Benaoján

Long and hard, but most of all beautiful and exhilarating. One of those days that leaves you tired but grateful and feeling full. A few kms after leaving El Colmenar, we saw the hydroelectric plant and Clare was able to explain what is to most people a long fat pipe, but which she calls a penstock. Then came the gorge, with a lot of rocky ascents and beautiful views. The trail was very well maintained with a wooden bridge or two, a tunnel through some of the rock face, and railings to hang on to at exactly the right points.

After the gorge there’s a little hamlet where I bought a cold Aquarius in a shop. Then came a much less strenuous ascent through fields filled with wildflowers everywhere and the Serranía de Ronda (name of the mountains) circling the meadows. Lots of jagged peaks all around.

Claire and I went at our own pace today. I would have stopped to wait if there had been any dicey spots like last year’s canyon walk, but it all seemed manageable.

I got to our Casa Rural in Jimera with time to take a quick shower, throw my clothes in the washing machine and get a ride from a neighbor up to the Cueva de la Pileta, a privately owned cave with amazing formations and paintings dating to 40,000 years ago. The newer ones are only 3000 years old. I don’t really know anything about prehistory, but it was pretty amazing to lay my eyes on paintings that had been drawn such an inconceivably long time ago. There were skeletons down at the bottom of a pit, an unsolved mystery of whether they were accidents, sacrifices, or maybe even a burial place. All of the rooms where the paintings were had evidence of smoke, so the inhabitants must have built fires inside. No photos allowed, so I bought a few postcards of these amazing drawings — a horse, a fish that had swallowed a seal, and some stick figures were my favorites.

The only restaurant in town is closed tonight, but thankfully there is a little grocery store where we got sandwich fixings. We’re in a Casa Rural with a pool and magnificent views.. Our tomato, cheese, and jamón Serrano sandwiches were more than enough!Read more