16th – 20th – The Iberian Lynxn’t

The following morning at 0915 I was picked up by a guide, and after picking up a Norwegian pair elsewhere in Malaga we were off on a 3-hour drive north past Cordoba and east to Andújar. Arriving at around mid-day we grabbed lunch packs and went on. 

 Fox.

The goal for the next four days was to find the Iberian lynx which roams the area. There isn’t a national park where you have to register somewhere and enter the area; instead the natural park Sierra de Andújar north of Andújar is protected and otherwise freely accessible by public roads. It is worth noting that the roads around here are mostly gravel and very windy so unless you are coming here to look for lynx (or any other wildlife) you wouldn’t venture into these parts. There are places where chances to see them are higher than others, so there are parts of the roads where you see cars parked with people carrying cameras around looking out into the landscape. These places were mostly places you have a good view of rock formations where the lynx comes by to rest on, or view points covering a large open area where you’ll be able to spot the lynx even from a long distance. It is worth noting that the large open area is still hilly and full of shrubs, bushes and trees so seeing a lynx is still very much depending on luck and timing. Especially also because their territories are fairly large and there will only be one mail and (maybe) one female in each. So the density is very low in a hard-to-see environment. Good luck!

Having picked up lunch we drove for another hour or so along windy roads before reaching the area to spot the lynx. The procedure was such that we found a place, left the vehicle and walked along the road for a bit seeing if anything interesting would appear. An hour or two later we would return to the car, drive somewhere else and repeat. Maybe confer with other camera-carrying people to hear if they had spotted anything (they hadn’t) before continuing the slow wander or silent watching of the landscape.

Red robin.

When it started getting dark we returned to Andújar and checked in at our hotel. The hotel was owned and run by a couple and we received a very warm welcome on arrival and we were soon seated in their basement previously used to storing wine and olive oil where we every evening were served a 3-course dinner. It was delicious including the wine and local olive oil and the atmosphere was warm and cozy. Breakfasts were also served here, being more of a buffet with the usual cereals, yoghurts, breads, danishes and cakes and eggs. Being very early in the lynx season and not summer (lynx season is mainly January) there were only a few other people staying at the hotel so it never felt crowded having our meals in an otherwise slightly limited space.

Common redstart.

Armed with our lunch packs we left in the early morning while it was still cold and dark, so when we arrived at the lookout points the sun had come out and we could get the most use of the light. So today – Tuesday – we stayed around the rocks and lookout points; spending the early morning at the rocks and later we moved on to get a wider view where also quite a few others had positioned themselves. And suddenly there was a yelp from one of the others, and far out in the distance, walking up a hill away from us a lonely lynx was moving. And a few seconds later it was gone. That was it. We were looking eagerly into the distance where it had disappeared, but it was completely out of sight again. And the rest of the day was spent looking without finding anything.

One far-away lynx-butt being presented to the photographers. 

Iberian ibex.

The following day we went to the Encinarejo reservoir as lynx sometimes is spotted there and the chance of seeing otters. There were no lynxes (surprise) but a few otters swimming around in the lake and plenty of birds. We also visited La Lancha, the town where people lived when the damn was built at the reservoir, now a ghost town. Walking around and sitting having lunch we were met by a small group of Iberian ibex, something that isn’t guaranteed at all so we had that going for us. In the afternoon we returned to the usual overlooked area, and meeting some of the other people there we were informed that they saw two lynx in the morning and could follow them for almost 45 minutes crossing the road and wandering around in the open. I was genuinely happy for them but... damn.

Kingfisher.

 

Otter.

The last day we spent the morning back at the usual lookout points with out seeing much. While the mornings and evenings had been chilly the middays and afternoons reached above 20 degrees with very little clouds so it got very warm. Around 11 this morning it started raining and we decided that it was the signal for us to pack up and return to Malaga. With lunch along the way we retuned in the afternoon, dropping off the Norwegians and then me, saying goodbye to our excellent guide promising him that I’ll be back some day to have another go at seeing the lynx.

On the lookout.

Dinner was had near the hotel, checked out the following morning, took the train from the nearby station to the airport, checked in and flew home without a single issue.

 

 Out there, somewhere, there's a lynx.

I enjoyed the trip, despite not seeing much of the lynx. Not having visited Malaga before this trip was new to me, and despite the downpour on the first day the weather was excellent to walk around the city. A couple of colleagues also did the run so meeting up with them on the Sunday evening was nice – especially because I take joy in the fact that I was far from the sorest from the run. And funny enough I don’t feel too bummed about not really seeing much of the lynx; I assume it was/is a combination of the ease of returning (don’t have to go far like to India or similar), the tour was cheap and probably also because I just needed some time off and away from work, so even staring idly at some rocks for the 4 days out of the city would have felt rewarding. In any case, I feel that I may be back at some point for another attempt.

Full album can be seen here.

15th – Malaga marathon

The marathon was to start at 0830 and the starting corrals would be opened 0745-0815. Staying at a hotel overlooking the starting area leaving at 0730 I was in very good time. On time we started flowing into our designated corrals, and at around 0800 the pacers starting entering, and “my” pacers (4:00) took up position in the back of the starting group. Perfect – as long as I keep them behind me I’ll be fine. 20 minutes later all pacers moved ahead and positioned themselves from the rear to the front of their starting groups. WTF? As a registered 3:55 finisher this was very confusing and I was far from the only runner being confused by this.

The front group (elites etc.) were sent off on time and a few moments later the rest were sent off in a steady flow and 6 minutes after the start I crossed the starting line. There was a fair amount of variation in the width of the streets during the run, even in the beginning which is arguable the most critical part due to the congestion of the runners. With great difficulty it took maybe 5km before I managed to pass the 4:00 pacers and put a bit of distance to them – together with several other runners.

The start was at a comfy 8-ish degrees with only a few clouds and a breeze so very comfortable running conditions. We started off westward where we circled through a bit of the central part of the city (though not the old part) before coming out to the waterfront in the opposite direction of the start, where we after a few kilometers reached the waterfront area near my hotel and turned out towards the cruise terminal. Here we circled back (not really any other option out there unless you want to go swimming), returned the same way back and continued eastward before we once again circled around and ended up near the starting area hitting the halfway point of the run.

At this point we were split in two; half marathoners were led into their finishing area while the rest of us were led out westward, along the same street we were on before turning out towards the cruise terminal. At around 28km we turned away from the water and ran around in what mostly looked like an industrial area until at 30km exactly we entered Malaga Athletic Stadium where we did a round before leaving again and continuing through the industrial area and towards the city center.

With maybe 4-5km left we reached the east side of Rio Guadalmedina north of the center, and from there we entered the old city, in the end getting back out on the main street and after 800 m crossing the finish line.

Along the way the weather did get a bit warmer reaching around 13-15 degrees, but fortunately it never reached the same humidity levels as yesterday. From the halfway point the streets still varied between nice and wide, and fairly narrow with sharp turns, but with only marathoners left if wasn’t really ever a problem at this point. I was honestly surprised how little support there was for much of the run, the last 3-ish km when we were running through the old part of the city were wild, but other than that there were only few places you felt blown away. Running in the industrial area and on the long stretches along the water (we weren’t even that close to the water so it would probably be more accurate to say “parallel with the shore”) it was almost just you and the other runners and it honestly did make it feel a bit uninspiring and boring at times. 

 

The last few kilometers through the central part of the city.

There was a girl the last 10-ish km who was switching between running and walking. When she was walking I was passing her, and when she was running she was passing me, and like that we leapfrogged along during the last part of the run. Because we were passing each other every 2-3 minutes it was easy to keep track of her: she had fairly thick thighs that rubbed against each other and wearing very short tights. At the hem of her tights, due to the rubbing (and the presence of sweat probably didn’t help, either) she was wearing herself raw. For every pass we made just a bit more blood had spread out on her tights and thighs. I can’t imagine how sore and itchy she has been, but she kept going and didn’t show any signs of wanting to give up. And that was amazing. If you’re not bleeding during a run are you really having a hard time?

As usual I was aiming for a sub-4 hour run and at no point was I worried that the goal would be endangered. I did note around 30-32km that I should probably keep an eye on my pace and make sure that I didn’t slow down much more until closer to the finish line – and I managed that with great(-ish) success: an official finish time of 3:58:14. I did lose quite a bit of time towards the end while hunkering down and focusing on my pace, trying to ignore the many runners overtaking me, but at this point it felt like it was pure routine that got me through with the satisfactory result.

It turned out to be a fairly fast run though the time limit for the run is only 5:30, the shortest I have experienced so far. That meant that out of 5748 runners (which meant that there were more than 9000 halfmarathoners) I came in as 3691 (top 64,21%), 3185 out of 4625 men (top 68,86%) and 464 out of 622 in my age group (top 74,60%). Definitely not a good relative placement despite my time being in the same neighbourhood as many other of my runs (second worst overall placement only behind Boston at 69,79%) but overall I was happy with my result. And as an added bonus, as the finish area was the same as the starting area I only had a few minutes’ walk to get back to my hotel.

12th – 14th of December – Welcome to Costa del Downpour

The plan was originally to fly out on the 12th early morning directly to Malaga, but a few weeks after booking my flights I was informed that my flight to Malaga had been cancelled and I was moved to a departure on the 10th instead. With a bit of back and forth with the airline I ended up getting a ticket on the 11th in the evening – to Stockholm and on the following morning I would then get a connection to Malaga at 0600. Easy! Having to get up at 0330 to catch a flight should be illegal, but otherwise the trip to Malaga went without a hitch.

We arrived in Malaga a few minutes ahead of schedule and were met with pouring rain. I collected my bag, walked outside and managed to find a covered spot while waiting for the airport bus to get to the city. Getting onto the bus all the windows instantly misted over as everyone, even those that managed to only be in the rain for a few moments to get to the bus, were completely drenched and thereby humidified the entire bus. Luckily the bus’s last stop was a short 5 minute walk from my hotel, so I managed to get there without completely drowning a few minutes before noon. Official check-in time was at 1400, but fortunately they already had a room ready for me so I was able to check in early.

Sitting in my room looking out at the rain I realized that despite napping on the flight I was completely exhausted and couldn’t muster the energy to go out and dressing to handle the weather. So I waited. And waited. It wasn’t until around 1800 there was a break in the rain for more than 5 minutes, and at around 1830 when it was still dry I got my stuff and went for a walk. I wandered down to the harbor front a few minutes away checking out the restaurants before turning around and going up to the central old part of the city that turned out to be filled with restaurants. I found a place and was seated outdoors under a tarp with a plate of paella. And maybe half an hour of sitting there we got a couple of extra buckets of rain but at least I stayed dry while eating and seeing people running around trying to find cover. Fortunately it didn’t last too long and had stopped when I had finished eating and left the restaurant. But the temperatures had dropped quite significantly since I had arrived so I decided to just head back to the hotel.

Pathways at Alcazaba.

 

The following day I went down to the runner’s expo at the cruise terminal and picked up my kit for the brunch run and marathon. I successfully managed to changed my L shirt to an XL – the shirts were quite smaller sizes than I had expected, relatively to the sizes you were handed for the Valencia half.

View of the old part of the city from Gibralfaro castle.

From the cruise terminal I left the harbor area and walked up to the Gibralfaro castle which gave some nice views of the city and surrounding areas despite some dark low-hanging clouds around the nearby mountains. The castle itself was ok – it isn’t much more than a slightly bent rectangular shaped outer wall with the occasional tower so after the walk along the walls there wasn’t much else to see. It does sound a bit boring but the views you had from up there were quite nice. From there I descended to the central part and entered the Alcazaba, another castle further down and closer to the harbor. The two are connected originally – and still are with the walls going all the way – but the ground conditions between the two are so poor that you have to visit them separately. While Gibralfaro didn’t have much to see, Alcazaba was significantly more interesting to walk around in. There were a lot of different buildings, narrow walkways and gardens so it was fairly easy to get confused about where you were in the moment. It wasn’t much of an issue, though, as there was plenty to look at, and only paying €5,5 for a double ticket it was hard being unhappy with the experience.

Alcazaba with the roman theater outside.

I spent the remainder of the day walking around in the area before getting dinner. Following this I wandered around enjoying the Christmas lighting and having a walk up to the castle to see mostly the harbor area by night.

 Two towers in Malaga.

 

Christmas lighting.

The following morning at 1030 I left for the cruise terminal where the brunch run would start at 1100. A short 4,5km run along the harbor front back and forth was a nice shakeout but at this time of day it had gotten quite warm and humid, and it made me worry that the end of the marathon tomorrow would be as bad (relatively speaking). Crossing the finishing line we got a banana and a bottle of water. Amazing brunch! Too be clear; I don’t expect a complete buffet but calling it a brunch run you can’t not get some kind of expectation – otherwise why not just call it a morning or shakeout run? I remember the end of the Berlin and Paris breakfast runs, and especially the latter’s challenge wasn’t completing the run but rather balancing all the stuff you were handed afterwards without dropping anything. 

Returning to the hotel I went out for a short walk, intentionally staying outside of the old part of the city, but honestly those areas didn’t seem particularly interesting. I definitely preferred walking around in the old part. Dinner was had at the water front near the hotel so it was quick and easy to get done and return to the hotel afterwards.