Torre Caleta

The first walk of the new year. Would the excesses of our December holiday and the festive period hamper our progress? Not taking any chances, Monica picked an easy 2 hour, 5Km walk to start with. It was easy because the book gave it an exertion rating of "1", the easiest walk possible. However, the walk soon turned into a stroll.

The walk is entitled "Cerro Caleta", where "Cerro" is translated as "Hill". Doesn't sound to promising. The guidebook goes on to explain "Steep cliffs", "traverse off-path" and the clincher "... merits such a high exertion rating". I was beginning to think that the "1" was a misprint.


Playa de Cantarriján.

Undeterred we headed for the starting point, the magnificent "Playa de Cantarriján", close to La Herradura". Magnificent for me as the views and coastline are spectacular. The cove is orientated south-west, rather than the south-east facing Burriana beach, meaning you get the sun later in the day for that all important cerveza after the walk. Magnificent for Papa as it is one of the "naturista" beaches in the area. Indeed, there were a few people on the beach who were exposing all to the sun, and its still January!

The walk starts from a spur about 300 metres up the road from the parking place at the beach. This leads into the dry Arroyo de Cantarriján, where you see red and white way-markers showing the way up the bank on the opposite side. The steady climb up boasts wonderful views of the beach. A perfect viewing point for papa with his spy glasses.


On the climb up to Cerro Caleta.

At the top of this hill the way marked path continues west towards the tower. This is the stroll "Torre Caleta". However, the walk up the Cerro Caleta goes "off-path" as you scramble up the rock in a north-westerly direction, with the cliffs in clear view. This scramble can only be described as very steep. After 20 minutes of climbing we reached a view point where the coastline of Nerja and beyond is visible. It was at this point that Monica was close to collapsing. The climb proved too much under the glare of the surprisingly hot winter sun.


Views of Nerja, Torrox and Torre del Mar.

After a 10 minute break admiring the views and giving pobre Monica a chance to get her breath back, we decided to abandon the climb, cursing the author all the way back to the path. So, the walk became a stroll as we followed the path to the torre.

Along the path to the torre, the sheer size of Cerro Caleta comes into full view. We had made it to the first "peak" visible on the right-hand side. When our fitness levels have increased we will return to finish off the climb.


Cerro Caleta.

After a 20 minute stroll we reached the torre Caleta. From this point you have spectacular views of Playa de Cantarriján, but the best view is the stunning "secret cove" to the west. There appears to be no track down to this beach, access only looks possible by boat. Maybe on our next trip we will have a go at getting there.


Torre Caleta.


The "Secret Cove".

After a brief break taking in the views we headed back to Playa de Cantarriján. The stroll had taken us 2 hours and in the end was not a bad start to our 2008 walking campaign. It was late afternoon and the sun was shinning invitingly on the Chiringuito La Barraca. A perfect location for our cerveza.


La Barraca.