NATURE sneaks up on me year after year. I think I've got it all figured out (at least more or less) and understand the cycles and patterns in the flow of life in the mountains around us. Then, every year I am put in my place yet again by things that I didn't expect or had half forgotten about.

SUMMER is here in the south of Spain. The weather will soon be too hot for very long strenuous walks but that doesn´t mean that nature escapades have to stop. How about spending a couple of hours in a beautiful spot near the river, or on a mountain meadow where you can “play Gulliver”, looking at the Lilliput world of insects?

I AM the first person to admit that glorious, blue sky days make me deliriously happy. This is what we all expect here in Andalucía: cloudless sunny days. They should be followed by a glass of something interesting by the pool at sunset. The tourist industry: hotels, restaurants and guides like myself are all weather-dependant. But, well, yes, there is a “but”.

THERE are many excellent books on walking savvy and navigating, my favourite one published in English being “The Natural Navigator”by Tristan Gooley, available on www.amazon.co.uk, and in Spanish the excellent “Manual del Buen Montañero” by Daniel Villalta Lozano, recently published by Editorial La Serranía,   www.laserrania.org.

However, I would like to focus on a few simple things that are so easily forgotten when walking in a foreign country where the language, walking customs and terrain can be different from what you are accustomed to at home.

IT'S a bit of a hike from the Cortes de la Frontera-Benaoján road to the Colmenar train station. It is a quiet March day and I am supposed to be researching a couple of paths today, measuring the time, distance and elevation, being scientific and efficient. Preferably I should not miss the train back to Benaoján either. I´ve got my boots, the GPS and the GWS (Giant Walker´s Super-snack).