January 23rd - 31st 2007
Written by Geoff Forster
A beautiful day, a little fresher than the first three weeks of January but stunning blue skies and haze free views.
We spent the morning around the house.
Jane made a packed lunch and we set off to spend the afternoon in the Alcornocales forest.
We drove to Gaucín stopping off at a new mirador to take some photographs.
Gibraltar is on the horizon (left). Gaucín castle to the right.
Gaucín castle.
Gibraltar with the Riff mountains of Morocco behind.
Genalguacil.
We drove through Gaucín and very slowly down to El Colmenar. We saw lots of Stonechats, they seemed to be on every post and wire.
A pretty female Stonechat posed for us.
El Hacho, Gaucín.
Four Cormorants were sitting on rocks in the Rio Guadiaro. Possibly more near the river bank.
We drove through El Colmenar across the railway tracks and into the forest.
We hadn't gone far before we saw our first animal, a cow stood on a bank.
We stopped near a casa forestal to photograph a few trees.
There are a few houses in the forest. Casa Forestal. We guess that they are for forestry workers to live in.
This Eucalyptus was in flower. The flowers have red stems which catch the eye.
A lovely horse watched us drive passed.
We stopped for our packed lunch and stretched our legs.
The view South to the Mediterranean is beautiful. We watched ships slowly moving along the horizon.
El Hacho from the Alcornocales.
We stopped in an area of pines. The sunlight was struggling to get through the canopy. The ground was thick with needles. No shrubs or undergrowth manage to grow here.
We drove on a little further.
Suddenly on my side of the car I spotted a wild boar. A huge black pig foraging in the bushes.
It ran deep into the forest.
A few metres on and there was another with a litter of piglets.
I managed to photograph the piglets before they disappeared with their mother.
I decided to see if I could follow them.
I'm not sure how clever this was? Following two wild boar with young into the forest, but We'd never seen them before and I wanted a better view if at all possible.
I went to the spot I'd seen them but there was no sign.
Suddenly the second black pig another female ran across the forest about twenty metres in front of me.
I moved forward as quietly as I could and hid behind a tree.
Both females were laying on their sides allowing the piglets to suckle.
The mothers decided it was time to move on.
The mothers moved deeper into the forest. Totally relaxed and unaware I was watching a couple of straggling piglets had a wrestling match tumbling over each other before finally disappearing into the undergrowth.
Yesterday's rain has left a few large pools of water. The Cork Oaks are losing their leaves at the moment so the forest floor looks very autumnal.
Back in the car driving along and this large stag ran passed us in the opposite direction. I quickly snapped a shot but the shutter speed wasn't fast enough and there's a little motion blur.
After my success following the wild boars, I took a chance at following the stag.
I circled around to the left of where we'd sighted it and went deep into the forest.
Every footstep through the leaf litter sounded like I was walking through drifts of crunchy cornflakes. The stag must have heard me coming from hundreds of metres away.
I didn't see it again.
I did get a photograph of the forest and the mountains from the top of a large boulder in a clearing..
Also a photograph of some Cork Oaks.
So my foray into the forest wasn't a complete failure.
Every few kilometres a magnificent view just opens up along the road or through a gap in the trees.
We stopped a few times and had a number of short five to ten minute strolls. We prefer doing this, as it means that we don't get lost, and we're never too far away from the car.
The trees change from Cork Oaks to conifers a number of times. The pine forests are fun to walk in. We look for cones and the fresh smell is wonderful.
There are a few deciduous trees. They look very striking against the blue sky. This one was covered in a cyan coloured lichen.
Another stroll into the forest and Jane took this photograph. Press F11 (toggle key).
Towards the Cortes end of the forest we passed this cow standing at the side of the road. She kindly posed for us.
Profile.
We did a U-turn at the junction with the Ubrique to Cortes road.
Back into the forest for the second leg.
Nothing much to see until we saw the donkeys.
This one looked a little like Domingo. He was a big donkey.
This one came over to me for a stroke.
Near the donkeys was this mule.
We've seen this donkey a number of times this year. Easily recognisable because of its deformed ear.
There were around eight donkeys enjoying basking in the evening sunshine.
This one was very friendly. I wish we had more land ... I think we'd start a donkey sanctuary if we had the space and money. They are wonderful animals.
Meanwhile Jane was bonding with the sad looking mule. So make that a donkey and mule sanctuary.
Back up the road towards Gaucín.
Through the Olives down to Gibraltar.
The steep hillside covered in olive trees and cork oaks, bathed in the evening sunshine.
Back home we watched Master Chef.
A poor nights TV so we hit the on/off button and read books.
A cloudy start to the day again. Temperatures are lower as a result.
We decide it's a perfect day for walking.
Jane packed some bread, the last of Pepa's goats cheese and a few slices of potato tortilla she has made.
We took the dogs and set off to see the donkeys.
We walked out onto the track. we passed Sebastián's pigs. They came running over to see us.
They weren't scared of the dogs. They bounded along the fence keeping pace with us.
The green vegetation is the invasive and unfortunately inedible Oxalis Pes-caprae. As you can see it smothers everything and the hillsides around us are covered in it.
The sky wasn't quite a monotone grey but it was dull. You can just see the clock tower of Genalguacil sticking up above a ridge across the Genal Valley
Jane took this great photograph of old Ferdinando catching a stick as the other Border Collies look on.
The valley sides are steep. This pair of Almond trees are in full blossom.
This sheep kept her eyes on us (or rather the dogs) as we passed by.
The rain the other afternoon means there are a few puddles for the dogs to play in.
The skies to the North were clearing quickly. This is Algatocín.
A closer shot of the pretty white washed pueblo of Algatocín. It lies on a ridge and does slope at an angle.
This is the Sierra de Benalauría. A limestone crag high above the village. Like Benarrabá, Benalauría lies around three km below the A369 road.
This Holm Oak is a magnificent tree.
Jane was well wrapped up, we both had fleeces, rain jackets and scarves on.
The pueblo of Alpandeire through a gap in the trees.
Jake has so much energy, he's a big strong dog. Large for a Border Collie.
Jake's father Ferdy still surprises us by being able to walk all afternoon, up some serious slopes and he can still run and jump with the other two.
The sun was breaking through the clouds. Jubrique was now bathed in sunshine.
Jane took this great photograph of the sun bursting through a cloud.
Rosie wanted to check her photographs out.
She seemed happy with the shots I'd taken.
Domingo decided he was going to look as well. I don't mind Rosie looking but Domingo can be a bit jumpy and I didn't want to get trampled.
Dust bath time.
Save dust, bath together.
Domingo's tired.
The clouds were burning off rapidly.
When we set off it had been a fresh, cloudy day.
Now it was a hot sunny spring day.
A beautiful afternoon for walking.
The campo is stunning. It just gets better and better. A few decent downpours in February and March and we should have another amazing spring. Last year spring was incredible.
Another 'face in the wood', this time spotted by me for a change. A bear ... or dog or ...?
On the way back home we met Antonio.
Antonio has a herd of 300+ goats which we've photographed from time to time in the past.
He always has time to stop and talk. He's a really lovely man. He always asks about our donkeys and dogs.
We walked back to the village. This was taken from the track to the North of the village.
Genalguacil. Not quite taken from the same place as the third photograph of the day. What a difference the sunshine makes.
Back in Benarrabá we took this photograph before walking up Calle Cuartilla and home.
We'd enjoyed being out for around four hours.
The afternoon improved minute by minute.
The walk did us both good, the donkeys got fed and the dogs had their longest walk this year.
Later: The dogs are all asleep in their beds. We succeeded in tiring them out today, a major achievement.
We watched 'The Bourne Supremacy' starring Matt Damon. Lots of action. A good sequel.
A lovely fresh, sunny start to the day.
I noticed some unusual clouds over the Sierra Bermeja. A check on Google and they are 'Altocumulus Lenticularis' and are associated with high winds. It was a little breezy at ground level in the village but it wasn't too bad.
Our guests Ann and Bryon were planning to do a walk from Benarrabá to nearby Algatocín.
We'd planned to do a walk from Atajate to Alpandeire and back. 1.5hrs in each direction.
We packed our gloves, scarves and hats and set off.
We needed bread so headed out of Benarrabá to the panadería in Algatocín.
At the junction of the A369 we noticed some Griffon Vultures soaring on the wind, so we pulled over to watch them.
We got out of the car and a biting gale force wind hit us.
The sky in the West was very dark, ominous, as this was the direction that the strong wind was coming from.
There were ten to twenty Griffon Vultures hanging on the wind soaring and gliding.
Something must have died on a nearby small holding in the Guadiaro valley.
We were on the top of an exposed ridge. The wind was blowing full force into our faces.
Our fingers were so cold we couldn't hold the cameras.
We sat in the car for a few minutes to warm up.
The Genal Valley.
Unable to resist taking more photographs of the vultures we left the warm car and braved the bitter gale.
The sun broke through the clouds and light levels improved.
The view West, it was getting darker and darker.
One of the birds decided to land.
Suddenly out of nowhere the sky filled with over a hundred vultures.
An amazing sight.
We were really cold. We decided it was going to pour down so we postponed the walk for a milder day.
In the car with the heater on we began to get the feeling back in our fingertips.
We drove to Algatocín for the bread. It started to rain.
We looked for Ann and Bryon to offer them the chance of a lift, but sensibly they had seen the weather changing and turned around at about the halfway mark.
Back in Benarrabá sheltered from the westerly wind temperatures felt higher although the sky was black.
In the afternoon it rained for a few hours, steady rain nothing torrential.
We lit a fire and worked on the computer.
Jane is researching the towns of the Costa del Sol for our new websites.
In the evening we watched Master Chef.
Later we watched 'Stuck on You' starring Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear. Cher and Meryl Streep appeared in cameo roles as themselves. A funny but not very 'PC' film about a set of conjoined twins. Some hilarious moments.
A beautiful fresh day. Sunny skies with a few fluffy cumulus like clouds floating by.
After yesterday's Google search on clouds, I found out that there are a lot more different types than I realised. Hence the 'cumulus like' as I'm no longer confident that I know what I'm talking about! More study is needed.
We drove to Gaucín to the bank. Then had a coffee in Venta El Socorro.
We took these photo's from near the bus stop.
It had snowed on the higher peaks in the area overnight.
The northern end of the Sierra de Libar had a good covering.
A wintry scene.
Near the bus stop are some flower beds filled with assorted shrubs and Yuccas.
The berries and Winter Jasmine looked good together.
Jane took this of a shrub covered with blue berries.
There was a large clump of woody Rosemary in flower.
This is the bridge at the Northern side of Gaucín.
We drove to the Nanta animal food shop for cat food.
This is the view South to the Mediterranean and Gibraltar from opposite the Gas station.
You can make out boats on the sea. It is often a hazy blue to the eye when looking towards the coast.
From Gaucín we drove to a vantage point above Benarrabá to take some photographs of the Guadiaro valley. Cortes de la Frontera with the snow covered Sierra de Libar behind.
The rolling campo of Salitre in the foreground.
Looking across the Genal Valley towards Alpandeire..
We were wrapped up well today. It was a lot warmer without the biting wind we had yesterday.
The forecast for the weekend is that the cold snap is over. Temperatures back up to 60F+.
The Sierra Bermeja had a dusting of snow on its highest point, Los Reales.
You can see Benarrabá bottom left.
Looking North East towards the distant Alta Genal villages. Alpandeire, Faraján and part of Júzcar.
Directly opposite from Benarrabá is the pretty pueblo of Genalguacil.
We drove back home. Jane prepared a packed lunch and we set off at 15:00h with the dogs to walk and see the donkeys.
It was a lovely afternoon for walking. The air was fresh and we were well wrapped up.
The tracks and trails around Benarrabá are beautiful. Great for walkers with a variety of routes possible.
Benarrabá.
There were two layers of cloud and lots of clear patches of blue sky.
The sun was in the South heading West and it was shining through the layers of cloud causing unusual diffuse sunbursts in the East. Very strange. You can see an example to the right of Jubrique in the photograph below.
There was snow on the top of the Sierra Bermeja.
There was a large dark cloud heading our way a few snowflakes were falling. Not soft fluffy flakes floating down but snowy rain. You can just a few white marks on the dog's coats.
Jane took this one of me. She said not to put it on the blog. I said if I'd taken it of her I'd have put it on, she changed her tune. It is snow, honest.
We walked down to see the donkeys.
They were at the bottom of the bank. I called them and they came walking up to get their seed.
We waited for them to finish.
They usually roll in the dust after they've eaten but today Rosie was too tired.
We set back up the steep hill.
We stopped to photograph a pretty grass. It looked quite like one that we used to have in our garden pond, but a little more delicate.
We walked passed some sheep who stood and watched the dogs with interest not at all scared.
A little further on we stopped and put the dogs on their leads because Antonio had his 300+ goats on the hillside and track.
They were eating everything in sight, including leaves from this Olive tree.
They were even eating the prickly pear cactus.
The dogs are well behaved around animals. We always put them on their leads to be doubly sure.
We met Antonio with his dog.
We asked him about his goats and their diet. He said they really did eat anything.
I asked him if they'd eat Oxalis Pes-Caprae, there was plenty around and none was being eaten. He assured me if there was nothing else they would eat that too.
Antonio's dog. After a few growls he soon made friends then started amusing himself and showing off with this stick.
It's surprising how many flowers are beginning to bloom, as early as January.
The shade loving Vinca/Periwinkle is a favourite of mine. The shape of the petals reminds me of a fan blade or propeller.
Back home we went for a walk across the village to see Seraphim about buying some firewood.
Jane took this of the rooftops with Los Reales behind..
Then this one of a distant Alpandeire through a gap in the houses.
We'd had a great day out.
We settled back to watch Masterchef, then later I made a start on the photographs we'd taken.
Later we read books. Jane finished 'Cocktails for Three' by Madeleine Wickham.
I'm reading 'Glamorama' by US. novelist Bret Easton Ellis.
I finished 'The Shadow of the Wind' by Spanish author Carlos Ruiz Zafón a week or so ago, it is really excellent and highly recommended. Set in Barcelona just after WW2.
A grey day. Quite windy. The cold spell which we've had the pleasure of for a few days is fortunately forecast to end today. Daytime temperatures have been around 10°C/50°F. Although it felt a lot colder because of the strong wind. With night time minimum temperatures on our indoor/outdoor thermometer of 4°C/38°F. It has been a lot colder in Gaucín as we saw a frozen puddle there yesterday.
We stayed in until late afternoon when we drove to the 'piedra del reyes', and then walked down to see the donkeys.
They are doing well and they are looking good.
So are Dolly and Molly the sheep.
Molly has been seen standing on her injured foot, so hopefully it is on the mend.
A few deep and long rumbles of thunder echoed around the valley. The sky to the North was blue but over the Sierra bermeja and the Sierra de Crestellina the skies were black.
The wind was picking up so we left the donkeys and hurried home.
We did stop to take these of the Sierra de Crestellina and the pending storm.
The Sierra Bermeja looked a little less threatening but that soon changed with strong easterly winds blowing the storm clouds our way at quite a speed.
There were some flashes of lightning and more long rumbles of thunder as the cold air mass to the North met the warm air blowing in off the Mediterranean from the East. We were in for quite a night.
The Border Collies aren't too keen on thunder and lightning. Jake is especially scared. Ferdy's not so bad now that he's stone deaf. Every cloud has a silver lining ... ;-)
We were up until the early hours on the computers. Jane was surfing eBay and I was configuring the router ports to let me download torrents.
The Andalucian Rain Gods had opened ports of their own and were doing the same. It was bucketing down. Great news for the campo and the water table.
Well the heavens opened during the night. The best time for it to rain.
It's not raining now, everywhere is fresh after the deluge.
Cristóbal knocked on the door. He's got a problema with his computer.
I went over. The printer wasn't working.
Nothing serious just a huge backlog in the print queue, easily fixed.
We took the dogs for a long walk to see and feed the donkeys.
It's a lot milder now.
No need for the hat and waxed jackets, as we found out. We were very warm after a few minutes walking.
The dogs had a good time running from puddle to puddle.
The donkeys looked great after the downpour their coats were shining.
Their feed bins had about ten centimetres of water in them, an indication of how much overnight rain we had.
We walked back home. We had a casserole and then watched 'Waking the Dead'.
We spent most of the evening on the computers.
Another night of much needed rain.
The skies have cleared now and it's a lovely day.
We spent the morning around the house.
I was on the computer. I'm downloading Spanish courses in another attempt to get to grips with the language.
We drove to Algatocín to do some shopping in the Super Genal.
On the way back we saw a Common Buzzard flying in the valley.
We're off out for another three hour walk. We took the Border Collies out with us to feed the donkeys.
The weather was beautiful. The dogs enjoyed lying in the puddles and chasing each other around.
The Genal valley looks green all year round but after a good soaking it looked really verdant..
It was very peaceful. We were walking together when suddenly two Red Legged Partridges broke cover close by our heads. They gave an alarm call and their wings were beating rapidly as they took off. I don't know which of us jumped the highest. Quite a shock, but a few seconds later it had us both laughing.
We saw the Common Buzzard again flying through the valley above the river.
A familiar shot of Algatocín from the track below. Really just to show how blue the sky was.
The donkeys were right at the bottom of the mountain. We called to them and rattled their food bins.
We ate our packed lunch whilst we waited for them to slowly climb the twisting track to near the gate where we feed them.
Here's Rosie.
Domingo.
Jane wasn't taking any chances with the weather and couldn't be parted from her waxed jacket.
There were two loose horses on the track. We put the dogs on the lead as we passed them.
A beautiful view. A very special place. We're very lucky to live here.
Oaks make up a large percentage of the valley's trees. This one stands on a bend in the track, you can also see the moon high in the afternoon sky.
We enjoyed the walk. We're both feeling a lot fitter with all this daily walking that we're doing.
I'm building up to a five village challenge that I'm planning to do. I don't think Jane will be accompanying me on this walk. I estimate it will take me about fourteen hours.
I'll put more details about this marathon walk on the blog shortly.
More overnight rain. Yet again it has cleared nicely.
Jane did a 'taxi' run to Algatocín to pick up our guests after they'd completed a a walk and had lunch.
We set off to walk to the donkeys again.
Sebastian's pigs ran up to the fence to see us.
They are either the friendliest pigs ever, or they think that we're going to feed them.
I hope Jane isn't getting too attached ...
It's still cloudy on the mountain tops.
Alpandeire surrounded by mist pockets.
Algatocín.
We watched some small birds fluttering like bats then swooping like Swallows or Martins, I'm not sure what they were. Not enough light to pick up any colours. Too early for anything except resident Crag Martins? They seemed smaller, also I've never seen Crag Martins doing this unusual fluttering. I'll have to get the books out.
The Broom is really starting to brighten up the mountainsides. This bush was growing near a young pine tree. Jubrique in the distance.
We were later than usual and the sun was low in the West.
An unusual photograph taken as the last rays came through the trees.
The Sierra de Crestellina. The evening sky was beautiful.
Genalguacil.
Another good day. Rain at night and beautiful walking weather. Perfect temperatures and lovely skies.
We cooked Cauliflower cheese.
Watched Masterchef.
We both spent the night on our notebooks.
A lovely day. A few clouds in the sky but it's dry and mild. Quite warm if you can keep in the sun.
We spent the morning around the house.
We're off out to do a walk from Atajate to Alpandeire and back.
Jane's made us a packed lunch.
We set off at 13:00h.
The walk is the PR-A 229, a 5,600 metres which is 11,200m return. Almost exactly 7 miles.
One of the 'Senderos', signed walks that link the towns and villages of Andalucía.
This is part of Alpandeire visible from from Atajate with zoom.
We walked down into Atajate from the car park at the Ronda end of the pueblo.
This beautiful Mimosa tree was in flower.
The track starts at the bottom of the village about in line with the church.
The first part is downhill and the path is wide and rocky.
There were Almond trees in flower alongside the walk.
Looking back after about five minutes walking.
The limestone outcrop neat Atajate is covered in trees and sheep. It is called Los Tajos. A common name for limestone outcrops in the area.
It's surprising how many butterflies are out and about in January. This was quite small, pretty, mainly white with black blotches.
The track continued on down.
There was a small track to the left after about 700-800m walking. We were a little unsure but Jane found a marker post.
We left the wider track and walked in single file down a very rocky path that was currently waterlogged. Three nights of heavy rain meant that the path was now a small stream.
Jane had her camera and stopped to take a photograph of some large Bellis (Daisies).
I found a more exotic Dutchman's pipe, a climbing plant quite common in the Genal Valley.
We crossed a small arroyo (stream). It was pouring out of the hillside into a small pool about a metre in diameter which we easily crossed. Arroyo de la fuente.
This old bed frame was being used as a gate. A common practice in Spain.
There were no markers, but as there hadn't been any forks in the path since the last one, and this was the only way forward we went through. Closing it behind us.
We stopped for something to eat.
Jane has been cooking a traditional dish of Salmorejo de Patatas. Made with new potatoes, boiled eggs, onion, tuna, olive oil, parsley, vinegar and salt. Ideal for picnics.
It was a lovely afternoon. Definitely t-shirt weather.
After lunch we carried on down.
We hadn't seen a signpost for a while. Suddenly the path split into about four or five different trails. None looked 'official' fortunately they all went in the same direction so we stuck to the most well used of them.
A few hundreds metres of descending in a succession of switchback bends we found a reassuring marker post.
This is the gorge that the Arroyo de Andalázar flows down. It doesn't look very impressive in the photo but it is a magnificent gorge. The Poplar trees may give you an idea of the scale.
We could here the water roaring down the gorge.
We did wonder before we reached the bottom if we had picked the wrong time to do this walk.
There were some lovely blue flowers and daisies flowering in the damp soil near the arroyo.
The arroyo was flowing fast but it wasn't too bad at this fording point.
Our waterproof boots and the stepping stones meant that we shouldn't get wet .. that is if our balance is up to the job.
I went first. A few of the stones were a bit wobbly.
No problemas.
Next Jane ... a few anxious moments but she made it with out getting swept away by the six inches of water. (She could have got out at San Juan a little further downstream .. so no worries)
The Genal Valley is magnificent. Steep sided and covered in trees. The Ronda road cuts across the central peak near the top.
Onwards and upwards. We were now on a fairly decent 4x4 track. A contrast to the rocky walking path on the other side.
A few times we had a choice of paths that weren't signed too well. You have to step over the chain and carry on. There's a marker post about thirty metres further on.
We worked out that whoever had put in the posts and markers had set off in the opposite direction from Alpandeire.
We walked on.
We came across a lovely waterfall gushing out of the rocks. There were mosses and ferns, a lovely spot.
As we gained height from the arroyo Andalázar the views back across the valley got better and better.
Our starting point looked a long way off. We'd probably walked around 4km of the 5.6km.
Zoomed.
We were both really enjoying the walk.
We'd seen lots of hedgerow birds. Chaffinches and Blackcaps seemed to be everywhere.
We'd also seen a few pairs of Red Legged Partridges flapping fast across the valley.
You can just about make out four white villages. From right to left Benadalid, Benalauría, Algatocín and a very distant Benarrabá.
Benadalid.
Benalauría.
Algatocín.
Benarrabá.
We've often seen this series of long low buildings from across the valley as we've driven on the A369 Ronda road. We found out that it is an disused pig farm.
Suddenly a corner of Alpandeire came into view.
The path descended and took us into the pueblo.
In the centre of the photograph is a statue of Saint Frey Leopoldo. It is on an outcrop (El Cerrajón) above the village. Frey Leopoldo is famous in the area for his kindness to the poor. He left Alpandeire at the age of 33 to become a Capuchin monk in Granada. Where miracles were said to have happened.
He died in 1956 and the process of his beatification was started in the the early 1960's.
Jane tries an 'arty farty' shot.
We walked down into the village. A lady cleaning outside her house spoke to us and asked us where we'd walked from. We chatted with her for a few minutes.
We think that these are probably her kittens.
... and her chickens. Paddling in the arroyo de las Alfaguaras.
Then into Alpandeire and up through the pueblo to find a bar for a deserved coffee.
We were climbing up to the magnificent church.
We saw some horses being prepared for riding.
We asked if it was okay to take photographs, they turned out to be Brit's.
Phil went off for a ride.
Nicky kindly invited us into their house for a cup of tea and a chat.
The beautiful dog is Mia, a rescued dog. She was very nervous but now has a good home.
We had a lovely chat. A big thanks to Nicky for her hospitality. We hope to meet up again.
We walked up to see the huge church that dominates this village.
House numbering in the villages gets a little complicated sometimes.
Wild Antirrhinums grow from some unusual places This was coming out of a crack in a wall.
We saw some flowering near Cortes de la Frontera in December. Soon they'll be growing along the roadsides in great numbers.
We walked across the arroyo and up out of Alpandeire.
On the track we saw this mule and dog together. A strange friendship.
The walk back was probably a little easier than the outward leg.
Although the rocky path up to Atajate is difficult as you are constantly having to think about where to place your feet so you don't turn an ankle. This lateral movement gives your legs a great work out.
We got back to the car and drove back to Benarrabá just as the sun was going down.
The PR-A 229 is a lovely walk. The 1h30mins time guideline is about right. Although we stopped a lot on the way both to eat and to take photographs. We did the return walk in 1h20m.
We watched 'Masterchef' and later 'Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason' starring Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth.