La Platera: Hornos el Viejo

Today was the first day in 75 days of walking in Andalucia that we had to change course to step around a puddle! It rained all night long and well into the morning, by far the longest-lasting rain we’ve had. Out on our walk, we met two ladies in the neighboring village of Hornos el Viejo who, when we mentioned “mucha lluvia anoche”, went to great lengths to vehemently tell us how good it was that it had rained. I’m guessing they thought we were clueless tourists who didn’t want our walking spoiled and didn’t realize how desperate the residents are for rain.

The rain brought us some new sights and sounds: snails crossing the road amidst green bursts of moss and an hours-long symphony of birdsong from every turn of the path. In spite of the clouds, we had good views of La Platera from various angles. Our house is just outside the village, set off by itself with a lovely arbor at the back, and of course, the era and the acequia. Like all the cortijos around here, it’s a very large house, built to accommodate multiple generations. I think there are 12 bedrooms in all. These days it is rented out as six separate units ranging from a studio to three bedrooms (but Pedro says we are the only people here since Easter). It’s been a privilege to stay here and soak up the history of a way of life that hardly exists anymore, and with the exclamation point of the rain, quite a fitting last day to our weeks in the Sierra de Segura.

Today’s Wikiloc track:
https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/la-plater…Read more