Bubión: a mountain trail

Today’s walk will likely win the prize as our best mountain hike of the entire trip. The GR 7 led us to areas high above Bubión and Capileira. The state of the trail was perfect: dramatic, yet without any sharp drop-offs or rock-falls or eroded slopes. It was a steady climb, but at an inclination that I was able to manage (just). Although there were clouds all around us, every once in awhile the sun broke through and we had great views.

We knew from the weather forecast that today was likely to be rainy. It was cold enough that we could start right out with our rain jackets on. Sure enough, as soon as we gained a few hundred feet of elevation, we could see that it must be raining down in Órgiva and the other lower villages. But it was our lucky day. As we came up to an old era and a very traditional stone- lined acequia, the sun came out enough for us to actually see our shadows.

Near the end of our route, we joined the path taken by the Ruta TransAndalus, the 2500 km mountain bike trail that introduced us to tiny villages in all eight provinces of Andalucia in 2010. We had a happy moment remembering traversing this section in the early morning dark in order to make it through the Barranco de la Bina and arrive in Trevélez, the highest village in Spain, in time for supper.

We picked up our pace, headed downhill now, and made it to Capileira just as the rain started. Then it was down to Bubión via the road, and back to the house for bowls of chicken stew and seats by a warm fire.Read more