SOUTHERN SPAIN

Summary

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While a far cry from our favorite hike in Spain, it does provide quite a bit of mileage and a decent way to see two very charming Spanish towns. On a clear day, enjoy views from the mountains to the sea.

Trail Stats

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Trail Details

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The Adventure Begins

Figuring out how to arrive at a trailhead without a vehicle in Spain can be entertaining. For this day we had to catch two different busses. These busses do not run frequently throughout the day. Our plan was simple. Get up, ridiculously early, have coffee (it’s a requirement), get dressed, harass the cat, eat breakfast, throw on our packs and catch the bus which should pick us up within a 5 minute walk of our lodgings. Sounds easy. Except I’ve learned not to trust busses in Spain. Sometimes they’re quite early. Sometimes they’re quite late. If we didn’t catch this bus it was a no go for the day. So we arrived at the bus stop 10 minutes early. And then waited a half hour for it to show up. Bus route 112 was late. And the driver was in no hurry to make up time either. Though she and a patron had a very lively and highly entertaining debate while casually rolling around the hairpin turns up to Mijas Pueblo.

Mijas Pueblo is where we had one early morning chance to catch our next bus, the 221, that would take us to our destination, Coin. As we watched the minutes tick by as we slowly ambled along the road, I can’t say I was overly concerned at missing the next bus. There was supposed to be a half hour wait in between busses. My bigger concern lay with that cup of coffee I’d drank and the fact there are not restrooms on the bus. That could make for a very long 40 minute bus ride to Coin.

Luck was on our side and we rolled into Mijas Pueblo with 9 minutes to spare. Even better, we know exactly where the public restrooms are. As it was early morning (the sun had not quite risen), the bathrooms were still spotlessly clean, had TP AND soap. A near miracle. For the ladies out there, ALWAYS bring a packet of Kleenex or something to use as TP in Spain. Good chance the restrooms will be out. And they rarely have paper towels. Just so you know.

After exiting the bathrooms with happier bladders, we snapped a quick photo of sunrise. Then hastened over to our bus. Got on with no trouble, the Malaga area green transport card works marvelously here. Though the driver looked at us like we were nuts and asked us if we were going to Coin. Yep. We sure do want to go Sir! Pretty sure it’s not a hot spot for tourists.

The drive is gorgeous. It’s a narrow, winding mountain road. The driver needs a pay raise. Poor guy had to deal with so many vehicles acting a fool. For the drivers out there. If there’s a bus coming your way, get out of the way. Pull over to the side as far as you can and wait for the bus to pass. You may need to back up or you run the risk of having your side mirror removed for you. These busses are LONG and frequently take both sides of the road (that has no real shoulder at all) just to navigate around a corner. The poor driver spent a lot of time exclaiming over moronic drivers, to which the Spaniards on the bus happily chimed in their commentary in support of said driver. While I can’t understand Spanish well at all, even I could get the jist of it. And I was also in agreement with the bus driver. Great ride. Loads of entertainment and the scenery was rather breathtaking. Highly recommend just the drive if nothing else.

Coin

While not on the typical tourists list in Southern Spain, Coin still possesses a charm that’s difficult to ignore. We headed directly toward the old part of town from the bus station. Fair to point out I began tracking on my watch at the station. And we wandered around a bit. This some mileage could be knocked off by taking a more direct route to the trails.

We chose to check Coin out a bit. Very adorable town. I think it has got to have one of the highest water fountain to square meter ratio’s in Southern Spain. There were fountains everywhere. The streets were relatively clean and they had loads of potted plants and trees lining the streets and squares. Buildings lining the streets were quite lovely and added a sense of elegance.

I however, had a mission to complete. We HAD to find a specific bakery in old town. Not just any bakery mind you. I specifically wanted the Panaderia La Curruca. This slice of heaven is hidden down a walking only street and is very easy to pass by if you aren’t specifically looking for it. They offer artisanal breads that are kneaded by hand and baked in a traditional wood fired oven. While the selection is small, the quality is unparalleled. They have selections ranging from spelt to wholemeal breads. All are made each morning. The place has been passed down in the family for generations. My greatest disappointment lay in that we were hiking. Not great to smash a loaf of two of bread into our packs. Though they looked heavenly.

Doug chose a bag of round dark brown loaves that somewhat resembled an oversized cookie shaped like a donut. And then he put them in his pack. What the heck? Dude. I’m going to eat that. “Now?” he says. It’s like he doesn’t even know me after all this time. Of course NOW. The bag was opened and we each bit into one. I still don’t know what they were. They were soft. Had the mildest hint of molasses, though I doubt they had molasses in them. Very subtle flavor. I liked them a lot. Don’t judge, but that pack of six was gone by time we returned to Mijas Pueblo. Weirdly enough, we didn’t eat any of the snacks we brought along. Just snacked on those little bites of heaven. Yum. If you’re anywhere near Coin and the shop is open, go. It’s so yummy.

Where’s The Trail?

Next up, finding the trail and staying on it. Often more difficult than it should be around here. On the plus side, we walked up Cuesta de la Reina, which might be the most spectacular road ever. The road takes you a brief ways through sheer rocky walls. Pretty neat.

After that you’ll walk along some roads for a while. At some point we missed a trail we were supposed to take that branched off the road. By time we figured out our mishap we decided to cut through an orchard (on a dirt road) which would reconnect us with our intended route. This orchard turned out to be our favorite scenic spot between Coin and Alhaurin. Gorgeous olive trees in fields bursting with purple and pink wild flowers. Likely weeds but hey, they were absolutely lovely. After the orchard we were back on track, heading onto the Paseo Madre Teresa de Calcuta. A section of trail rather obviously named after Mother Teresa. You’ll leave this when crossing under the main road which you’ve been paralleling. There were some rather gross culverts we initially thought we had to go through to cross. Luckily that wasn’t the case here but later on in the day it would be necessary.

The rest of the hike, up to passing Alhaurin, was relatively worthless. I would not recommend it. At one point its rating dropped down to a 1.5 star. Luckily the section between Alhaurin and Mijas is nice and brought up the rating again.

To be fair to the overall hike, the views were fairly obscured the day we went. For some reason it seemed as if half the valley had slash piles burning. And winds from Africa had brought in loads of atmospheric dust that gave everything a hazy look. You could even smell dirt and taste it in the air. I believe they are called Calima winds.

Somewhere in here I realized Doug had snuck in another section of the Gran Senda de Malaga on me. The route we were primarily taking all day long was indeed part of the Gran Senda. Sneaky guy.

As the path from here to the Alhaurin area was largely quite lame, I’ll hit the highlights primarily. For the most part, we were on a dirt road, by a highway or trekking through trees. Lots of trees.

We passed through the Area Recreativa El Nacimiento, which is a lovely park with a pond and benches. Doug irritated the local ducks by walking by and I scared off a sunbathing turtle. Further on there was a random set of buildings in the middle of nowhere that we later found out were actually the former set of a BBC TV soap called Eldorado. I’d never heard of it.

A bit further we diverted off the rather boring road and went up a steep hillside trail that would eventually dump us back onto the Gran Senda. The reason for this? A mirador! The Mirador de Cerro Alta. The off trail walk along the ridge at least offered some hazy views into the valley. We did come across a building but for the life of me I couldn’t tell if it was someone’s house or a public building. Not wanting to barge around someone’s property we ignored it and moved on. Just down a very sharp grade from the “peak” is the official mirador, which for the record, you can also get to by staying on that road we diverted off of. From here we were supposed to have a stunning view that would encompass not only the surrounding mountains but also the sea and town of Fuengirola. Without the haze it’s supposedly quite a view. With the haze we were rather less than impressed. As there was a lady sitting on the oversized bench who appeared to be meditating and we couldn’t see much anyway we left after a few brief moments.

The next trail oddity came in the form of a field with warning signs and a fence. The trail circled around the fence. We looked it up and it rather obscurely mention being hunting grounds. Though we did see a random couple and their little yappy dog in there. Not sure what they were hunting. Asparagus maybe?

After that the trail became incredibly lame. We paralleled a highway and crossed to the other side via a culvert. And then walked directly next to the highway for what felt like forever. With loads of trash scattered all around. A surprising quantity of beer cans. Doug noted Cruzcampo seems to be the beer of choice as they represented the majority of the discarded cans. Disappointing on humanity there and rather disgusting. Spain has a trash problem for sure. There’s trash all over. It’s gross.

Our hope for redemption lay ahead. The Castillo del Agua. Prominent on the horizon. Our feet marched us onward until we once again diverted off the Gran Senda to head uphill with the Castillo in our sights. We decided lunch would be had up there.

Apparently, the Castillo del Agua is not a historic anything. It was constructed in the early 1990’s as part of a planned residential development. The project ran out of funds and the site was abandoned. Walking up to the structure, I’ll admit, it must have been gorgeous. A tall building atop a hill with gorgeous embellishments in the form of arched “windows” and white carved pillars. Lovely.

However, it is in high disrepair. And boarded shut. Locked up not so tight. Meaning one could clearly get in if they wanted to bad enough. Bars on the front stairs gate had been pried apart. You’d have to be real skinny and agile to get through but certainly possible. A window about 10 feet off the ground had a metal covering partially pried off. Anyone with a ladder could get in that hole, though it would be interesting to see how they managed not landing on their head on the other side. And perhaps the most telling, a rope dangling from the upper balconies, tied to a post. People have and still do enter at will. And it looks like it.

Google has some of the best, most telling reviews. My favorite (and likely the most accurate) was from AJ, “The building looks like a den for alcoholic and anti social elements. The area is full of rubbish inside and outside…” and from Ashraa “… Not worth visiting unless you enjoy the smell of urine on a hot day.” Welp. That sums it up. And after the road side trash walk, complete with a urine smelling, graffitied “castle” is where the trail lost points and was downgraded to a 1.5. Ouch. By the way, it was a terrible spot for a sandwich. And I was irritated that I couldn’t go to the top. That didn’t help.

Leaving the castle we were back along the road for a while. Eventually we crossed the road yet again (having to dodge traffic as we ran across). Eventually we veered off the road and headed inland. From here on the trail improved remarkably.

Path To Redemption

In retrospect, the hike would have been much more enjoyable had we begun at the small parking lot just prior to (south of) the round about headed to Alhaurin el Grande. It’s the round about below the Castillo del Agua. There’s even a bus stop nearby that we could have gotten off at. Though, we’d have missed out on the bread shop In Coin and that would have truly been tragic.

The Gran Senda will repeatedly switch between single track paths to dirt roads for the remainder of the hike. Some open to vehicles and others a little more dubious.

Once again I’ll point out the trail highlights. First up, bees! We passed an area of bee houses where the happy buzzers were busy flying in and out. I adore bees. Specifically pollinators, not wasps. Such happy little guys. And I really like honey. Bees are essential for the environment and honey is fantastic for my taste buds. So, yeah bees! Fun fact of the day, bees are called “abejas” in Spanish. Which sounds like uh-bae-haus or, to me, a bee house. Which entertains me greatly for some rather childish reason. Makes it easier to remember when I can link it to something stupid.

For a rather large portion of the trail you’ll be on a rough road along the mountainside. On a non hazy day the views should be spectacular. They’ll initially look back toward the hills we started from and as you wrap around the mountains will shift to the sea and Fuengirola. Lucky for us, we’ve hiked in the general area before and knew what we were missing, leaving the disappointment of poor visibility to a minimum. You’ll notice the slow approach toward Mijas Peak, distinct with the giant white ball on top. Otherwise known as a weather radar station. You’ll pass the peak and continue ever forward.

Of noteworthiness, the hillsides are frequented by some rather spectacular rocks. I undeniably have a weird thing for rocks. Don’t know why. Weird rocks, rocky formations and especially craggy, jagged formations are completely my thing. For a heartbeat in my childhood I considered being a geologist. But I soon realized I generally think carbon dating is an epic load of garbage and, while I love to look at rocks, I can care less on their history. Geology was not for me. Among many other reasons. A bunch of the rocks here were smoother and bulbous. Jutting out of the hillside haphazardly. Like giant bulging troll noses protruding from within. They were weird and I loved them. What can I say, my interests are diverse and random. For the record, not all stones are impressive. I am particular in which ones I’ll admire endlessly.

Somewhere on the trail is an old lime kiln, in complete shambles. Technically, there are several kiln remnants in the area. There’s a nice sign detailing the history and significance of lime in the area. Most interesting was the fact that the kilns had to be heated to 820 degrees C (just over 1500 degrees F) to actually produce lime. That’s rather intense. Turns out it took three days to make a batch. Lime was mainly used for construction and painting. Today lime is frequently used in soil correction (that’s what I use to rid my lawn of moss back home), as a disinfecting agent and, weirdly enough, in water purification.

My favorite section entailed passing through an old marble quarry. The quarry dates back to Roman times and lasted until the 70’s. Pieces of marble from these quarries can be found in the floor of the Cathedral of Malaga. For centuries the marble was rafted down river to the sea where it’s presumably be shipped out all over the place.

The quarry area has loads of semi standing huts and structures you can walk around. You can walk across where they cut out slabs of marble. The surrounding walls of marble are smooth to the touch, almost as if they simply require one good polishing to become perfect. It was fascinating and beautiful all in one.

After the quarry it’s on to Mijas. There are certainly splits in the trail but there’s nearly always either a sign or conveniently marked rock to follow. A reflective X tacked onto a rock or tree means not this way. Easy enough.

The last point of interest prior to Mijas is the Ermita del Calvario. I’ve passed it quite a few times hiking, though it’s never been open. Apparently it’s supposedly open on the Friday’s of Lent and the first Friday in March. It’s a quaint little building that was constructed in 1710 and used as a place of “spiritual retirement and praying” by the brothers of the Monastery of Compas in Mijas.

Shortly after is the official end of the trail, marked by crossing a road (this is where I stopped tracking our route) into Mijas. Walk down the stairs, wind through town, as desired, before catching the bus back home. For us, it was a few stops into my favorite shops and heading to Koco Bistro. We’ve been here multiple times. They have Leffe beer, Doug’s favorite beer in Spain thus far, and amazing tapa’s. I highly recommend the octopus, any of their bao’s and definitely the eggplant with goat cheese and honey. They are all amazing. And I think I’m rather picky when it comes to tapas. Well. I’m rather picky in general but that wasn’t the point. Great beer. Great tapa’s. And it’s directly by the bus stop so one can run over pretty quickly if need be.

In Summation

This hike was frankly disappointing. I guess you win some and loose some. Highlights were the bakery in Coin, the rocks and “views” past the Alhaurin junction as we headed toward Mijas and the Marble quarry. Unfortunately these couldn’t quite overcome the rest of the trail. If one simply did the shortened version from the Alhaurin roundabout to Mijas I’d likely give it around 3.5 to 4 stars. Am I glad we did it? Yes, certainly. We got to explore new things and now we know. Would I do it again? No. I would visit Coin again. I’d love to explore that Marble quarry more. I’d simply pass on that first half of the hike. Regardless, we got in a boatload of steps for the day and at least earned eating all those delightful bakery treats.

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