Andalusia is generally well known by its sunny and mild weather, but it also enjoys pronounced and distinct seasons. Each period has highlights as life changes, all of them are rich with opportunities to explore nature and to harvest the seasonal produce. Here are some of the many things that you could do.

Summer

Summer is about life in plenitude, hot sunny days, normally over 30 Celsius in the midday (and sometimes over 35!) with warm and sweet nights, la Ermita is 600 mts over the sea level and some nights you might need a light jacket to be ‘al fresco’. You have to adapt your life to the weather, in the summer a siesta after lunchtime is compulsory to escape the hottest hours. Enjoy breakfast under the trees and a morning relaxing by the swimming pool. The long afternoon is ideal for swimming or harvesting your own fruits and vegetables from the state ‘huerta’, you may hand pick the organic tomatoes and watermelons matured to their best and full of taste. At night, turn off all the lights and look at the radiant stars and shooting stars in the clear, non-polluted sky. If you want to go trekking in the summer, you will have to start early in the morning, to be back before 11 am and refresh by the pool.

Spring

Spring is a fiesta, nature is spreading and all the fruit trees are blossoming, the ‘membrillo’ is particularly beautiful, a local tree that is the inspiration of many works of the great Spanish contemporary artist Antonio Lopez. Spring is warm, inviting you to a full day outdoor; from mid to late spring you might even enjoy some swimming in the pool. Semana Santa is a great local festivity in all the surrounding villages, you can’t miss the ‘procesiones’ under the full moon (the feast moves with the moon, ending with the full moon on Good Friday). Plenty of interesting walks around the natural park to enjoy the waterfalls and small rivers getting fully loaded down to the sea. In spring you can enjoy the harvesting of wild asparagus, among the olive trees, which are unique taste.

Fall

Autumn is a wonderful time for enjoying warm days and soft nights, the season is full of produce to harvest: walnuts, cakis (a wonderful local fruit, of which there are two trees in La Ermita), hazelnuts, some late vegetables in ‘el huerto’ and perhaps some oranges. The weather invites you to stay outdoor all day long and enjoy the music of the water while laying in one of the hammocks, near ‘la acequia’.

Winter

Winter time in la Ermita is comprised by the cold nights and friendly talks around the fireplace, but it is also a great opportunity to participate in the harvesting of the olives, get some late nuts from the trees and kindle the outdoor fireplaces and BBQ to prepare some of the great local specialties like ‘chorizo de Carcabuey’ or ‘lomo iberico’. When the sun is shining you can enjoy warm days and outdoor living, the temperature encourages long walks in the wild. In the afternoon there is nothing like a nice dinner by the fireplace and reading a good book or watch that movie that you always wanted to see. Winter is the season of oranges, do not miss out on them.