Orienteering in the Spanish Mountains
Useful Spanish sentences for an orienteering race, from registration to finding the controls with map and compass.
Orienteering clubs in Spain hold carreras de orientación in the mountains around the cities, with a short recorrido de iniciación for beginners. You get a map and an electronic chip, la pinza, and you picar at each control, la baliza; out in the sierra there is often no phone signal at all. These sentences follow a beginner's first race in the Sierra de Guadarrama with a club member showing the ropes.
- 1
Aquí no hay cobertura.
There's no signal out here.
- 2
Tendremos que tirar de mapa y brújula.
We'll have to rely on map and compass.
- 3
¿Qué recorrido vas a hacer?
Which course are you doing?
- 4
Es mi primera vez, voy a hacer el de iniciación.
It's my first time, I'm doing the beginners' course.
- 5
No te olvides de picar en cada baliza.
Don't forget to punch at every control.
- 6
¿Dónde está la salida?
Where's the start?
- 7
Orienta el mapa hacia el norte.
Hold the map so it faces north.
- 8
Creo que nos hemos perdido.
I think we've got lost.
- 9
Vamos a seguir el camino hasta el arroyo.
Let's follow the path down to the stream.
- 10
Las curvas de nivel indican que hay mucha pendiente.
The contour lines show it's very steep.
- 11
¿Rodeamos o subimos directamente por la loma?
Shall we go round or straight up the ridge?
- 12
La baliza tendría que estar justo detrás de esa roca.
The control should be just behind that rock.
- 13
He perdido mucho tiempo en este tramo.
I've lost a lot of time on this leg.
- 14
¿Cuánto has tardado?
How long did it take you?
- 15
Cuidado, que el suelo resbala mucho.
Careful, the ground is really slippery.
- 16
Más vale que volvamos antes de que anochezca.
We'd better head back before it gets dark.
- 17
Me he quedado sin batería en el móvil.
My phone's out of battery.
- 18
Vamos a marcar el rumbo con la brújula.
Let's take a bearing with the compass.
- 19
Hay que devolver la pinza en la meta.
You have to hand back the chip at the finish.
- 20
Si te pierdes, llama al 112.
If you get lost, call 112.