"Appreciated your knowledge beyond merely the viewing of flowers,birds and animals and willingness to give additional information"
D.J Hides, Sheffield, UK
D.J Hides, Sheffield, UK
 |
| Woodchat shrike (Lanius senator) Alcaudón común |
"I thoroughly enjoyed the trip - for us as novices and not being particularly fit, the level of difficulty was just right. You were aware of our needs and were able to guide us to some lovely spots, improving our knowledge step-by-step , rather than confusing us with too much detailed birding info".
L and B. M., Littlehampton, U.K.
"I would like to thank you again for the lovely hike you organised for us!
I was afraid the hike would get drowned in that bad weather, but I had a lovely day thanks to your guidance.
Great panoramic views in the sun, a herd of ibex within the first 5 minutes - thanks for pointing them out Eva I would not have spotted them myself...
And the walk was enriched by the stories and explanations you gave us, plus the good advice about the tapas - thank you Tony!" Fédérique Harmsze, Holland
WHY USE A GUIDE ON YOUR WALKS?
Andalucían landscapes and wildlife have been bringing pleasure to visitors for decades. South of Spain and especially interior Andalucia holds many wonders and surprises. The "real Spain" as many of my customers say, has little to do with beach resorts or whirlwind tours of Andalucían cities.
The "pueblo blancos" where time seems to slow down, the open fields, cork-oak forests where cork is harvested by hand and carried by donkeys, the fields of wildflowers and finally the mountains are the places that one finds hard to forget and sometimes hard to leave.
During my 15 years of walking in Andalucía I have come to the conclusion that being at one with nature (not at two with nature as Woody Allen once said) while walking is more important to majority of visitors to Spain, instead of just covering the kilometers and hiking as a sport.
How can this be achieved? A good guidebook and a map is a start. There also are excellent publications about wildlife in Spain which you can read before and during your visit and get to know the European Bee-eater or the Sawfly Orchid. Then you pick your walk, take your time to look at the landscapes and enjoy the feeling of being outside, listening, smelling and looking at new things.
Where do I come in as a guide then, you may ask. Anyone who has walked in Andalucía will know that although there are walks which have no navigational issues and are well marked with clear paths, there are hundreds of wonderful routes which are not available in English and are not waymarked. These also tend to be the more isolated walks where it is much easier to be "at one with nature" and not meet another bipedal creature for miles.
Guides who lead nature walks have their favourite spots and know where to expect a certain bird, plant or a mammal which makes seeing something special much more likely.
Not having to worry about navigation take away the slight unease anyone feels when being in unknown territory. No chance of getting lost will help you plan your day - you won´t be late for dinner.
No need to carry lots of equipment, guidebooks, map or GPS - your hands and your mind will be free to take photographs or to just "be".
All the questions you´ve always had about Andalucía can be answered: how often is the cork tree stripped? What exactly is the process of curing Spanish serrano ham? How many kinds of "gazpacho" are there? Do Griffon vultures eat an occasional rabbit or a small hiker? What is that red fruit on the tree?
And finally: sharing nature is a pleasure. It´s contageous and it´s exhilarating, it´s healthy and it´s worthwile, no matter what your age or nationality, it´s a common language possibly easiest to learn. Let´s meet in the fields and the mountains to speak this special language and enjoy the day.
For practical information please scroll to the top and follow the links on the right.
 |
| Your guide |
