HIGH SIERRAS
Algodonales Paragliding Centre
B H P A Paragliding Development School
La Muela de Algodonales
Spring brings along the sun flowers.
La Muela de Algodonales village sits on the west side of Lijar mountain. It is part of the main town of Algodonales, which is around 30 minutes away. Although quieter than its big brother Algodonales it benefits by being closer to the paragliding launch and landing areas being at the entrance to the Sierra de Líjar mountain, a typical drive up to the first launch is around 15 minutes.
There is the westerly landing field 5 minutes from the village and there is also a private landing filed next to the village.
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Your accommodation has self-catering facilities and there are good restaurants in the village, which are around a 2 minute walk.
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The picturesque village of La Muela de Algodonales is at the entrance to the Sierra de Lijar rural park in the province of Cadiz Andalucia. As you can tell from the varied activities we have to offer, the village is a convenient place to stay. This can be the start of your many adventures. The park and mountain of Lijar are most famous for its aerial activities where, on most days you will see either paragliders or hang gliders soaring along and above the mountain. Initially this was our main reason for visiting and eventually settling in the area. We have lived in the village for a number of years and soon realised the area had a lot more to offer than the flying, our other interests are mountain cycling, utilising the many mountain bike trails, cycling along the quiet trails and country lanes.
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You might think, La Muela de Algodonales is a strange name for a village, until you understand the Andalucian way of thinking. The mill wheels that grind the wheat into flour are called muelas. (Grinding teeth, Molars!) At the side of the road that passes through La Muela de Algodonales is an old grindstone from the mill that used to be there for making flour. Hence La Muela de Algodonales .
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The accommodation has Wi-Fi and the village has free Wi-Fi in the restaurants.
The population of the village is around 300, it can be less than half of this mid week, as there is little work for the villagers, they generally work in the cities or on the coast therefore the village in the main is quiet especially mid week. When we decided a number of years ago to buy and settle in the area after looking at many of the neighboring villages, what struck us the most was that the locals in the village kept saying the village was tranquilo (tranquil). As weekend approaches or if there is a bank Holiday the village gets busier, as those working away filter back.
The amenities are good for small village, we have grocery store (Pepi’s Supermarcado) a couple of doors down, which has everything you need (like Arkwright's, off open all hours, for those who can remember) and will make sandwiches up on request (Bocadillo) and take orders on a Saturday for a full cooked chicken. The shops opening hours are reasonable, from early in the morning around 09:00 to past 21:00 in the evening, however does shut for siestas (this is Spain) around 14:00 and opens up again around 17:00. The shop in general also opens bank holidays for limited hours.
In the mornings there are a number of vendors, selling fresh bread, vegetables, fruit and fish. They beep their car horns as they go around the village.
The drinking water for the village is spring water off the mountain and perfectly drinkable. For your convenience there are also a number of drinking fountains around the village if you need to top up your water bottles.