasts. To get here is really not difficult but it takes a sense of direction because Mrs. N (the female voice in our navigator) is of limited help here. Instead we where assisted by Mrs. T that has somekind of an inbuilt navigation system that leads us right if nothing else helps. As far as I am concerned I tend to loose my way already in large shopping malls. The bridge over the gorge is called Caminito del Rey (King's little pathway) after Alfonso XIII of Spain that visited the site in 1921 (wikipedia). Officially this path is closed but still used by climbers. Part of the route is collapsed and very dangerous. We spotted two climbers during our visit and you may be able to find them on the pictures below. 

Guadalhorce leading to El Chorro.

Gorge of the Gaitanes.

Climbers up on the shelf.

And again here.

A broader view if the King's little pathway.

Two climbers up on the right hand side.

One way of getting to El Chorro is by train from Málaga. If you REALLY insist on going on the trail then www.andalucia.com will provide detailed instructions how to get there. Pass a camping site and walk until end of road. Then walk a few hundred meters and path drops down. Follow it and later cross an old railway bridge .....you are there. 

The Railway Station.

An old water cistern for steam engines.

A flower/fruit (?) of a palm tree.

If you want you can then drive up to the Tajo de la Encantada where you will have a magnificent view over the whole area. There is a bar available and the grounds appear very suitable for hiking. We also planned to visit the abandoned village of Bobastro that is situated in this area, but we failed to locate it. By now it was also getting late and we needed to return home soon.

Up on Tajo de la Encantada.

With a bar open for the public.

An olive tree and the evening sun.

Bridge for fast-speed train service.

Beautiful scenery.

And the small lake up on the top.

We hope that you have enjoyed this photographic expedition to El Chorro. We should be back with more pictures and information shortly on how the spring develops in Andalucia and will try to visit Almunecar next.

A daytrip to Alora (and El Chorro)

Flag and Coat of Arms of Alora, Andalucia

The village of Alora northwest of Málaga

The other day we decided to make a day trip to El Chorro and its famous canyons. Not by train from Málaga which you also can do but using our "pretend-to-be-four-wheal-drive" KIA that already has seen Andalucia from west to east. Normally we do switch on our car navigator (let's call her Mrs. N because it has a female voice) and so we did. The road to Alora is not straight forward. First we advised Mrs. N to take the fastest way and she gave a direction that we did not like. We wanted to take the small (and sometimes curly) roads instead. I believe we already are notorious for choosing the unexpected alternative just for the sake of adventure. Therefore Mrs. N was given new instructions to take the most direct way; YES, our KIA accepted simple unpaved roads, too.  No problem! Off we went, towards west later to turn for a northerly direction. Sometimes, but only sometimes, Mrs. N gets confused and mostly this is easily predicted because all the nice new highways along the coasts are not familiar to her. This time the road to Alora was a complete puzzle for her. We kept turning left and right, passing narrow streets in villages that we where not supposed to pass (or at least there was a direct faster alternative, too). About halfway to Alora we had been driving for an hour and we should have reached the village by then. NEVERMIND, this time we let deliberately Mrs. N have her way. Choosing unexpected directions sometimes take you to unexpected, and exciting, places. This once also happened to us when driving to Sierra Nevada - read about that in the SN section. This time we crossed river Guadalhorce at a place that easily gets flooded. Do not worry, no problem this time, but they do actually close the road very easily. Below a few pictures from the river next to the river crossing.

Guadalhorche river bend at our crossing.

Same river bend from another angle.

The excitement of the journey as guided by Mrs. N was somewhat exhausting and a toilet was in need for Mrs. T at one point. The coffée shop owner was a good samaritan that understood the dilemma and, with a true gentleman's gesture, offered a relief instantly. For those not keen on traveling by car we can advice that the Córdoba-Málaga high-speed train stops at Alora. This white washed village is fairly sizable with 13.500 inhabitants and was originally founded by the Phoenicians that built a castle on the hill which Romans later fortified. The other impressive sight of the village is the old church in the centre dating back to the 16th century. Below some pictures from these sites.

Mrs. T sensing the atmosphere and watching over the tripod in the church.

A very decorative altar.

The Saint Fransiscus of Assisi

The Holy Family.

Another decorative view.

The Church of Nuestra Senora de la Encarnation.

Cervantes lived in this village between 1587 and 1593 (andalucia.com). Monday is the market day. Alora is an agricultural village that offer tropical fruits, olives and grape vines.

Then a short walk uphill, you can also drive there if you wish. Just disregard from the "No-Way" sign as everybody else does. Half way up there is a nice alley with a view out of the village. Once up you get a magnificent view over Alora and the Guadalhorce river banks.

Along the route to the Castle.

A break half-way up.

View over Alora.

A segment of the village.

A section of the Castle.

FROM ALORA OUR JOURNEY CONTINUED TOWARDS THE IMPRESSIVE EL CHORRO, ROCK CLIMBERS PARADISE. SEE THE NEXT BLOGPOST.