A close call. We've had a lot of rainfall this past week. Whilst in a local restaurant this lunchtime a tree fell down over my old car and hit the cars opposite. No damage very luckily! 🤞
Notes – 2025 (275)
The clearest day for some time allowed for a glimpse of the Cerro de Caballo 3009m today. Lots of fresh snow, high avalanche risk and gale force winds mean the mountains remain out of bounds. More bad weather incoming too. Will be superb when it settles down and we can go up there
Enjoying reading "The Hand of Fatima" by Ildefonso Falcones. Follows life of Hernando, a young man of mixed heritage. Mother a Muslim, father a Christian priest. Born after the Morisco rebellion in the Alpujarras mountains, Hernando grows up caught between two worlds, facing discrimination & violence from both sides. The Moriscos (Muslims forced to convert to Christianity) are oppressed by the Christian rulers. Hernando becomes a symbol of the struggle for identity & survival.
I do use online/offline mapping systems all the time on my GPS, phone and other tech related gadgets. But, I have to say, there is nothing quite like getting a paper map arriving in the post.
I'm like a kid with a new toy and excited to see what lies within. I can dream of adventures to come better with a paper map than with online mapping systems.
Now to seriously plan our 7-10 day backpacking trip in the Pyrenees
Another poor, cloudy day in the high mountains so we headed south to the sunny slopes of Cerro Toro and Cerro Gordo, just north of Motril. Here we found solitude and some good hiking through forest tracks with some nice peaks to provide interest. Warm sunshine, t-shirts and shorts. Spring is in the air!
Granada Province constantly providing new hiking opportunities once again!
Bad news... Spain’s rewilding of Iberian lynx at risk after lobbying by hunters and farmers
Regional governments bow to pressure from agricultural industry, often amplified by far-right Vox party
Testing my sub €20 Lixada Solar Panel 7.8w. Charging up a Nitecore NB10000 quite quickly. Its a bit flimsy but at only 127 grams for the panel this is maybe to be expected. Hoping to use it on a multi day trek in the Pyrenees late spring.
Health and safety. I sometimes cringe when my Spanish neighbor and good friend comes round to help as he has no comprehension of danger. He thinks nothing of standing on a thin olive branch atop a dodgy ladder which I am vainly attempting to keep stable 🤣🤣
Macpac Men's Nitro Fleece Pullover & the OMM Core Hoody
Tested these garments for the past 6 months. Now, I don't leave home without one or the other in my pack.
Similar style of material. Macpac uses Polartec® Alpha® Direct & OMM PrimaLoft® ACTIVE. Both ultra-light insulating fabrics made for breathable warmth & pack-ability.
Weigh similar amounts too, 148g (large). I tend to utilize mainly as mid layer under an outer wind-shirt or as pull-on at rest stops.
The trail to the mountain!
Walking yesterday along the GR7 long distance path from Juviles to the town of Trevélez in the Sierra Nevada. Although the summits are out of view the mountain ahead is that of Mulhacén, highest mountain in mainland Spain 3482m
I'm a technology tinkerer. Not great at it, certainly not an expert, but I enjoy it. Time now to separate my adventures from my mountain/real life ones. The two don't really go together.
To that end I'm delighted to have set up a small instance for tech posts and related advances towards more dead ends 😀 !
All my tech ramblings from now on are at @dunc
New lithium batteries for our solar installation. Thanks to my mate Pepe for putting it all together. Need a few more solar panels now!
There are many ways the pilgrims made the journey to Santiago de Compostela. The most well known one is through northern Spain. However there are more. The Camino Mozarabe at 1450km is the longest. This runs from Almeria in the SE to Santiago in the NW of Spain.
Yesterday we did a short 15km section between the village of Dudar to Granada, ending up at the Alhambra Palace.
Expansive views to the Sierra de Huetor, Granada & of course the Sierra Nevada.
How Spain’s radically different approach to migration helped its economy soar
As immigration has increased, GDP has surged and unemployment has fallen to lowest level since 2008
As an immigrant since 2002 I have always been made to feel very welcome here. Thank you Spain.
My new boots have arrived & I'm like a little kid with a new toy!
I wanted a lightweight boot for late spring, early summer multi day treks. Had to be stiff enough to take a C1 crampon as I didn't want to rely on micro-spikes over the terrain I intend to travel (High Pyrenees & Dolomites)
Came across these "La Sportiva Trango Trk GTX's". Very lightweight, only 115 grams/boot more than my summer approach shoes with a semi stiff sole
A superb view of the main Sierra Nevada mountain range from the Sierra de Huetor to the north.
I've never had an Instagram account. Ever. So imagine my surprise when someone who has, sent me this link from the BBC iPlayer account. It's me! Taking Alan Carr on a via ferrata 😀
Maybe I should open an account? Nah, I like it here!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DF-qbvLoJCp/?igsh=MWlrYzA5dTUzcG8wYw==
More "enshittification". This time from Amazon. Amazon is pulling a Google, killing off popular services. Evidently, I have until 25th February to download my 708 books that I have purchased from them. After the 25th you can no longer download YOUR books for backup or transfer via USB
Good job I did this 2 years ago eh? Buy the books from elsewhere.
https://goodereader.com/blog/kindle/amazon-is-not-to-be-trusted-anymore-with-their-kindle-e-reader
So, last May, the BBC contacted us and asked us if we would be interested in leading UK "celebrity" Alan Carr on a Via Ferrata route outside of the town of Moclin. Of course, we said yes, although to be honest after 23 years outside the UK, I wasn't quite sure who indeed, Alan Carr was!
This short article describes our experiences working with Alan Carr and the BBC during the filming of "Amanda and Alan's Spanish job" (Episode 3) ... https://spanishhighs.com/articles/alan-carr-via-ferrata-spanish-job/
Whilst in the UK I took the opportunity to attend the Cicerone Press "Authors Day".
For those who don't know, Cicerone produce a series of the best to be found anywhere. Worldwide.
It was good to chat with fellow authors but there was a series of very interesting talks about demographic changes to the userbase, the new guide, what makes a good guidebook photo and also the future direction of the company regarding digitalization.
