Caminito del Rey

We had an early start today, as we had to meet the small group and our tour leader on the other side of the canal, about a 15 minute walk from our apartment, at 8:30 am. There were eight of us on the tour - 3 from Canada (Toronto and Quebec), 2 from Portugal, 1 from London, and us. Our guide for the day was Alfonso, a very tall Spaniard ,who has lived in Malaga for many years, but is originally from the North of Spain.

It was an amazing day. We trekked about 8 kilometres, and climbed up and down hundreds of stairs. I clocked up 20,650 steps, and felt it afterwards. The views and scenery were spectacular, but if you have a fear of heights, this is not the trek for you. The walkway we used was bolted to the side of a sheer rocky cliff, on one side of a deep, narrow gorge.

There is a community of vultures in the area that have grown from less than 5, to a population of nearly 200. They live atop the cliffs, and farmers in the area have agreed that if any of their sheep, cows or goats die, they donate the animal to the vultures. The cliffs and rock formations are mainly limestone and sandstone, and create a wonderful landscape whichever way you look.

Alfonso brought along a picnic for us to have about half way through the trek comprising manchego cheese, chorizo, bread and bananas. It was very thoughtful to provide this delicious picnic, and greatly enjoyed and appreciated. Ian, of course, loved the chorizo.

During the second half of the trek we continued to meander along the walkway, until we reached a suspension bridge that was made of metal grating, so that if you looked down you could see all the way to the river/canal - it was a long way down! Both Ian and I coped with the heights - there were some Danish girls on a school trek, and 2 of them were absolutely petrified of heights, one just clung to the rock face and did not look down. We talked to her and encouraged her along the way, and she had a beaming smile once she looked back at what she had achieved at the end. The other girl just broke down into tears, a little overwhelmed by the experience. These girls were on a school trip, and had to do the trek, which seems a bit cruel to me.

We had to trek another kilometre once we completed the walk to catch a shuttle bus back to the start, as the trek is only one way (thank god). The winding and narrow roads the bus driver had to navigate through were a challenge. Once back to the start, we jumped back into Alfonso’s van for the drive back to Malaga. It was tough going at times but a memorable experience that we both thoroughly enjoyed. Alfonso was a great guide, and very cheeky, and we enjoyed some good banter with him and our fellow trekkies - it was a great little group and we got along well.Read more