Spring has begun in La Axarquía although we have only had a relatively mild winter so far . Ok, we have had a few stormy weeks with more precipitation in December and the temperatures over the last few nights are just above freezing. So we see the mild winter reflected in nature, including the first blossom that has already been spotted on the almond trees scattered across the mountainous landscape of La Axarquía.

In our area of Canillas de Aceituno and Sedella too, these flowers will soon show themselves in their full glory. Where many almond trees stand together, it almost looks like snow, they are so white! And not only is this blossom beautiful to the eye, it smells great too! 

Read more ...

When we bought our house here in Andalusia in 2008, we thought we had set ourselves up on our mountain in the hope of admiring all the New Years Eve fireworks from the villages around us . So at the stroke of 12 o'clock we stood outside, with cava and an oliebol (Dutch pastry)...but no fireworks to be seen. We obviously hadn't thought this through well enough! ;-) 

The following year, we celebrated La Noche Vieja at a restaurant in Nerja. Here's what we had learnt:

Read more ...

  © all photos: Jan B. van der Marel

Apart from the fantastic hiking and mountain biking here in the Axarquía, motorcycling through the rugged mountain landscape is also a very popular activity for me. I try to make a trip every week and one of my favourite motorbike trips is from my home base, Canillas de Aceituno to Alhama De Granada. It's about 100 km in total and you're on the road for over 3 hours including the necessary coffee stop.

Read more ...

Whereas years ago the rolling hills were covered only with olive and almond trees and vines for the Moscatel wine, the landscape in La Axarquía has changed considerably in recent years. In the hinterland of the Costa del Sol and along the Costa Tropical, mango and avocado trees have become more and more common.

Read more ...