Dog Walkers in Almería, Spain

Almería is the driest point in continental Europe. Around two hundred litres per square metre fall in a year — less than parts of North Africa — while close to three thousand hours of sunshine accumulate. Living here with a dog means the weather is practically never an excuse to stay in, and at the same time that water stops being an accessory of the walk and becomes obligatory equipment, in every season and at every hour.

The city stretches in a narrow band between the Alcazaba and the sea, with the Rambla as its spine. The layout is comfortable, flat along nearly all its coastal run, and the Zapillo seafront promenade gives kilometres of continuous walking with a sea breeze. Inland, the ground rises dry and bare, and the temperature differences between the coastal strip and the upper neighbourhoods are considerable in summer.

What makes Almería singular, however, begins where the asphalt ends. The Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park starts within the municipality itself: volcanic cliffs, coves and dry ramblas in a landscape like nothing else on the peninsula. For a dog it is ground of sand and rock, demanding on the paw pads but enormously stimulating, and it is where local people go the moment they have half a day free.

Winter deserves its own note. With January highs averaging around eighteen degrees, Almería allows long midwinter routes that elsewhere in the country only fit in spring. It is, by a distance, the best season of the year for serious exercise.