in , ,

Southern Europe’s hidden trails

Rosario Pérez · Fotos: Fran Montes

Garry senderismo

Antonio Garrido’s “Garry” latest book discovers the most beautiful corners of the Los Arconocales natural park and the Estrecho natural park.

The Campo de Gibraltar is a paradise for hikers… but a paradise that is still unknown to many and hold many gems of nature; postcard scenes and breathtaking landscapes. Antonio Garrido’s ‘Garry’ latest book discovers the most beautiful corners of the Los Arconocales Natural Park and the Estrecho Natural Park.

Antonio Garrido ‘Garry’ knows a great deal about that. The well known sportsman and nature lover only very recently launched his latest book “Andar por el Campo de Gibraltar”, (Walking around the Campo de Gibraltar) a kind of guide for excursionists in which he describes trails for all tastes in detail. At the end of the day, says the author “to enjoy the country side you do not need to walk many kilometres”.

Garry senderismo
Garry senderismo

In 2014 Garrido published a similar book. His latest publication is 200 pages long with 800 images and introduces the reader to a further 19 routes.but how many routes suitable for hiking do we have in the Campo de Gibraltar? “In all I have provided information on some 100 trails, and I know that there are still more waiting to be discovered”.

Garrido, who started cultivating his passion for trail hiking some 18 years ago when an accident prevented him from mountain climbing, focuses his books on low to medium level trails of between 4 and 12 kilometres. “The aim is to get people who want to get out into the countryside to do so and not to be put off”.

He dedicates many pages to awareness and education on the need to respect the environment and leave the countryside in a good state … something which not everyone does. “That is one of the problems of social media, for example .. that it makes hiking known to people who do not love nature and who lack the basic civic awareness not to leave rubbish lying around”.

The most popular trails are those promoted by the Natural Parks such as ‘Río de la Miel’ in Algeciras, Valdeinfierno, the swamp at Charco Redondo and the Montera del Torero in Los Barrios; Guadalmesí in Tarifa….to which there have to be added those which have recently been “popularised” on the internet and which lack sufficient forestry management.

“People have now taken to the so-called Bosque de la Niebla, or the Bosque de las Hadas and which are nothing more than the well known Llanos del Juncal and that is causing some overcrowding during weekends which requires forestry supervision. I worry that that [supervision] is not in place”

The author has been assisted by renowned historians in the preparation of his book; people such as José Manuel Algarbani, Mario Ocaña and Ángel Sáez.

What do you think?