El Morche ... ka haere ki te mokemoke o nga maunga

In El Morche, countless green wild parakeets fly around. Whole colonies live here in the trees. Together with Micha and Dani, whom we don't want to part with, we settle in the sleepy town for 2 days and sit out the storm, stroll along the promenade and explore the area. The sea throws loud big waves ashore.

Behind Torre del Mar we find another great sandy beach with free parking. Here we discover the great 'big brother' of our Hummel. Painted in colorful colors, it stands on the beach. What a sight. The waves crash loudly that night, the parakeets screech, and our vans wobble in the wind.

Our old friend Paul, whom we met in the Peloponnese in 2019, gets in touch. He happens to be with friends nearby in the hinterland in the mountains. Into the car, crawl up the winding serpentines through the mountains and a short time later we stand as a wagon train with 5 vans at the reservoir together in the mountains. The joy is great when we see each other again. In the evening we all sit together by the campfire for a long time and listen to the sounds of guitars. As a highlight, Dani gets her cello out and she plays a little concert for us. The sound of the cello and the crackling of the campfire give us goosebumps. This moment will always remain in our memory.

A Spaniard comes by the next morning and gives us freshly picked wild green asparagus that only grows up here in the mountains. That will be our dinner tonight.

We explore the magnificent area of the Casasolastaudamms, walk through the river bed, climb over the rocks like goats, and are thrilled by the great landscape and the silence of the mountains. After such a long time by the sea, surrounded by many many people, we enjoy the solitude up here very much. Wild thyme grows everywhere. I make a tea against my cough with it. The almond trees are in full bloom and more and more birds chirp in the trees. Lavender, mint, and other herbs grow all around us. Spring is arriving.

Together with Dani and Micha, we continue further into the beautiful mountains of Andalusia. In the remote mountain town of Antequerra, we do our laundry in the laundromat and stroll through the great city with its countless old buildings. After a stormy night, we drive, defying the storm, into the La Torcal nature reserve. In icy wind, we hike through the bizarre rock formations and can't stop marveling. Over the millennia, the most amazing rock formations have been created here. Frozen but happy, we drive in the afternoon on a fantastic mountain road with magnificent views into the mountains and valleys back to the reservoir to our friends Paul, Jo, Dan, and Leah.

The day has come. Our Swiss friends Micha and Dani have to start on the long journey back home. They have appointments at home. It is hard for us to say goodbye. We have grown very fond of the two. But we are sure that we will see them again at their home in the beautiful Emmental.

We stay here in the peaceful mountains with the other nice people here for a few more days before we continue our journey towards Cadiz and Tarifa.....