Walhalla: a magnificent day!

Magnificent, magnificent, magnificent! I think all of the Poqueira Valley could hear our shouts of joy as we came around a corner and had a totally unexpected view of a high snow-covered peak. “It looks like Mulhacén!” we cried to each other. “Could it really be?” Sure enough, PeakFinder
confirmed that we were indeed looking at the highest peak in mainland Spain.

It was an amazing moment because we were descending south down the valley and had expected our views to the north to diminish, not increase. Our goal had simply been to find a small ermita and its nearby cortijo that were listed on the ADR fichas. But our angle of visibility of the upper part of the barranco of the Poqueira continually increased and soon we could see all three mountain villages perched high above us: Pampaneira, Bubión, and Capileira. The view was even better than eight years ago when we climbed up Mulhacén from the pass just below the peak. When you are so close, you can’t appreciate the rounded bulk of the mountain. And if anyone is trying to climb it today, I hope they are wearing skis or snowshoes!

As if the day wasn’t already fine enough with our lovely dirt track, the bright sunshine, and the unexpected views, we came around a corner and found not just one but two of the main acequias that branch off the Rio Poqueira. The Acequia de Órgiva was dry (maybe it is the one that has become detached from the river when it changed course?), but the Acequia de Cerro Negro was full of water flowing down to the Guadalfeo Valley. These are both major acequias de riego, feeding many smaller acequias. For efficiency, they are now concrete channels rather than stone lined as they were originally. This means the trees that used to line the acequias, their roots being watered by seepage from the channel, are now gone.

We are guessing this might be the top walk of our trip, so we are very grateful to have had this unexpected treat!Read more