Hiking in Frigiliana

One of the big attractions to this part of Spain, or Andalucía, is its proximity to the  Natural Park of the Sierra Tejeda-Almijara mountains.  I's literally a stone's throw from my doorstep and offers some great hiking and walking.  I went on my first hike with John Keo, a local guide who arrived here about ten years ago from Ireland.  We were joined by Andy and Wendy from England and had the greatest day.  He took us to the small "hidden" village of Acebuchal(Wild Olive), which prior to the 80's was only accessible by foot or mule. There's some great history of the area which was once occupied by guerillas, who kept on fighting after the Spanish Civil War ended in 1939.  They were subsequently defeated when the Guardia Civil took over the town and made the residents leave.  They then  cut the guerillas off from supplies and starved them or shot them when caught fleeing. To prevent further guerilla occupation, they  proceeded to tear down the  rooftops.   Needless to say, the townspeople never returned either and the village was virtually abandoned for decades before a local man, Antonio, got a grant from the Spanish government to restore it.  But it had to be restored to its original historical state and each building had to retain its original footprint and building style and use of  materials.  He could introduce indoor plumbing and electricity.  Well, this turned into a labor of love and now Antonio owns virtually every building in the village and rents out places for vacationers. We had lunch in his restaurant, now operated by two of his sons.  We had a fabulous meal of homemade bread, Andalusian stew, pork ribs in a mustard sauce, potatoes au gratin and an assortment of baked goodies for dessert.  I had a local Frigiliana craft beer, which was really tasty.  It was really hard to move afterwards to make the trek back to Frigiliana, but we managed.  Distance: 14km;  Gain: 400m

View looking back on Frigiliana

John, Andy and Wendy

Acebuchal

la Axarca