We decided on an early start. Well, 10:30am is early for us. I must still have been asleep as disaster struck not 5 minutes away from the car. Monica had brought her hunting knife in order to cut two walking sticks out of bamboo for the walk upstream. The knife was not the sharpest, and neither was I when I decided to cut towards myself. I nearly sliced my thumb off.
Blood gushing everywhere and we had no plasters or bandages. All we had was a pack of tissues that soon were soaked in blood. We turned back for the car, intending to head for the pharmacy. Maybe I’ll get to see the Manchester derby after all. But no, we bumped into a Spanish family who had packed next to us. They had a pack of plasters so with me patched up, we continued with the walk.
With bandaged thumb.
The bamboo walking sticks turned out to be a good idea. The river was flowing faster than the previous time. We were quite impressed with the tempo we set off at. We were passing people for fun. Must be fitter than we thought. It took us Nearly 2.5 hours to reach the point where we turned back before, Now for the new bit.
Just passed the first waterfall is another pool with a waterfall and what looks like the end of the trail. However a blue paint spot on the right-hand side indicated the trail. You keep following the blue way markers until you eventually rejoin the river. About 30 minutes upstream you come to two staggered turnings indicated by way markers. The first is to the left and is the Limán trail to Frigiliana. The one we took is on the right and is indicated by a wooden post and red way markers.
The second pool.
This takes you on a steady climb to the acequia. The guidebook warns of a walk on a narrow concrete wall and places where there is a strong risk of vertigo. We arrived at the acequia on the right and decided to go for it.
The start of the acequia.
Slight vertigo risk.
The acequia isn’t that bad and there is fencing on part of the way, which is in a good state of repair. There are a few points where the vertical drop was a bit steep but I never felt in danger. The things to be wary of are the concrete slabs that cover over the acequia. Don’t trust them and stick to the narrow wall. Also, don’t be startled by the appearance of lizards in your pathway, or snakes! A good tip from Monica: "If you’re going to fall, fall to the left into the acequia". Trust me, you don’t want to fall right.
Monica on the Acequia.
A narrow bit of the Acequia!
The acequia seems to stretch for miles. There are fantastic scenic views of the hills and towards the end you have a great view of Frigiliana. The end is where the acequia widens and you arrive at a turbine pipe that goes down the hill to the power station. Danger over, or so the guidebook leads you to believe.
Scenic views.
Frigiliana.
From here you descend sown to the power station. My god it is a steep, dirt trail that is treacherous. Never again! A few places I lost my footing and ended up on my backside sliding down the hill several metres before I hit a tree. After a long walk and in the heat, this descent is not what you need. So, a few more scrapes and bruises and another walk ending with us cursing the name of the guidebook author. Still, it was worth it.
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