We had a much better sleep than the night before and it was lovely to wake up to the sounds of nature. We had a slow start to the day and breakfasted on campervan granola to fuel us for our walk.
We had found a walk on the map which they gave us at reception and signed up for an Alltrails app trial to get further information on the route. It was very handy because the starting point of this walk in the Sierra Morena was only about 10 minutes drive away with easy parking. The walk was called ‘Sendero Barranco de La Niebla’ and was 5km long. We weren’t quite sure what to expect because the campsite map rated it as difficult, the app rated it as moderate and then when we got there, the information board also said that it was difficult!! The difficulty lay in the steep gradient for most of the first half of the walk. We decided we were up for a challenge though and as this was our only planned activity today we could pace ourselves. We are well matched walking partners as whenever I get out of breath going up a hill Dave is happy to stop and take a load of photos. 😃
The walk was a mixture of cork oak and Portuguese oak forest, juniper, olive trees, pine forest, interesting rock formations and a bit of mountain meadow. There were also some pretty flowers which are pictured below.
There was a viewing point at the top of the walk called the ‘Miradero de los Organos’. This name referred to some impressive quartzite rock formations opposite which look like the pipes of an organ. The rock formed like that as it’s very resistant to erosion. It was designated as a Monumento Natural in 2001. The area is home to griffin vultures and peregrine falcon and although we didn’t spot any of them we did see some smaller birds of prey soaring above us.
On the way down, we took a slight detour because there were some prehistoric cave paintings near to the route. They are thought to be about 5000 years old. In prehistoric times and before other ways of denoting territory were introduced (such as borders/fortifications etc) these marks often designated territory, gave information about areas for the hunt or to find natural resources and recorded everyday activities and spiritual information. They enabled certain groups to maintain their control over particular parts of the territory.
We really enjoyed the walk and met a few fellow walkers on the way, none of whom were English! We were glad that the weather wasn’t too hot (about 20 degrees – less than in England this week!) as it was perfect for a walk. When we got back to the campsite, we had a nice cold beer (alcohol free!!!) and some crisps before both having a good hot shower. We were just about to settle in for the afternoon when Dave realised that the electricity wasn’t working. He tried to work out whether it was the van or the charging point and fortunately a quick chat to the guy in reception established that it was the latter. What a relief!
We decided to go to the nearby little town for a stroll. There were two bars, one of which was populated by very noisy locals. 😃 although that would normally be our kind of place, it looked like we would’ve been a bit of a curiosity there, so we went to the other one – the bar of the Restaurante Mesón. We had decided not to eat there after reading the reviews as it was supposed to be pretty overpriced. When we went inside, we could see why. There was a spectacular view across the mountains. It was a really gorgeous place to sit for a drink (Sue had a Spanish sized gin and tonic, Eva would have been proud) for a while before returning to the campsite for our dinner.. We had gazpacho followed by steamed asparagus with chorizo. Steaming of the asparagus did an excellent job of rehydrating the van. 🤣
