Spring in Southern España

By: Nick Greece

By KAVU

May 21^st, 2024

Have you ever considered going to the Southernmost part of Spain in the Spring?

No?

Well, it should be HIGH up on your list.

I am not sure there is a more bucolic setting in all the whole wide world. Every direction one looks once you leave the beautiful coastal cities is reminiscent of an impressionist painting filled with beautiful wild flowers, magical looking towns painted white to fend of the summer heat, and symmetrically appealing olive rows as far as the eye can see.

Within a three-hour drive one can visit the Alhambra in Granada, the fish markets of Cadiz, the kite surfing mecca of Tarifa, the Picasso Museum in Malaga, and the Michelin stared restaurants and stunning old town of Seville. I was there for a paragliding competition, and low and behold the area has some of the best flying in the world at that time of year also!

What I love about traveling to participate in a passion is you get to enjoy new places with amazing people.

One can fly into Malaga or Seville and from there the adventure awaits and is all close by.

Flying into Malaga, there are a host of Airbnb’s and hotels to stave off the jet lag. Visit Picasso’s hometown and his museum after having a fantastic lunch in the old part of the city. We dined at Beluga, but any of the restaurants on this list will give you a taste of what modern Malagan dining scene is all about.

Heading into the hills and towards the northwest begins the Routa De Pueblos Blancos, or the Route of the White Towns. Rhonda is the biggest, with a massive bridge that has restaurants surrounding it to have a coffee and marvel at the magnificence of it's historic engineering.

After Rhonda head to Zahare, and stay high above the valley in a wonderful village, where you can take tandem paragliding flights the next day from one of the many established schools in Algonodales just down the hill.

After a few nights in Zahare, head back to the coast to Cadiz to enjoy a small historic city that is full of incredibly fresh seafood and quaint streets to roam.

Side trips from here are kite surfing in Tarifa and visiting the famous Alhambra in Grenada which is just 2 hours away.

The weather at the competition did not cooperate as we only got two days of racing, but KAVU days prevailed and we were able to hang out with old friends in new places, and scored by being in one of the coolest parts of the world together.