A Walk on the Wild Side

Santa Maria de Trassierra is one of the most common starting points for walks in the Sierra next to Cordoba. With lockdown restrictions limiting what people can do, there has been an increase in people escaping to the mountains for a day out. Most head to popular spots to the north-east of the village like Baños de Pompeya or Fuente de Elefante causing human traffic jams along the routes. So at the start of April I decided to take a walk through the less well-known part of the Sierra that lies to the south-west of the village.

I started from the Los Almendros restaurant, following signs for Rosal de las Escuelas. For the first couple of hundred metres the path is flanked by pricky pear cactus. Some of the pads were covered in a white cotton-like substance. When you pick it up and squeeze it, it turns red. This is actually a waxy fiber used by sucking insects called cochineal to protect them while they fed on the plant. Cochineal used to be one of the main sources of red dye until synthetic dyes were produced. However, these insects are still used today to give red colour to things such as cosmetics and foodstuffs.

After this first section there is a large field on the right. This is a good spot to stop and check out the birdlife. In winter Mistle Thurshes and Song Thrushes feed in the field and it is also a favourite haunt for groups of Hawfinches. Blackcaps and Sardinian Warblers can also be seen feeding in the shrubs.

Hawfinch

Here I came across some very strange looking flowers called the Andalusian Dutchman's Pipe. They are a type of vine and were growing in the shade of the cork oak trees.

Andalusian Dutchman's Pipe

As I continued Chaffinches flitted from tree to tree and Great Tits gave their distinctive 'teacher, teacher, teacher' call.   

Great Tit

The path descended slightly into a a shaded area with huge ancient oaks covered in moss. There is a gate here and to the right of it is the Fuente de la Marquesa, which once fed the Roman aqueduct Valdepuentes, bringing water to Medina Azahara. 

A Great Spotted Woodpecker called from a distance before coming into view and landing on a tree trunk. It climbed its way up using its claws to grip the tree and its stiff tail feathers for extra support.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

For the next 1200 metres I passed through a shaded area with Strawberry Trees and Lentisk (Pistacia lentiscus) until I reached the Guarroman Stream. Stopping for a drink I saw Short-toed Treecreepers, Sardinian Warblers and Robins.

Robin

Next I had to negotiate my way through a herd of cows before the path opened up again into dehesa with Holm Oaks. There is a small body of water on the left which is signposted as a fish farm. I heard Cuckoos calling and saw flashes of blue as Azure-winged Magpies took off as I approached. Passing a farm on the left I entered one of the most beautiful parts of the walk with meadows filled with spring flowers.

Spring time in the dehesa

Curious cows

Continuing on for another couple of kilometres I came to a crossroad. The path to the left takes you to the Pozo de las Cruces, whereas the track to the right brings you to the village of Santa Maria de Trassierra. However, I stayed on the CP-159 path for another 5 kilometres. The day was starting to heat up and the smell from the Gum Rockrose leaves filled the air. These sticky leaves are used to make essential oils and are used as a fixative in the production of perfumes.

Flower of the Gum Rockrose

11 kilometres from the start I came across a large Hacienda on my right and decided to stop for lunch in the shade of some trees. If I had carried on I would have eventually come out at Almodovar del Rio, but I decided to turn round and retrace my steps. This is a easy walk mostly on the flat and there are options of turning it into a circular walk. However, that would have meant walking along the road for a while from the village back to the restaurant. I managed to avoid the crowds of people, only seeing two other walkers and a few cyclists all day. 

The Guadalora Stream

March in Cordoba this year brought unseasonably warm weather. It was a great time to get out into the countryside before it got unbearably hot and I was rewarded with fantastic meadows filled with wild flowers and the first of the migrants arriving from Africa. I headed to the Parque Natural Sierra de Hornachuelos to do a signposted walk that passes along the Guadalora stream, the source of which is near San Calixto. This path requires permission from the visitor centre and is closed from June to September. At the end of this route I joined the Sendero del Aguila which took me back to my starting point.

From the visitor centre I started along the Rabilarga path. The riparian woodland here is a good place to look out for Lesser and Great Spotted Woodpeckers and other typical woodland species such as Great Tits and Blue Tits.

Great Spotted Woodpecker 

Once I joined the Guadalora path I passed through beautiful Cork-Oak forest home to Nuthatches, Crested Tits and Chaffinches. 

Nuthatch

This soon gave way to open countryside with Crested Larks and Corn Buntings giving their jangle call from their perches. After a while the path went back into Holm Oak and Cork Oak woodland for a short section before coming out into farmland. Here I walked along the side of olive groves and meadows filled with bright red poppies, yellow Camomiles and butterflies such as Painted Lady and Swallowtail. Next I arrived at a spring called Fuente del Conejo. Hoopoes took flight, their wave-like wingbeats showing their broad back and white wings. This was a good spot to find newly arrived Subalpine Warblers bathing in the pond. 

Subalpine Warbler drying off after bathing

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Swallowtail

Further on the track I passed through a gate and a tunnel of overarching vegetation. Along the side of the path wild lavender was in abundance and I found various species of orchid, such the brilliantly named Naked Man Orchid.

Naked Man Orchid

Eventually I came to a look out point which offered great views of the surrounding area before the path descended through mixed Mediterranean scrub towards the stream. The silence of the Sierra was only broken by the harsh rattling call of Sardinian Warblers. 

Views of the Sierra de Hornachuelos

When I reached the stream itself I crossed it at the ford and then followed the track alongside the gently flowing water. This part of the walk was shaded offering protection from the spring sun. Robins and Blackcaps could be seen feeding in the shrubs and the European Nettle Trees. 

Robin

Hawfinches and Cirl Buntings were seen here too and it is a good area for Golden Orioles later in the year. 

Hawfinch

After a while the track crossed the stream again and I looked for dragonflies, Iberian Water Frogs and Viperine Snakes in the pools of water. 

Iberian Water Frog

Before the end of the path I came to an old quarry and looking upwards saw soaring Griffon Vultures. The end of the Guadolara track is at the Puente de La Esira and here I crossed the road and joined the Sendero del Aguila which rises up through Cork Oak woods, where I saw groups of Azure-winged Magpies. After a steep ascent I stopped at a look out point for lunch and watched Red-rumped Swallows feeding above the trees. After some time the path skirted around the edge of the village of Hornachuelos, where I saw Green Woodpeckers and Crested Larks, and then headed back into Mediterranean shrub which led me back to the visitor centre. In total it was about 22 kilometres through some of the most beautiful and unspoilt parts of the Sierra Morena. 

Guadalora Stream