Andalusia

Sun, beach and mountains: Andalusia

Spain has 17 autonomous regions one of which is Andalusia in the south of Spain. Andalusia comprises of 8 provinces 5 of which are on the see and 3 are inland. The capital of Andalusia is Seville, the largest part of the Andalusia coast is called La Costa del Sol to which Malaga and other well-known seaside towns like Marbella, Nerja, Torrox, Torremolinos and Fuengirola belong.

Andalusia is about 87.500 km2 large and has about 8.400.000 inhabitants.

Andalusia is full of sites such as the Alhambra, one of the worlds most visited monuments.

A region within Andalusia is the Axarquía, this is where Nerja and Torrox are located, also the location of our apartment complex. La Axarquía comes from the Arabian "sharq" oriental, later extended to "sharquiyya". The Axarquía comprises of 31 villages located on the Costa del Sol or in the amazing natural park "La Sierra de Almijara".

Culture

Amongst the culture in Andalusia we find:

• Flamenco, dance and song accompanied by a rhythmic taping of the audience with: ones knuckles on the table, a stick on the floor, snapping ones fingers (pitas) or clapping (palmas), normally also accompanied by a Spanish guitar. Visit the annual flamenco contest in Torrox. More info here.
• Bull Fighting, a traditional Spanish sport that has been in the media the last couple of years due to the various opinions of pro and anti-audience. Proponents argue that it is an century old tradition that should be continued, the opponents are opposed to the unnecessary suffering of the bulls. Despite all the commotion the bullfights are still visited by many, large and small. The most famous bull fighting arenas are the ones in Seville and Ronda.
• Sherry, brewed in Jerez, dating from the Phoenician era, later continued by the romans and after them the Moors. The later traded sherry wine mostly to Holland. The taste of the sherry is mostly from the land, the soil in the area of Jerez de la Frontera contains a lot of chalk giving this different taste to the grapes.

Nature

There are numerous natural pars in Andalusia, some of which are protected. Some of the better known are: La Sierra de las Nieves (Malaga) , Sierra Nevada (Granada), la Sierra de Almijara (Nerja), Parque Doñana (Huelva), Montes de Malaga (Malaga), the Desert of the "Tabernas" (Almeria).

The taberna desert in Almeria is seen as the only desert in Europe. This area has been the set for many movies, mainly westerns, such as "For a few Dollars More", "The Good the Bad and the Ugly", and Indiana Jones movies.

The highest point in Andalusia is the "Mulhacen" peaking at 3.481 meters, and is located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, also one of the largest skiing areas of Spain
The fauna and flora in Andalusia is very divers, from green forests to bare mountain tops, pine trees, may types of flowers, wild asparagus, olive trees, almond trees, etc. Many animal species such as the eagle, vulture, fox, wild boar, mountain goats, reptiles such as snakes and the chameleon live in the 44.500km2 of forested areas of Andalusia.

The Axarquía

The hills behind Torre del Mar, Torrox and Nerja make up the pretty upland region of the Axarquía.

Axarquía municipals

Consisting of 31 municipals from small white villages that have barely changed in the passing of the years such as Càºtar, Salares and árchez, with its Moorish architecture and its Roman, Arab and Christian remnants; through to its historical monumental onsets of Vélez Málaga; to the modern and open Cosmopolitan tourists centers such as Nerja, Torrox , Rincón de la Victoria and Torre del Mar.

Its climate

Protected by its mountain range from the cold interior winds, and its proximity to the Mediterranean as a temperature regulator as well as the numerous hours of sun exposure make the Axarquía a temperate climate strip nominated as the "Mediterranean climate", its definition meaning that the differences between the winter and summer climates are slight.

Its nature

The barrier formed by the sierras de Alhama, Tejeda and Almijara, make up the division with the province of Granada until it ends in the sea with cliffs and coves of extreme beauty.
The highest point in the region would be La Maroma (2.065 m) already in Granada province, precisely on the boundary.
There is a very divers vegetation and fauna with various types of shrubs, depending on the level and the degradation of the land. In the more degraded areas we find vegetation such as thyme and esparto. There where the land is deeper we find taller bushes and pines. From 1,700 m onwards the vegetation comprises of thorny bushes also known as "asiento de monja" (nuns seat).

The fauna in this area is very rich in its species. Within the group of invertebrates we find a large number of the same species that are unique to this area. Frogs and toads take advantage of sources provided such as large puddles and natural ponds to reproduce. It is very common to see eagles and hawks fly over the mountain range. Besides we mustn't forget the presence of mammals such as the fox, the weasel and the mountain goat

 

Interesting links

» Official Andalusia tourism website.

» Official Axarquia tourism website

» Andalusia @ Wikipedia