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Wildside Holidays – Spain
The top wildlife, activity and walking holiday companies in Spain. Small family companies living and working in Spain. Local guides are the best!
I have rebublished this wonderful article from 2010 “Conquering Torreon peak in Grazalema”. Fantastic memories of a wonderful person. Yes you Sacha Burton 🙂
It’s been far too long since I viewed the Sierras from our highest peak here in Grazalema and as we have a friend from Canada visiting us I thought it would be a good excuse for me to take a day off the computer to show her the view from the top of our particular world…The walk of Torreon takes about 5 or 6 hours there and back depending, of course, on how long you stay at the top. It is a steep incline to the summit of 1654 metres which can take around 2.5 to 3 hours to trudge.
This article was first published on Wildside Holidays in 2010
“Ooh, STOP! I want to get out and take a picture… please?“
Lady birds at the very top!
Clive, my friend and nature guide for the day, shrugged and pulled to the shoulder of the road; I had cause to be excited — we had just turned the corner on our way to Torreon and the Puerto de Boyar Mirador, or “golden view“.
Spectacular views of endless mountains dispersed between verdant valleys lay before us. I hopped out of the car, camera in hand, and snapped a few shots of mountain tips peaking up through morning mist.
I am diligently not a morning person, so with such enthusiasm early in the day (early being any time before 11 a.m.) I was surprising even myself. Torreon, the highest peak in the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park, standing at 1654 metres, was to be my first mountain hiking/climbing experience here.
As it turned out, my early morning enthusiasm wasn’t the only thing that surprised me that day.
Some absolutely fantastic news this week! Finally, the use of herbicides has been banned in the Sierra de Grazalema. For many, many years the contractors to maintain roads in the area have used various types of herbicides such as “spasor” and “roundup” to control the herbage at the sides of the roads. Most of the herbisides used contain glyphosate.
The truck that sprays herbicides in the Sierra de Grazalema
The chemicals clearly state that they are a danger to wildlife if not used correctly
The quantity of chemical used over the years is quite stunning. So much so that after testing of water suplies in the area such as lakes, streams and sources, amounts of up to EIGHT times the allowed limit (by European law) of glyphosate has been found.
As you can see in the picture at the top a two to 5 metre wide strip is sprayed. I call this “Lazy” land management.
We’ll have to see how the contaractors will manage the road sides in the future but all in all Clive is a happy pixie this week with this fantastic (although very long overdue) news.
¿Que hacer en la Sierra?
The Spanish language part of the Grazalema Guide “What to do in the sierra” is developing very well indeed. With over 10,000 facebook followers it certainly has some promotional clout. 🙂
There are over 40 villages in the area of the Sierra de Grazalema and the Serranía de Ronda. I have the pages on each village written and published and some of the villages are now starting to promote low level events such as concerts and tapas routes etc. The big festivals and ferias are still cancelled until further notice due to the Covid-19 of course.
Last weekend was the big holiday of “Spain” day. A national holiday and quite frankly it was a successful “disaster”. Of course the tourist businesses need all the help that they can get but the amount of people in Grazalema was overwhelming. Footpaths were crowded and any kind of social distancing was forgotton completely. A great shame that people are unable to control themselves an we will find out in the next couple of weeks if the lack of common sense boosts the infection rates of Covid-19 in the area of the Sierra de Grazalema.
Wildside Holidays – Spain
The top wildlife, activity and walking holiday companies in Spain. Small family companies living and working in Spain. Local guides are the best!
Apart from the ongoing coronavirus scares, fears and consequences the heat of the summer in Grazalema continues… It’s mid August and there seems to be no sign of the teperature dropping…. Its hot in the morning, hot in the daytime and yes, you guessed it hot at night.
That said, normally on the 1st of September it’s like someone flips a switch and all of a sudden you are wearing socks with your sandals and wondering if you should have put trousers instead of shorts on for the trip to the shops.
The reservoir at the bottom of my garden is getting very low. (You can just see the hilltop town of Zahara de la Sierra in the distance)
Reservoir in the Sierra de Grazalema – Very dry in summer
In the small pond left behind in the above photo are around a hundred or so terrapins… (Read about terrapins over at Wildside Holidays) They are pretty much trapped here as the reservoir edge is now almost a kilometre away. I visit each day and the ones I can catch I take them down to the waters edge. A second chance hopefully as they will surely die once the water in this small pond dries out.
Rio Guadalete – Grazalema. The river is almost totally dry now. Its hard to believe that just a few months ago it was a bubbling torrent.
In other “news” a bear was hit by a car up in the north of Spain in the heart of a National park no less. Instead of calling the police or anyone to help the people decided to video the poor creature with its shattered leg and fear obvious to all.. Yay!! Great youtube material guys!
There is a search to find the people so that they can be prosecuted…
Bear hit by car in Somiedo. The only thing the car driver could think of to do was to video the badly hurt bear…. Duh! maybe call the police? Get some help for the bear?
Work is continuing at a “rapid” pace at Wildside Holidays. Only 6 articles left to write for the Natural parks of Andalucia. Made a start on the mammals and reptiles pages. I have decided that I am going to turn Wildside into a kind of wildlife news website for spain. Most Importantly I am having fun doing it.
Over at Ronda Today I have added an affiliate to a company producing some really nice printed T.Shirts.
Ronda “the city of dreams” is one of Spain’s most visited cities. It is a little city, more of a big town really and famous for the impressive Puente Nuevo (new bridge) that spans the gorge that seperates the old town from the new town. The Real Maestranza bullring is oe of the oldest in Spain and is where modern bullfighting was conceived. the many beautiful churches, museums, wonderful coffee shops and tapas bars are all within a short 30 minute walk.
As well as being blessed with some of Spain’s most impressive nature and historic monuments, so too are Ronda hotels special, not least because several offer views of the Tajo gorge from their windows, or views of the mountains surrounding the city. As one of the most visited cities in Spain, Ronda has a fantastic selection of hotels, hostels, guesthouses, and self-catered accommodation guaranteed to suit all tastes.
Our four star hotels include the Parador, Molino del Arco, Reina Victoria, Montelirio, Maestranza, Acinipo, Don Benito, and Hotel San Gabriel.
