Órgiva: An adventure and a half

On our best weather day yet, we hiked a loop trail to a small village, Bayacas, that perches on the mountainside above Órgiva. We knew we were going to get beautiful views and what appeared on the map to be a nice stroll along a mountain ridge. Sure enough, as soon as we gained some altitude, we left the dirt track and picked up a single track sendero. A few steps more and we came around a corner face-to-face with a stunning view of a steep , massive barranco cut through layers of dark gray rock by the Río Seco (which is not dry at all right now). It was so magnificent and so unexpected that it took our breath away. At the top, there was a mirador with a fine view south to the Río Guadalfeo where we walked two days ago. Aha, I thought, now we are going to get that nice stroll along the mountain ridge. What I hadn’t realized while looking at the topo map from the comfort of our sofa was that the ridge was only a few feet wide and had a sharp drop of hundreds of feet on either side. Luckily, it stayed just a hair on the side of safe for someone like me. As long as I kept my eyes straight ahead, I could enjoy the glorious mountain views and pretend I was on a wide, level path. ( No photos from that part!)

Soon we were in the tiny, steep village of Bayacas, admiring the church and the mini lavadero, quite a bit smaller than most of the ones we have seen, with only two washing boards and no roof. Bayacas looks like it might be on its last generation of residents - no young people around, no shops, no bars. But lots of cars at the foot of the village with Dutch license plates, so maybe that will revive it.

We followed the left bank of the Rio Chico back to Orgiva. It had clearly flooded recently, probably in February with the record breaking rains that fell on this area, and there were uprooted trees all along the way. We stopped to chat briefly with a man who was cutting up firewood, and then continued on, passing the ruins of old mills, and the acequias that fed them. All in all, it was definitely our best day yet.Leggi altro