Skirting the Penon de los Castillejos

2010 has been a poor year for walking. The weather has been truly awful. However, with the skies clear of rain we headed up the Rio de la Miel to have a walk around the Penon. The weather wasn't a problem today. But it had been up to mischieve earlier on.

Just above the small hamlet of el nacimiento the road has been swept away by the storms. We ditched the car and continued on foot. This only added an extra 30 minutes to the walk.


No way past


View from the track

It is an easy walk with some spectacular views. The only downside is that it ends abbruptly at an old power generator site and you have to double back on yourself. Maybe next time we return we will feel energetic enough to actually scale the Penon. Apparently it's an arduous task but do-able.



Panaorama shot


Sierra Nevada in background.


End of the track.

La Ruta del Tren

At long last! A Sunday with no rain. A Sunday to go walking. We decided on an old favourite from Periana. La Ruta del Tren to the Mirador el Boquete at Ventas de Zafarrayas. A steady 15 Km round trip. Fabiana and Ettore came along for the journey.


Lake Vinuela.

It has been a few years since we last walked this way. I had forgotten exactly where it started. We asked a local who pointed the way. You turn right at the first roundabout you reach at Periana. Then you follow the track to La Muela until it bends sharply to the right. There you take the track that is straight in front of you. This is the start of the path.

The start of the walk is a steady climb for about 2 kms. It doesn’t get off to the best of starts as you walk through a rubbish tip. But with that behind you the scenery is breathtaking. So is the climb Ettore would argue! You have great views of Lake Vinuela and the white pueblos on the hills. The track is lined with Almond trees, adding a hint of pink and white to the lush green hillside.


Almonds on the hillside.

It was nice to walk in the sunshine. The sky was relatively clear, although a little hazy. However, things began to change gradually. At first a few white clouds that provided some welcome shade. Then they started to multiply and darken. Why didn’t I bring my rain jacket? We felt a few drops of rain. At this point we were near the half way stage. A huge downpour was imminent. We quickened the pace to make it to the tunnel for shelter.


Before the weather changed.

The rain held off as we reached the tunnel. Inside the temperature plummeted. The town of Ventas de Zafarrayas was about 10 minutes away. It was better to risk a soaking and go for the warmth of the bar than stay inside the freezing cold tunnel. The bar “Aqui te quiero ver” was now in sight. The heavens opened. A frantic dash to the bar ensued.


A quick dash to the tunnel.

The world seems a better place after a nice hot bowl of soup and a beer. We were sure it was only a passing rain cloud. However the signs were not good outside. The sky grew darker. A closer look gave us hope. Half the sky was dark and menacing. The other side towards Periana was sky blue. The climate seemed to change right at the Malaga/Granada border. All we had to do was get back to the tunnel and we would be greeted by sunshine. Then we looked again out of the window in horror. It had started to snow.

We attempted to test our Malaga/Granada climate theory and made a break for it when the snow eased off. However, we were greeted with more black clouds and snow on the other side. Defeated, we headed back to the bar. It turns out that the town of Ventas de Zafarrayas doesn’t have a taxi. But we were in luck. The nearby town of Alcaucin did and the owner knew him. Half an hour later and we were in the warmth of the taxi heading back to Periana. The weather had improved by then but we were passed caring. An hour later we were sat on the beach enjoying the late afternoon sunshine. Que tiempo!


The snow capped Mount Maroma.

Capistrano

Today would be a perfect day for breaking in my new hiking boots before we hit the trails in South East Asia. We picked an easy stroll up the mountains to test them out. Only 4 Kilometres. But with the plus 30 degree heat and sheer vertical slopes it would still be a test of endurance.


New boots.

The route was walking along the spine of the hills behind Capistrano. You access via a gully near the Torre restaurant. After a few hundred metres you exit right and head up the hill. It is then a gruelling climb up the mostly exposed slope. The views across Nerja get better the further up you climb.


The first summit.

We reached the first high point after about 40 minutes. We paused to take in the views below. A further pause to contemplate the rest of the walk. More hills. Three more peaks to be precise. The second of these being the most challenging. A little climbing is required to scale the peak directly although there appears to be a path that skirts around it if you don’t have the head for heights.


Another peak reached.

The trail becomes easier after the final hill. But be careful where you put your feet, especially if you have a phobia of snakes. The first walk in over four years in Spain that I came face to face with snakes. One of which was basking in the sunshine. I thought it was dead. Until it turned and faced me. By the time I got the camera out it was gone in a flash.


More climbing to do.



The trail along the hill.

Halfway down the hill you meet a trail that goes to the Chillar. We turned left and headed back towards Capistrano. This part of the walk is mostly in the shade of the pine trees. A forest full of them! I’ve never noticed them before when looking up at the mountains from Nerja. A welcome relieve from the surprisingly strong autumn sun.

The trail takes you back to the gully behind Capistrano. The walk is just over two and a half hours. But be warned, the first part is tough going. Worth it though.

Molino de Papel

Once again the walking season is upon us. Not that the temperature has dropped too much. It was well into the thirties as we set off to Maro. Our walk today was a gentle warm up for the new season. A walk along the coastal road and a visit to the beach at Molino de Papel.

Molino de Papel is on Km 298 of the N340. Since the opening of the motorway between Nerja and La Herradura, this is now a quiet track, mainly utilised by the bikers. It’s not the greatest place to walk along but there was no other route. Besides, Maro is on Km295, only 3 kilometres of road to walk.

We got a few supplies from the store in Maro and headed through the ghost town towards the N340. Maro hasn’t escaped from the roundabout craze that has swept through Nerja. Not one, but two new roundabouts on the east side of town. It’s not exactly a traffic hotspot but I suppose they have made it look nice.


Looking back at Nerja.

The journey along the coast was quiet. A handful of cars passed by. Just before the Molino de Papel turn off there was a path that lead up to a viewing point. We set off to explore and were rewarded with spectacular views over Nerja and the cliffs of Maro to the west. The west end of Burriana beach is visible, along with the Balcon. A series of secluded beaches line the east side, Molino de Papel being the closest.


Walking along the cliff.

We headed back to the N340 for the short walk to the beach turn off. We took a short cut down the cliff to arrive on the beach. It is a peeble beach, not a patch of sand to be seen. This is what probably makes the water crystal clear. It was the most inviting I’ve seen the Med all year.


Crystal clear waters.

We walked along the beach to find a nice spot for lunch. We headed to the far end, away from the majority of the nudist bathers that lined the beach. Before lunch we decided to try the water. Usually bathing in October is left to the Scandinavians. But it was far too inviting. We tip-toed in. The water was freezing, but surprisingly you soon got used to it. Swimming in the Med in October, Fantastic!


Swimming in October!

We spent a fair few hours on the beach, soaking up the sunshine. We could have stayed longer but the warm temperatures had caused a problem. We were desperately short of water. We headed back to Maro with only a drop between us. We saved it until we had reached the top of the steep section of the N340.

On the way back we passed the old factory that is the Molino de Papel, the old paper mill. From the back it looked deserted. However, the roadside of the building appears to have been converted into living quarters. The sound of large dogs barking persuaded Monica to keep walking, so we didn’t investigate fully.


Molino de Papel.

We rejoined the N340 and headed back to Maro. The sight of Maro in the distance has never been so good to see. Forget a cold beer, we just wanted water. Disaster in Maro as the shop that was the only sign of live in Maro earlier was shut. We had to go to the bar at the east side of town.The bottle of water at 2 Euros was worth every cent after a hard walk in the sun.

Rio Chillar Revisited

The heat has put a stop to our walking activities for a long while now. However, it’s never too hot for a stroll up the Rio Chillar. We decided to take a trek upstream for the first time this summer with Fabiana and Ettore. After a hearty breakfast on the beach we headed to the cement factory for the start of the walk.

As usual, I took the wrong turning to the factory. The turning off down to the river on Calle Picasso, near the Almijara I urbanisation results in a long drive along the uneven track along the Chillar. It’s best to use the access point off Camino de los Almachares, past the Sunday Market in the Almijara III area.

After a bone-shaking ride along the track we arrived at the parking area next to the factory. It’s a 30-minute walk to the Central Electrica where the walk in the water starts in earnest. Many people think that their clapped out Seat is actually a 4x4 and drive up to the start but I wouldn’t advise it. Besides, the 30-minute walk now has plenty of stretches of water that you can walk through to cool off. This wasn’t the case a couple of years ago.


In the River again.

The scenery was as breathtaking as ever. The sounds of the water flowing, the colours of the flowers and plants along the river and the feeling of the cold water between your toes makes this a special walk. The spectacular waterfall 15 minutes upstream is still flowing nicely. Its amazing to think that it wasn’t there a couple of years ago.


Amazing Waterfall.


Lovely scenery.

It doesn’t seem that much as changed until you walk through the cahorros. The first large plunge pool that was a haven for the Picnickers who didn’t want to venture up to the waterfalls has disappeared. There is a smaller pool to the left but no sign of the larger one. In past years I remember having to wade through it at almost waist height. Now, it is just another part of the river.


Ettore and Fabiana in the Cahorros.

It is a 6-kilometre walk upstream to the series of waterfalls and rock pools. In total it takes around two and a half-hours walk at a comfortable pace. It is still a very popular destination. The first pool was crowded. We climbed up the rocks on the right-hand side to the second pool and found a good spot for our picnic.


First Pool.

We spent a lazy hour eating and cooling off in the freezing cold pool. The number of walkers arriving kept increasing. There must have been close to a hundred people in the area. We headed back downstream at around 2pm. There were still a good flow of walkers coming upstream. They would be disappointed if they thought they would find peace and tranquillity. Surely there must be a good time to visit this place in relative peace. A Sunday in summer is definitely not the time.

We arrived back at the car a good 6 hours after setting off. A 12 kilometre walk in total. It was time to head back to the beach and a hugely deserved jug of Sangria or two.

Pico del Cielo

Nerja in the Background.

Semana Santa en Nerja!


Crazy Mirrors.

Hazy views from the top.

Moutains behind Cielo.

Maroma in the distance.

Sierra Nevada in background.


The Granada side.

Sendero Pico del Cielo

Mount Cielo dominates the skyline of Nerja. It has been a long-standing desire of ours to reach the top. We have had a few practice walks in the area to prepare for the moment. We planned to do it on Sunday. Would we finally make it?

The day didn’t start off promising. Low cloud cover over the mountains meant you couldn’t even see the top of Capistrano never mind Cielo. Our back-up plan was to watch the Easter parade in Malaga and re-schedule the ascent for Good Friday. However, I clung to the hope that was given by one weather web-site that the cloud cover would lift. So, we set off on the path to Cielo at 10:45am.

Ready for the trek.

Our faith paid off really quickly. We spotted the peak of Cielo after 10 minutes as the cloud cover lifted and it was turning out to be a beautiful morning. Now the worry was that it might get too hot for us. That and the peak looked ominously distant. It took us an hour and fifteen minutes to reach the point where the sign for the walk was. We guessed that the peak was another 2 hours climb away.

Our first view of Cielo.

Still looks miles away.

The road gives way to a path that is narrow in places, and steep. This is certainly harder than the nice track we had followed up to this point. Monica would take her mind off the effort by stopping every so often to take pictures of the beautiful views and flowers we passed on the track. A slight problem struck 2 hours into the walk. Monica’s shoes fell apart at the sole. We found a nice spot to take a break while Monica made a quick pit stop for a fresh pair of tyres.

A quick change required.

Back on the track and we passed our first fellow hikers. Two Spanish guys were returning from the summit. Monica enquired how much further and they replied 45 minutes. Not that bad then! Monica was sure that they had under-estimated it. Another 10 minutes up the track and we reached a peak with fantastic views over the Granada side. La Herradura could be seen through the mist. The contrast between the two sides was unbelievable. The West Side is barren and rugged. The East Side is lush and more of a dramatic drop.

The East Side.

Another 10 minutes and Cielo was now clearly visible, but still looked quite a distance away. Monica seemed to have the same thoughts.
“45 minutes my arse!”.
The track was getting steeper and more difficult with every step. Some parts of the track are quiet steep and the terrain is loose gravel. Visions of sliding down the mountain entered my mind. Reassurance came in the strange form of a Spaniard racing down from the summit. He had two walking sticks and was using them as if he were skiing down the slope.
“Adios” as he went whizzing past us, oblivious to the conditions underfoot and the distinct possibility of taking a header of the edge.

At this point we were taking about 20 steps up and then stopping for a little rest. Monica was feeling it and was not convinced she would make it. The peak was close now. We were looking for the reassuring sign of the cross on top. If we could see that, we had almost made it. More reassurance came with a few more hikers passed us on their way down. “un poco mas”. Then we finally saw the cross, three and half-hours after starting our climb. We were almost there. No giving up now.

Finally, we can see the cross.

So, after 4 years of saying “one day”, and a 3 hour 45 minute hike up the mountain, we reached the summit of El Cielo. 1508 metres above sea level, of which we had climbed about 1100 metres. Monica shouted out with delight. We had done it! The ayuntamiento have put a sign up. I thought it would be along the lines of “Well done” or giving information on the height etc. The sign says “End of walk”. No shit sherlock!

We made it!

From the top you have great views of the coastline. The sky wasn’t as clear as we would have liked but you can see from Torre del Mar right up to Salobreña. To the north you can see the snow covered peaks of the Sierra Nevada. The cross points towards Nerja. Shamefully, it has been vandalised with a few mirrors smashed and grafitti scrawled on the back. We decided to leave our mark in more respectful manor. We built a cairn on the east side. Before leaving the summit, Monica pointed over to the west. Our next target “Maroma”, the table-top mountain that stands 2066 Metres. Maybe next year!

We were here!

Our descent back to the sendero starting point took an hour and a half. My legs had turned to jelly and it was my turn to think that I wouldn’t make it back to the car. We had a quick stop and continued down the mountain. An hour later we made it. A total of 6 and a half hours. Definitely deserve a beer or two now.

Barranco de los perros

The second walk with the Nerja Walking club was along the Barranco de los Perros. This is a nice circular walk from the eastern end of Maro that climbs up to the track that heads up to Cielo, a little lower down than the Cortijo de la Civila.


Nerja in the distance.

The turn out was not great, probably due to the early start. It looked like we had picked a nice day for it. The winter weather seemed to be in the distant past. A lovely spring day on the costa, similar to the best summer’s day you could hope for in Manchester. We cheated at the beginning of the walk, the boring part, as Michiel took us up the track in the 4x4. Then it was a steady climb up the hill.

Donna lead the way and as last time was extremely informative about the area and the fauna. We stopped every now and then so that she could smell the herbs growing wild, in search of the elusive lemon tyme. Donna eventually found some and promptly put a sprig underneath her backpack strap. The invigorating smell kept her going, a little ritual she likes on all walks apparently.


Avoiding the prickly bush.

The Barranco de los Perros got its name from one of its eccentric inhabitants. In the past, the area was home to a group of isolated people of an incestuous nature. This resulted in their offspring being a little mad and wild. One such inhabitant kept a pack of wild dogs that would instantly attack anyone who strayed on to their territory. Thankfully, this was long ago and the dogs no longer roam the area.


On the track.

We reached an abandoned cortijo and took a break. It was designed in the typical style that allowed for the inhabitants to live in the south facing side during the cold winter months, whilst moving to the cooler, northern end in the Summer. This was the halfway point and it was not long after that we reached the familiar track to El Cielo, near to a garage below the Cortijo Civila.


The abandoned Cortijo.

In total the walk was just over 3 hours long and the pedometer registered 11 kms, although it was probably closer to the 15Km mark.

Cortijo de la Civila

This Sunday’s walk was more of a training exercise for an attempt at reaching the summit of Mount Cielo. It was a walk from the Nerja caves as far up the mountain as we could get in two hours. The thinking was that we would at least reach the Cortijo de la Civila. An abandoned cortijo that according to local legend, takes its name from the lady occupant who liked to dress up in the Guardia Civil uniform.

We parked at the start of the track and headed up the trail. Stopwatch set and pedometer on we started the ascent. The weather was perfect for walking but not for viewing the sights. It was a cool, grey day. You couldn’t see the peaks of the mountains as they were above the cloud cover.

It took us 35 minutes to reach the crossroads where the left track takes you to the El Pinarillo picnic site and the track heading straight up to Mount Cielo. On our attempt at the summit we will probably park here. However, the rather gentle climb to this point was a good warm up. From here, the track becomes noticeably steeper.


Misty view of the sea.

We followed the track as it snaked its way upwards. At one point not to far up we saw a rough path cut into the mountain on the bend of the road. It looked fairly steep and we were unsure where it went. We decided to stick to the road. A quick check on Google Earth later showed that the path was a great little shortcut that would have saved us 10 minutes. There are a few of these short cut paths as you climb the track. We decided to take the next one as it looked clear that it met up with the road further up. A few minutes saved. Each path was clearly marked with Cairns and the usual coloured markers. However, they are only marked going up, as we found out on the way back having missed a couple of the short cuts.


Monica making a Cairn.

All the way up we were guessing how much further the peak of Mount Cielo was. You still couldn’t see because of the cloud cover. In truth, we had no idea in which direction the peak was. After an hour an a half of climbing we seemed to reach a peak. To the right you could see the ridge of the mountain. We decided to see if we could walk along it to try and see the view through the mist. Alas, the trek across the ridge looked easy from the road but it turned out to be a more difficult proposition. Not wanting to scramble across the ridge and be disappointed by the lack of view due to the weather conditions, we headed back to the road.


The Ridge.

The path starts to descend as it cuts a shallow valley through the mountains before heading North and you begin to ascend again. I’m not sure if it was a trick of the mind and our weary limbs but the track seemed to get steeper. It was at this point Monica gave the first suggestion of turning back. Let’s see what is round the corner first. Through the mist we could then pick out the ruins of the cortijo.


The Cortijo through the mist.

We reached the cortijo with just under 10 minutes of our planned 2-hour climb. Someone had started to build another cortijo next to the ruins but had either fallen out with the idea or they didn’t have the proper permission in the first place. We had a quick look around and decided to stop for a quick break.

Buoyed by reaching the cortijo within our time limit and feeling a little refreshed, we decided to head on a little. Monica wanted to see if we could walk in the clouds. Ten minutes later and we reached another marker point. A sign pointing up the mountain. It read “Sendero. Pico del Cielo”. Amazingly, there were two 4x4 jeeps parked up on the right. My first thought was how the hell did they get up here? Monica was on a different thought pattern, “Cheating bastards!”. The look on Monica’s face was more of grudging admiration for skiping a two-hour hike up the mountain. I cut short any ideas she might be having “There is NO WAY I’m driving the Fiesta up here!”.

The sign gave no clues as to how far the peak was. We couldn’t see it. The mountain to our left was covered by the clouds. “That must be it! It doesn’t look too far.” Monica claimed. The path headed towards the cloud covered summit but soon disappeared out of view. The pedometer stated that we had walked 6.5 kilometres. All up hill. We headed back down the mountain satisfied with our training session.


Taking a well earned break.

We arrived back at the car some 3 and a half hours after setting out. A total of 12.54 Km recorded on the pedometer. That translates to 936 Kcal (must be worth a few beers!) and 18,721 steps. All I know is the next day was painful getting out of bed. Thanks to Google Earth, we discovered that we were wrong about the peak we thought was Mount Cielo. In fact, we had probably only got half way. If anything, the rest of the way looks like a steeper climb. The height of Mount Cielo is 1508Mts, making it a good 164 Mts taller than Ben Nevis. I reckon that from start to finish, we climbed 607 Mts. We had a further climb of 700 Mts. From our intended start point for the ascent it will be a total climb of 1,134 Mts. Oh well, un poco mas del entrenamiento!