Mirador de Aldehuela

El Burgo, where we are now, was actually our inspiration for planning an extended exploration of this area. We’ve been here twice before: the first time coming over the mountain pass at Lifa, riding our mountain bikes on the Ruta TransAndalus from Ronda to El Burgo in 2009; and the second time arriving via the Roman bridge from Carratraca on our 2013 Coast-to-Coast walk from Nerja to Tarifa. Both times, we loved the remoteness of the surrounding mountains, so we were delighted when a few years later, the area was declared a national park, the Sierra de Las Nieves.

We had plenty of time to explore the town today. There is a beautiful new walk that has been established along the Río Turón using the path of an old acequia that powered a mill at the bottom of the village. When I say old, I mean really old. In fact, it is referenced in paperwork of 1491 as being part of the spoils when the Muslims of El Burgo were defeated by the Christian forces of the Reconquest. Unfortunately, we could see only part of the walkway today because the part that overhangs the river was closed off for repairs.

That gave us more time to focus on the Roman bridge at the far end of town. Two men were working on repairs there, and we had a nice conversation about what the upkeep on an old bridge like that entails.

Interestingly, when first building the bridge, the Romans made use of cofferdams (cylinders inside which workers were protected from the river water). Inside the cofferdams, the workers built the pillars that would support the arch of the bridge. (This same technique was still being used more than a thousand years later to build the Brooklyn Bridge.)

This bridge connected the area with the Vía Augusta and can still be used to cross the Turón River to reach Malaga. In fact, we will cross it just as the Roman Army, patricians, plebeians, and slaves did thousands of years ago to reach the rest of Baetica (Andalusia).

As I write this, I can hear the church bells ringing 8 pm in the tower at the end of our block. This church was built to accommodate the elderly who found it hard to climb to the church at the top of town. We are wondering if the bells will be ringing every hour through the night.

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When we have been here before, we have always used the dirt lane that runs along the south bank of the Rio Turón to get to the footpath that goes over the mountain to Ronda. So we thought this time for something different, we would try the path that goes along the north bank of the river. We picked out a Wikiloc track that would take us up the river and across the dam called El Dique, the first dam of three that have been built along the river for flood control.

The path started out beautifully wide and smooth. Soon, however, we got to a sign saying the route was closed due to rock slides. We found we could get around them easily. As we continued up the river, we marveled at the bird song and the flowers and the sunshine. We could see on the map that there was a large acequia beside us, and indeed, the trail made its way up to it, and we were able to walk beside it or in it almost all the way to the dam we were hoping to cross.

But when we got close, it looked like there was water coming over the top of the dam, and the closer we got, the more water we saw. By the time we got to it, it was very clear that it would be impossible for anybody to cross. So we continued on, working our way up the north side of the river on a very nice path that took us to an old era where we had beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. Every once in a while, we could see the remains of old mills along the river as well.

Later, back in town, some workers cleaning a bridge told us the flooding in March had been enormous, engulfing orchards, roads, and houses near the river.

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