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    • TravelerSpain 2023 - Almeria/Cazorla
      141
      Day 55

      Orcera: Linarejos loop

      May 3, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

      Puente Honda: population, four. La Hueta: population, one. Linarejos: population, one. Three villages all under the watchful eye of the peak of Peñalta; all thriving aldeas for hundreds of years; all now with year-round populations approaching zero.

      When we saw Linarejos from afar the day we walked from La Hueta to Orcera, we knew we had to find a way to see it up close. Its mountainside perch combined with its striking terracing were irresistible.

      Our route today followed the Río Orcera up into the heavily forested ridges, with most of the river’s water diverted into acequias. We came to two junctions with the GR 247, and then the aldea itself with its wonderful views, its clean, neat streets, and its terraced orchards. At first we thought it was deserted, but the lone resident came out and chatted with us. He said he loves living alone there because it is so peaceful. On summer weekends, as many as 18 people come to stay in their second homes, but during the week he and his two dogs have the place to themselves. He likes winter even better than summer because then nobody comes on weekends. Winter used to bring up to a meter of snow to Linarejos, but now there is none. He knows well the 86 year old woman who is the only full-time resident of La Hueta, and says she walks all the way to Orcera to get her groceries (!) and gets a ride home from the police.

      The walk up to the aldea passes Orcera’s public recreation site with a huge swimming pool and various sports areas, all quiet on the way up, but filled with enthusiastic pickle ball players and workmen sanding and staining picnic tables on the way back.

      Today’s Wikiloc track:
      https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/orcera-li…      Read more

    • TravelerSpain 2023 - Almeria/Cazorla
      1
      25
      Day 54

      Orcera: Three atalayas

      May 2, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 81 °F

      Saying we wandered around in stony olive groves under a hot sun looking at old crumbling towers doesn’t sound anywhere near as inspiring as it actually was. There are three Muslim watchtowers from the 12th century near Orcera (built atop Carthaginian ruins from the 3rd century B.C.), with no defined path to any except the last one. We wound our way through the groves, trying to guess the best route to the first one, and suddenly, there it was - stones from over a thousand years ago that we could reach out and touch in a landscape little different from how it would have looked then.

      The olive trees themselves are of great interest close-up. Right now, the branches in full sunshine have clusters of tiny yellow and white flowers opening up, while those in the shade are still green buds. Interestingly, a mature tree will have some 500,000 flowers, of which only 1-2% will become fruit. That’s still a lot of olives!

      Today’s Wikiloc track:
      https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/orcera-tr…      Read more

    • TravelerSpain 2023 - Almeria/Cazorla
      1
      12
      Day 62

      Moralejos: Los Riscos

      May 10, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

      The cliffs and crags (riscos) above Moralejos are striking. They are reachable by a detour off the GR 247, and contain ruins dating from Roman times. As we climbed up to them today, I kept a running total in my head of how many spots were precarious enough on the way up that I needed Ned’s help to get across them, knowing that they would seem even more difficult on the way down. When I got up to four, I prudently decided that was my limit. Ned went another quarter of a kilometer with another 100 meters of altitude gain (yup, it was steep!) and was able to clearly see the birds of prey that nest here (los buitres) soaring overhead. By continuing on the GR, we were able to find a very comfortable way down with some great views of Yelmo and no precipitous drop-offs.

      Talking with Beatriz this afternoon, it turns out she is the sole year-round resident of Moralejos! The shepherd we saw yesterday comes just for the day; he lives elsewhere. So Moralejos joins La Hueta and Linarejos as villages we have been to on this trip that have a population of one.

      Today’s Wikiloc track:
      https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/moralejos…      Read more

    • TravelerSpain 2023 - Almeria/Cazorla
      121
      Day 63

      Moralejos: Río Trujala

      May 11, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

      We had a nice Wikiloc track picked out that would take us on a loop walk up the Río Trujala and back by a forestry track today, but shortly after we left Moralejos, it became very overgrown. By the time we crossed the river (it’s pretty narrow, but we should be glad it’s running at all!), we realized it was useless to try to continue. We had noticed some electrical towers nearby and thought if we followed them, it might make a nice second choice. What luck! They led us up high above the river through glades full of flowers, and then to a walker’s equivalent of a superhighway: a wide, smooth forest track, complete with some of the original kilometer markers. Eventually this joined the GR 247 stage that we are going to walk tomorrow when we move on to Hotel Río Madera. I was especially glad to get a preview of that stage today, even in the opposite direction, since I have been worrying that it might be too precarious for me. My fears were totally unnecessary. It is steep, but it’s not at the edge of a cliff, and there is nothing precarious about it.

      Just before getting back to Moralejos, we had a first on this trip: meeting other walkers with overnight packs! A friendly Dutch couple who are doing the same thing we are - staying several nights in a village and making loop walks before moving on - stopped and chatted with us about the area.

      This afternoon we toured all of Beatriz’ buildings here. She has done a lot of work to make them comfortable. We ended up with a taste test comparing gazpacho and salmorejo. Thanks, Beatriz!

      Today’s Wikiloc track:
      https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/moralejos…      Read more

    • TravelerSpain 2023 - Almeria/Cazorla
      11
      Day 61

      Segura de la Sierra to Moralejos

      May 9, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

      The aldea of Moralejos is tiny. I forgot to ask Beatriz, the owner of the house we are staying in, what the actual population is, but we’ve seen only two people since we arrived. Beatriz lives upstairs and we have the downstairs of a large stone house that looks delightfully old and sturdy. We are staying here three days so we can explore the remains of the original Segura settlement in the cliffs above us. Unlike Puente Honda, La Hueta, and Linarejos, there is no central square or gathering place here, but we did see the remains of an era on the way in.

      We carried in three days worth of food, but we could have left most of it behind because Beatriz has left us eggs from her chickens, tomatoes, potatoes, and mandarins, as well as an array of bakery delights.

      The walk to get here was all along small paved roads. We wanted traffic to see us well ahead of time, so we carefully arranged our orange jackets in the mesh pockets of our packs with the arms dangling down to wave in the breeze. But it turned out to be totally unnecessary; only four cars passed us the entire morning. I’d say this part of the Sierra de Segura is not heavily traveled!

      Today’s Wikiloc track:
      https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/segura-de…      Read more

    • TravelerSpain 2023 - Almeria/Cazorla
      1
      Day 59

      Segura de la Sierra: Gontar loop

      May 7, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F

      Our loop around Cerro de Gontar turned up some heartwarming surprises today. To start, although the peak of Peñalta had dominated our views from Puente Honda and La Hueta, we had never expected to see it again on this trip. So coming around the shoulder of a ridge on the GR 247 this morning and seeing Peñalta pop up felt like greeting an old friend. Not only that, we could also make out the line of the route we had walked from La Hueta to Orcera. Around the next corner was an even more unexpected surprise. We were looking down on the roofs of a tiny aldea, speculating on what it might be, when Ned recognized the terracing in front of the houses. “That’s Linarejos!” We were now far above it, looking down on the scene we had climbed up to from Orcera last Wednesday. It’s Ned’s favorite village so far, so it was a real thrill to see it again and to even hear its two resident dogs barking.

      The third surprise of the morning was coming across another pozo de nieve like the one below the castle. I had really hoped to see one for the first time on this trip, and now I’ve seen two in two days. They were used to store snow during the winter that would then provide ice during the summer. Inside the well, the snow was stored in compacted layers separated with straw. When the well was full, a covering was sealed to maintain the interior temperature. When summer arrived, the well was opened and the ice was cut into blocks to be sold. The one below the castle looks to be about 20 feet deep, so that’s a lot of ice!

      Speaking of snow and ice, we had a brief rain shower about 8:30 last night. It lasted for less than an hour, but was enough to make the trail smell damp this morning. This is the third tiny bit of rain in ten days after five months of no rain.

      Today’s Wikiloc track:
      https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/segura-de…      Read more

    • TravelerSpain 2023 - Almeria/Cazorla
      3
      Day 57

      Orcera to Segura de la Sierra

      May 5, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

      We knew Segura de la Sierra was perched on a steep slope , but it wasn’t until we walked up here today that we realized that it was a sheer drop in every direction. It wasn’t hard at all walking up, but I bet it is going to be a different story going down! We walked out to a mirador where the drop was so steep it made us nervous to stand by the railings. Too bad the camera can’t capture the sheer nature of the surroundings - it’s quite a sight.

      We got an early start (not wanting to climb 1220 feet/472 meters in the sun); had shade almost the entire way; and even saw some unusual wildlife: a lizard and a big flock of doves. The views back to Orcera were great - it kept getting smaller and smaller as Segura got larger and larger. And we finally found out the name of the big peak we’ve been seeing all week: Yelmo. Our trail out of this area goes right by it.

      Today’s Wikiloc track:
      https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/orcera-se…      Read more

    • TravelerSpain 2023 - Almeria/Cazorla
      123
      Day 58

      Segura de la Sierra: The castle

      May 6, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F

      We were pure tourists today, walking up to the castle that towers over the town and seeing the sights associated with it: the Arab baths, the workshops from the Middle Ages, the pozo de nieve (where winter snow was stored for summer use), the chapel for the Order of Santiago, and the bullring. The light was just right for us to get a good look at the 100 meter/300 foot sheer drop on three sides of the mirador we walked out to yesterday. I think you can even make it out in the photo. Ned went up the narrow staircase to the top of the keep while I kept my feet and hands firmly planted on the adarve (the walk around the perimeter walls used by the sentries). The Arabs described the site as being “as inaccessible as an eagle’s nest on a sheer cliff”. I agree.

      Today’s Wikiloc track::
      https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/segura-de…      Read more

    • TravelerSpain 2023 - Almeria/Cazorla
      Day 51

      La Hueta: Acequias

      April 29, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F

      We’ve long been interested in the water-channeling system of acequias introduced by the Muslims during their rule here in Andalucía. In the Sierra Nevada in 2018, we were able to walk along high mountain acequias de careo that channel winter snow-melt to areas of underground infiltration where the water can emerge from springs lower down during the summer. Here today, in La Hueta, for the first time we were able to watch a farmer opening and closing his irrigation channels off the main acequia de riego. This system allows him to water his potatoes and tomatoes in spite of five months of no rain. I wish we had asked him if we could video the process, but we were so busy asking him questions that it never occurred to us until too late.

      La Hueta is located about three kilometers farther up the Río Morles than Puente Honda. It is criss-crossed with old acequias dug out of the ground and the modern replacement - big black hoses. All of them feed the huertas (vegetable gardens) that I assume gave the village its name (minus the “r”).

      As if that wasn’t enough good luck in meeting people for the day, on our way back from one of our walks we met the one person who still lives in La Hueta year-round. We had been told that she was a spry 86 year-old, and sure enough, we met her marching down the steep track to Puente Honda on a four kilometer walk with her liter bottles in a shopping bag to get the good water from the fountain there and to see friends who only come out to the village on weekends!

      Today’s Wikiloc tracks:
      https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/la-hueta-…
      https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/la-hueta-…      Read more

    • TravelerMünchen - Essaouira
      Day 7

      Tag 7 endet in Ubeda

      September 21, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

      Nach der ersten Etappe über eine traumhafte Hochebene und beste Bergpanoramen eine relativ lange Fahrt durch eine Ebene mit unendlich vielen Olivenbäumen und sehr viel Weinanbau.
      Danach wieder ein neues Mittelgebirge, diesmal in Andalusien mit tollen Kurvenstraßen und schönen, sehr abwechslungsreichen Aussichten...und das beste: immer fast alleine; so gut wie kein Verkehr...
      Eine absolute Reiseempfehlung für jeden, der gerne durch schöne Landschaften cruised.      Read more

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