Sierra de Grazalema

The hills around the Simancón mountain are rocky. Nonetheless, they seem to be teeming with life. The air is still chilly and the sun has barely risen above the horizon, casting long shadows onto the plains in the far west below. However, the clear sky already signals that temperatures will soon increase dramatically. We pass a lonely toad sitting in the middle of the narrow trail – it looks so wise it might just have the answer to any tough question we could come up with. Delicate flowers crane their necks in curiosity, marbled whites flutter between light and shadow, and a Black Redstart points us the way to the top. At lower altitudes groups of trees spent shade, but higher up the sun shines relentlessly and life seems to be withdrawn from the landscape more and more. Only a few chamois trudge along the ridges as if they are looking forward to an afterlife. The Sierra de Grazalema, a place I will gladly revisit.