This was our 10th trip with Explore!, many of which have been walking trips, though a few were more cultural (e.g Thailand, Peru). This trip was centre based, in the white Andalucian village of Canillas de Albaida, whereas some trips…

We left the Spanish desert and its fake Paella Western sets in Olé-wood behind us and headed for Almería on the south coast of Spain. We like deserts and driving through that was quite interesting. Then we hit the south…

Our main event for this visit to Spain is our Andalucian Moorish Trails walking week with Explore!. Our ultimate destination, Canillas de Albaida, is about 350 miles away, roughly southwest, so we could do it in a day if we…

Several years ago, while we were looking after el perrito in Jalón, Francine and I found what looked like a modest walking route starting from Senija, one of the Spanish villages close by. The walk climbed a hill behind Senija …

We were continuing our familiarization with the Costa Blanca Mountain Walkers terminology today, as well as continuing our exercise in preparation for our impending Andalucian walking trip with Explore!. Overhearing a few conversations between longer standing members of the CBMW,…

We’ve done quite a few walking trips (8-ish) in small groups organized by Explore! – up to 16 folks and a leader in each group. Now we’ve been out a couple of times in similar sized groups with the Costa…

I’ve been getting to grips with Spanish painting gear. I tried not to, it has to be said. The internal paint, pure minimalist white, is in pretty good condition and really doesn’t need re-doing. Apart from which, we’ve owned Casa…

After having given our legs a few days to recover from their first and rather strenuous work out with the Costa Blanca Mountain Walkers, we thought we’d try another jaunt that promised to be a little easier. To their credit,…

Our main event during this visit to Spain is to be a 1-week walking tour based in Andalucia. We thought a trial outing up a Spanish mountain might be a good idea, partly to test our legs and partly to…

At the first sensible opportunity, Francine was go up to base camp on the Bernia to comb the edges of the roadside for orchids. Today was that first sensible opportunity so off we set. We parked near the entirely wood-fired…