One of the reasons we chose the Costa Tropical as our new living place after almost 9 years in Latin America was the proximity of both the Mediterranean sea and the Sierra Nevada mountains. I mean, where else in the world can you find blue seas, little rocky beaches and white villages in mountains with snow-capped tops?!
And of course the world-class cycling that this area is known for very much spoke to my dear former around-the-world-cyclist boyfriend. Al in all, reasons enough to continue our Cycling Sunday habit that we started in Colombia.
Because I had to sell my beloved Giant mountainbike in Argentina at the end of my trip some months ago I don´t currently have a bike in Spain. Luckily, one of our first weeks in Spain we ran into Jorn. A Dane with a passion for cycling, who not only knows all the great and hidden routes in this area, but also owns a cycling store in Almuñecar, Costa Tropical Cycling, where he sells and rents out road, mountain, city and electrical bikes. He´s been the one who has been advising and guiding us through some of our trips in this area, of which I´ll tell a bit more below.
One of my favourite areas to cycle around here is the Alpujarra. This is the area on the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada, basically between the mountains and the coast and with an average elevation of 1200 meters. Because of the snow and the melt water in the spring, this area is reasonably green throughout the year, with olive and almond trees all around, despite the drought and the heat in the summer. And, there is also some wine production.
Alpujarra roadbiking around Órgiva and Lanjarón: a melting pot of cultures and landscapes
One trip we did was leaving from our house in Salobreña, towards the gorge of Veléz de Benaudalla, up until getting to the Embalse of Rules. This big artificial lake saves the water coming from the Sierra Nevada to water and irrigate the whole coastal area during the dry summers. Also, parts of it are being used by windsurfers, enjoying the strong winds that can come through the mountains.
From here on, it started to go up the mountains toward the cute little Alpujarra town of Órgiva. A nice climb, with amazing views and white towns in the mountains, but which, especially in the summertime, should be avoided during the midday heat.
We had a nice local lunch in Órgiva, after which we continued towards Lanjarón. The town of Lanjarón is known for its great quality water, coming directly from the mountains. Perfect timing to fill up our water bottles in one of the many fountains. We both felt that we had temporarily left Spain when we got to Lanjarón. Because of the lanes lined by big trees and the wooden constructions in the houses, we felt like we were in northern France, more than in Southern Spain.
That is what I love in this area, I feel that I am constantly switching between landscapes that would fit well in Peru or Bolivia, towns that feels Arab and northern African, then some towns that feel northern European and finally, our own Costa Tropical which just resembles the tropical Colombia in so many different ways.
After Lanjarón the joy of having climbed the mountains paid of by going mostly down-hill, back to the Embalse de Rules and eventually all the way back to our Salobreña. A nice 83 kilometer ride, done on road bikes, with a total elevation gain of 1364 meters.
This was actually my first time ever to complete a whole ride on a road bike. But the KTM bikes that Jorn rents out are great shape and I definitely felt very safe.
Alpujarra roadbiking up in the high mountains and wine tastings
Another absolutely great ride in the Alpujarra mountains, and advised by Jorn from Costa Tropical Cycling, started in Cádiar. About 60 kilometers car drive from Salobreña up in the Alpujarra we met up with Jorn there. He had brought the bike I had hired from him already in his car, so we didn´t have to go pick that up in the morning first, but could just go to Cádiar right away.
This beautiful ride of 76.5 kilometers and with a total elevation gain of 1645 meters took us past the beautifully green waters of the Embalse de Benínar and despite the fact that we have already had quite some months of summer, there still are some very tiny little patches of snow left on the Sierra Nevada mountains. I just cannot wait to see how everything will look when it´s all covered in snow again!
From Benínar there was an uphill section of about 20 kilometers, which was getting a little tough towards the end. However, I had been told that at the top there was a little bodega, a winery, that had great lunches and wine tastings, so I definitely had good motivation to make it up that hill!
When I finally saw the vineyards appearing around me, I knew I was getting close. We did make some stops to enjoy my favorite cycling snack: fresh figs. Figs really might be my favorite cycling snack, and picking them right off the tree, while old locals are passing with their sheep, dingy cars, on the way to Sunday church or most likely, on the way to nowhere, I felt the peace and easy-goingness that can only be felt in Southern Europe. Or this old man stopping and asking me why I think his car is making this noise it´s making. My mental answer was ´because your car might have the same age as you do´, but I told him that it might have been because there were some branches stuck under his car. If anything, I was impressed that he had even dared to take this car off road.
And while enjoying these little impressions, I made it up the mountain, where the Bodega Cuatro Vientos (four winds) appeared on the horizon. We first had a nice little lunch. It was a bit challenging for non-meat eaters, because typical traditional Alpujarra food usually contains all kinds of cured hams, chorizo and bloodsausage, but there was also some good fish for me.
And then, the best thing: a little wine tasting. We told the guy that we still had to cycle, but he told us ´a little bit will do nobody harm´, after which he poured us a big glass full, because we had to savour the bodega´s own wines very well, and that could only be done in big quantities 😉
This forced us to make the break a little longer, until we felt that we were ready for our nice downhill back to Cádiar. Because I am still getting used to roadbikes, I don´t want to let go of the brakes entirely yet (it just feels a lot less stable than a mountainbike), but luckily Jorn was waiting for me every kilometer or so, making sure I was still up on my two wheels.
What a great ride this was!!
Mountainbiking around forgotten towns
Even though there are many great rides for road bikes around here, my real thing is mountainbike. Of course, this grew in Colombia, where most roads going into the rural areas, mountains or off the beaten track are unpaved and a road bike will not get you very far. But here in Spain, there are actually paved roads almost everywhere, and most of them without much traffic (or none sometimes).
But, I wanted to do a little mountain bike route again. So, again with Jorn from Costa Tropical Cycling, we went towards the mountains behind Nerja. The town where we left from is called Frigiliana and is a beautiful white town, popular with visitors in the summertime.
However, the mountains around are relatively quiet and not very widely explored. And.. full of little mountainbike tracks. We did a short 38,6 kilometer ride with a total elevation gain of 901 meters. Going up and down through pine forests and crazy rock formations, off road on dusty roads I felt in my element. This is why I love mountainbikes, one more step closer to just getting what nature gives you. We filled up our bottles, and washed our sweaty heads, on the way at a little river with water so clear and natural.
Then towards the end of our ride we passed by the little village of Acebuchal. Jorn told me that the people in this village, about 10 families, had been chased away during the dictatorship of Franco, so that he could place his soldiers there. Forgotten for many years, one of the family members returned around 10 years ago and wanted to rebuild the village. He got some people on his side, and nowadays the little village is standing proudly, with white walls, blue doors and full of floors. And the best thing? Some of them have been turned into little Bed & Breakfasts, to spoil the hikers and cyclists that pass along. There is also a little restaurant where they only sell home-made food, and I have to say, the bread with olive oil makes every hungry cyclist very, very happy.
After this little break we continued down towards Frigiliana again. A perfect little ride into some unexplored mountains. The good thing is that Jorn also rents out electrical mountainbikes, in case you dó want to try out some of these trails, but are a bit nervous about the mountains and the up hills.
There are still so many routes left to explore though. If I just look up at all those mountains, I can only imagine how much there is still left to see. And, I imagine every ride will look a little different depending on which season you cycle it in. Looking forward to receiving all of you here in the Costa Tropical!
