A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to spend a few hours in a place that I really like. We have visited these mountains many times when they were closer to us. I admit that the ending part of the last sentence doesn't sound good... because the mountains haven't moved from their place, but we did move to another region. You know that saying - if the mountain won't come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain... well, I will take just its literal meaning. We must go to the mountain if we want to spend some time there! 😂
Sierra de Aitana (Aitana mountain) is the place where we used to find tranquillity and refreshment on hot summer days, snow in winter (not every year though), a freshwater spring from which we take water, and hiking trails from which you can see the whole region under your feet, up to the sea.
Taking advantage of the fact that we had to wait our turn at the spring (there were two people filling their bottles and the water from the spring flowed very slowly), we had time to take a walk. It took them an hour and a half or more to finish. Of course, I wouldn't just wait there; I preferred to wander around nature.
When you do that (walk there), you have two options. Take the asphalted road (until it finishes 😂) or the forest trails. Both have their good sides and flaws. The asphalted one - you don't have the 100% feeling you are in the wilderness, but it is more comfortable to walk on these roads.
And the forest trails!? There is much more pleasure to be in direct contact with the ground, with vegetation and feel the steep slopes in some parts, but you have to be much more careful not to fall. And you might get lost if the paths are not marked... or meet hunters! (try not to look like a rabbit, quail, wild boar or fox, for your own safety. 😂)
At first glance, the vegetation is quite monotonous, but if you look closer, you will see that it is a bit more diverse. Yes, the predominant species are conifers, evergreen trees that look almost the same in winter and summer. But there are also fruit trees such as olives and almonds, which have started to bloom at that time.
Blooming almond:
A few other almond trees didn't have luck. I think they dried up, or were attacked by some plague, I am not sure but they don't look like they would have fresh green leaves, buds and flowers this year.
The green you see around the trees is a creeper plant, using the dead/dried up tree as a host.
Although this walk happened in January, there were still some signs of the past autumn... some red leaves that didn't fall from their branches.
But that same day, I saw some heralds of spring, many little daisies growing between the grass and rocks. It was like two or three seasons mixed in one day and one place. 🙃
In this post, we have more of these contrasting things, for example, these dry seeds...
... and the freshness of the moss:
Or the daisies, some of them are behind the chain-wire fence...
... and others are "free".
Since every walk should have an end, this one has reached that point too. One of those forest paths brought me to the end of the road, and so my post, which had some contrasting things, will finish here.
Oh, wait! Here comes another view from this walk, and now indeed - the end! :))
