On Saturday, Eric and I packed our water bottles and a granola bars and took the train to a nearby town, Jimena de la Frontera, to begin a 9.5 km hike. We had great weather, 65 degrees, and the pueblo blanco was quaint and beautiful.
The hike was a big circle. First we went to the top of the town and then trekked up the peaks, then down through the Hozgarganta Valley where we saw pines and cork oaks. Once in the valley we reached the river and crossed it in two parts via stepping stones. The river was overflown, so we had to cross in shoes (with water up to my thighs) to get to the other side of the river (see picture below). Very adventurous! From the river we saw the jagged ridges of the valley and a few small sandy beaches. After a few more hours of hiking along the river we walked by an old water channel called El Cao (which once supplied water to the factory where the cannon balls used during the siege of Gibraltar were manufactured). Soon after walking along the channel we hiked up a bit more and then arrived back to the town of Jimena just before 6pm. And, before heading back to the train station to go back to San Roque we had a victory beer in the main town square. It felt good to sit down after our 5 hour hike (and of course the beer couldn't have tasted better!).
The trip was really great. We really enjoyed getting outside and seeing the natural landscape and breathing in the fresh air. With our book (Walking in Andalucia, by Guy Hunter-Watts) there are lots of hikes in our area, so we will be doing this again very soon, especially if the weather keeps up! Here are some pictures of our hike:
 |
| Jimena de la Frontera - town where we began our hike |
 |
| Lookout point in the middle of our hike |
 |
| Distance from our side of the river to the stepping stones, where we walked in the water |
 |
| Great view of the river |
No comments:
Post a Comment