Hiking, new trails and a viewpoint overlooking the sky beyond the sun 📷 Málaga – Spain

Green spaces, woodland parks and botanical gardens are like giant lungs that breathe life into every human being, and visiting them transforms a simple walk into a sublime and extraordinary experience.

I haven’t yet managed to explore any of the city’s woodland parks in their entirety; each one covers so many hectares that it’s impossible to do so in a single day, and my eagerness to discover and explore them is immense, but I recognise that it’s better to appreciate one path at a time, just like life itself. What’s more, there are many other natural spots I haven’t yet visited, which I hope to see very soon. As I always say, this is a city that expands as I explore it, and I am increasingly certain of it: it is endless.

A while ago I discovered a new forest park, which I visited with my mother a few days before she had an operation on her eye. How things change when you can’t be there; life is sadder. I promised myself I’d return, though exploring new paths, once she’d had the operation and could see the colours and clarity and experience it in a different way, and I did.

The universe has blessed me with very good eyesight and hearing, so for me it’s normal to see a multitude of colours, their intensity, their brilliance, and also to hear the birds, the water running, the crunch of leaves under my feet, but not everyone can. So a few days ago I planned a new hiking route, consulting my friend, Google Maps. And whilst researching, I found there was a high-up area that isn’t marked as a viewpoint, but which seemed like a good opportunity to explore new paths.

Of course, I took my mum with me; it was a family outing, and my brother joined us too. The experience was incredible. My mum could see the edges of the leaves, the shades of green, their intensity, the different colours, and all the earth tones ranging from light browns to reddish hues. All the city’s forest parks have them.

A sign on this new path mentioned the nature trails and described the route I took on my first visit, but expanded on the text to also mention those paths that aren’t tarmac, but are dirt tracks, which I walked along this time, even passing through areas where they were working with forestry machinery to remove dead trees and reforest. This is an activity that never stops in these places, and I love that it’s that way.

On my walk, I was able to see the species mentioned on the sign, such as wild olive, eucalyptus, Aleppo pine, common in all the Parks, thuja, bolina and carob. And although I didn’t see any large lizards, I did spot a small one that quickly disappeared from view, vanishing among the plants. Despite the heat, I managed to avoid seeing any snakes, which was a relief, even though they say they aren’t dangerous.

There were blackbirds and sparrows all along the route, and when I reached a rest area with benches for a quick picnic, drinking mate with apple cake with my family, I could watch the squirrels running from tree to tree. They’re so cute.

Meanwhile, along the way, I was paying close attention to my mother’s experience. For me, the encounter with silence, peace and mental relaxation is what I seek, as well as physical exercise and a deep connection with nature. But her case is different; she had been there before and now she saw everything differently and was in awe. Of course, you can’t cover 11 hectares in a few hours, let alone whilst resting; there’s still a long way to go, but nature is so wonderful that in this case I thought about how much it’s worth seeing it and experiencing it fully with all it has to offer.

For most of the walk, there was plenty of sunshine; indeed, it filtered through the trees and the few clouds in the sky, but as time went on, I thought I could see a storm approaching from the north. It is very rare for it to rain in the city, both in the month before summer and during the summer itself. In fact, in the eight years I have been here, it has not rained in any summer.

I saw the clouds gathering, looking quite dark, from the north, but I had planned to go to that spot up high that looked like an unmarked viewpoint; I didn’t want to miss it, and I didn’t.

I made my way round the areas where the machinery the council was using to reforest the site was operating, they were even clearing new paths, and as there was no one there at the time, I headed for the spot I’d marked on the map, and this is what I saw: yet another marvel.

The views from this spot didn’t face the sea as on the previous occasion, but rather the western part of the city, and it was so high up that I could see the mountains surrounding the whole city in that area. I took in everything around me, and there were no sounds there anymore, just the distant chirping of birds and the breeze carrying the scent of rain, a smell I love.

I zoomed in a few times to get a closer look at those landscapes, it was incredible.

Then, as it looked like rain was on the way, I decided to head back, not for my own sake but for my mother’s, who had stayed behind on a bench to rest.

It was a wonderful shared experience, an unforgettable one, because whilst there will be other moments, there will never be another first time out in nature witnessing its magnificence.

Thank you all for joining me today; I send you my warmest regards. See you soon.
Amonet.