2024- Capistrano- updated hiking experiences
Hello from Capistrano Village....here is the sunrise view we see every morning.
Yet another break ☺️
#3- 2 lunch groups with some short walks towards Competa
At the summit of Opéra, beside the emergency cache.
Yes, this pooch hung out with us 2 years ago. Oh, the stories he could tell us!
Lunchtime overlooking the valleys way below
Tight squeeze through the karst
Lunch break after checking for snakes....yes, you read that right! Group celebration in Maro- never has cerveza tasted so GOOD! 2 extra people joined us to celebrate!
El Fuerte
A VERY tough hike: need pauses that refreshes!
View from Fuerte to El Cielo- Hugeron river below- LeMan trail on opposite ridge
The company was excellent, including John who joined in, (who has climbed 80 Munros in Scotland, run 150 marathons...great to hear of your interests, John!)
A real gem of a day!
Lunch break
Maureen Cooling her feet
A beautiful shrine along the way
Waterfall at the end of the walk
Workers capturing water from the Hugeron
After a great performance (All That Jazz, Edith Pief) at the Cultural Salon in Nerja- ice cream at the Balcon Europa.
Robert's wild camping adventure- ask him for the story!! Yellow highlight marks his trail through the Maro barranco, then up the Romero Road towards Cielo
Hiking along the river from Archez
Beautiful Roman bridge (lowest arch) which we cross over and then start climbing up to Canalliss del Abaida on the old Roman road (2nd pic)
View to shoulder of Maroma from Canallis del Abaida
Walkway on the edge of the village
Village square with gorgeous flower planters, church and water fountain
Beautiful walk over to Competa through olive groves
Below, Heading back to Archez along the river again. Water mill behind our group.
Almost arrived back in Archez, a lovely 11 km. loop. Very happy group!
The below map shows the Acebuchal hike as well as other nearby hikes out of Frigiliana.
We park at the quattro caminos intersection and hike down to El Acebuchal. The blue dot is the upper village of Acebuchal.
View to Acebuchal and the Puerto Verde pass. See older Blog for our adventures into this area of the mountains.
Mirador near the Visitor’s Center
Tight fit in the labyrinth of El Torcal
Geology lesson thanks to Robert
Taking in the views to the Mediterranean coast
Strange and wonderful karst formations- Robert and Wanda coming up with poochBarranco Maro to the Romero Road- 14 plus kms. and back to the Cueva Nerja.....and a sweet treat with cafe con leche!
If you head up the road towards Cielo Mountain on the Romero road, you start to have great views over to the cement "saddle" at the end of the Le Man trail which starts in Frigiliana. See photo below. The name of the mountain to the right of the saddle is Almendron.
Pet Cemetery hike
This hike starts right behind the Capistrano Village. It is a 20 minute walk from our apartments to the trailhead. Views to Frigiliana are the reward!
The below image shows the 4 trails which converge at the top of the hill. The top one is the start of the trail which eventually ends up on the rio Chillar. The upper right one would go up towards the esparto picnic grounds along a ridge.
Decent elevation gain....;-O
Checking out the contrails coming in and out of Malaga airport.
And views down to Nerja
We did it!!
Lucky X in the sky!! Right over Frigiiana ;-) Montes Fuerte is to the right of Frigiliana. Acebuchal is behind that mountain in the ravine.
Stunning view to El Cielo.... 6 kms beyond
Halfway to El Cielo and Almedron peak
Robert, our wonderful mountain guide with so many stories and so much knowledge.
Lunch break near the river....
On the "saddle" near the picnic area, looking back towards Frigiliana. Next up, 7 kms. down to the caves and back to Capistrano. It's a very long day...but wonderful!!
With Penny and Robin, Fiona and John- 2023
Cruz de Pinto- 14 kms.
Great destination at the Cruz de Pinto.....which can be seen from Nerja and Frigiliana (behind Diane and Jim). The students go here to celebrate graduating from high school! ;-O
Frigiliana with El Fuerte beyond (next hike described below). The start of the LeMan trail is due north of this picture. The visible trail goes down to the Hugeron past an abandoned farm.
Panorama picture showing much of the LeMan trail heading east. Can you see the trail? Nerja is down below to the right.
This is how fast weather can change in the mountains...rio Chillar is down below.
El FUERTE- in light red on the map
Trail starts in the uppermost part of Frigiliana.
Our highest point in the hike....black clouds and rumbles of thunder were intimidating us and we headed back down. To Diane's right you can see the trail which comes up from El Acebuchal, Puerto Blanquilla.
Checking our maps.....!! Frigiliana beyond. You can see the Cruz de Pinto and Nerja is beyond that hill. Rio Hugeron is below Frigiliana.
Zafayra- 6 km.
2022- with Diane and Jim
Top of Zafayra Pass after an arduous drive up the highway from Velez Malaga on the coast....
Sheep up on the Zafayra ridge......road to the coast way below.
Trail goes to the right of the mountain, around the back and out to the left. It loops back to the village of Zafayra.
Zafayra- 2023- with Norma and Fraser
Steep climb up from the road going through Zafarya Pass. The views!!
Views to the pass from the ridge- old road to Malaga seen below
Huge flock of sheep roaming the hillsides….this poor little lambic is needing a lot of help. Space blanket, food, more. We left a banana and water.
View to the snowfields of the Sierra Nevada at the top…simply “wow”.
View to Maroma….double wow. The terraces hillsides are gorgeous.
With Jim and Diane- Mediterranean Sea beyond with glimpses of the twisty road coming up from the coast. The small bit of water is near the Rio Verde trail system
And with Lorraine and Bill who introduced us to this spectacular hiking area many years ago....the snowy Sierra Nevada is seen way beyond.
After enjoying our lunch here, we headed in a big loop back to the road. We had a beautiful encounter with the friendliest dog ever who followed us all the way back!! Can you see what he has in his mouth??!! Could that be a goat??!!
Check out the view beyond....that is the backside of El Cielo and
This pooch carried the rack of goat all the way down...:-0
Time for a group shot....what a memorable day!!
View beyond to the Mediterranean Sea
Meson Los Prados seen below, a welcome treat at the end of a lovely day of hiking Opera. It only opens in early March, depending on how much snow is on the "goat highway". This spectacular road is the old road from Granada to Motril. Best to go UP the road and then return on the new expressway. ;-)
Steep climb up from the fountain before heading through the farmlands. You can see the Maro tower beyond the highway.
Really like this picture....relaxing beside the trail with Robert, Anne and Rose during our lunch break.
Robert is so knowledgeable about these mountains...behind him you can see Nerja.
Now, I'll go and pick up my knapsack and shake out the snakes!!
Here is the map showing us heading over to the Romero road.
Capistrano Village to Frigiliana by the Hugeron Barranco
We get around a huge rockfall by this great cement staircase.....a bit unnerving.
Yes, the pathway gets this narrow....we are about 50 feet above the rockfall that blocked the Hugeron cayon.
We passed the cutoff for the Cruz de Pinto....
Getting close to Frigiliana, seen way up behind us. It is a huge climb up to the village...needs 20% of the total energy. ;-)
And here we are, overlooking the Hugeron riverbed from Frigiliana! The remains of the Moorish castle can be seen just above the aquaduct. There is a sugar refining mill for the sugar molasses, only made here.
Off for a refreshing cerveza.....
Maro Tower - 11 km.
Another destination that gives us a wonderful outing at least once a week. Below, looking back at the Maro village which is part of the abandoned Larios sugar mill. We stop "up there" at a cafe for a great cafe con leche treat after we return from the Maro Tower.
Our tower destination is in sight across one final barranco, giving us 275 meters of elevation gain. Good cardio!
Arrived! What views up and down the coast! Check out El Cielo way behind us...a great direction beacon wherever you are in Nerja.
These are situated halfway between Nerja and Maro. Unsightly BUT full of local history. Many plans have ben proposed for these ruins. Golf course and clubhouse? The Larios family controlled the sugar cane industry for over a century. There are remnants in the town of Nerja overlooking the rio Chillar. The aquaduct system was built to bring water into the mill and to carry away waste water. A heli-gliding company uses this area for tourists to enjoy a flight along the coast.
Salabrena Excursion
Always ready to enjoy a sweet with a cafe con leche.
Loved walking through the narrow streets, reminding us of Frigiliana and the many white villages we have enjoyed in Anadalusia.
View to the Mediterranean Sea from the castle ramparts. Water cistern can be seen near bath area. Critical to withstand a siege.
Nerja Market Days on Tuesdays
Baskets under a banyon treeVeggies and herbs- a huge array of local produce!
Bought myself a straw hat and pansies for our terrace!
Local pottery is beautiful....so are the gals!!
Photo below- 12 lettuce plugs bought at a Velez Malaga greenhouse which were ready for eating within 2 weeks. See 2nd photo below. Keeps us in lettuces for 3 months.
Week of veggies from the Tuesday market.....about $15. Canadian.
Jamon, anyone??!! Price is determined by the amount of fat in the jamon, where it was grown and what the pigs ate. Acorns are best, apparently.
Mangoes, lemons and papayas are adjacent to our trails....they say if they are hanging outside the fence we can pick them. Hmmmm...
Cheers from our terrace! Quality local produce, lots of outdoor activity, socializing with friends and sunshine keeps us healthy and happy.
Tapas is very popular....the Canadian expat community here at Capistrano Village had a tapas celebration for St Patrick's Day in 2022. 8 couples each brought 2 tapas and a BYOB ....enough for a meal the next day!
Here are my 2 dishes: roasted red pepper and sardines with cream cheese on tostitos and....
Homemade guacamole, smoked salmon on zucchini with cilantro
Geology professor on Playa marina
Below, a view from Burriana beach to El Cielo and fishing boat. Every night the local fishers go out and fish, bringing back their catch directly on to the beaches.
Torrecillo Beach- wild waves, wild woman! The watchtower has been decimated by the many winter storms.
Below a picture of the "Cobblestone Bridge" restaurant overlooking the rio Chillar after another lovely walk in the barranco. Views back to the mountains are spectacular.
Once a week, I do the 12 km. loop that starts at our flats in Capistrano Village, walk over to the rio Chillar at the A7 expressway, down the barranco to the Mediterranean Sea stopping at the Cobblestone Bridge restaurant, then along the coastline visiting 5 beaches before heading up to Capistrano Village by Burriana beach. Lots of opportunity to stop for a coffee, a sweet, shop a bit, maybe an all-you-can-eat paella at Ayos for your dinner that day! Chock full of chicken, prawns....and paella rice! The view to the beach and ocean is so special.
Another wonderful destination, Andalus restauarant in Maro. A favorite of our dear friend, Richard, who introduced it to us many years ago. Here we are after our hike up to the Esparto picnic grounds and back (10 kms).....just in time to avoid a deluge rainstorm! Can you see Diane out there testing her rain gear??! ;-O
Was one of those cervezas Jim's?? Below, a delicious platter of aubergines and molasses honey glaze!
Our friends R and A were recommended this paella restaurant in Nerja....you need to order ahead and oh! is it worth it! A roaming band of troubadours serenaded us at the end of the evening. Ole!!
Another popular stopping off point for us over the years is the Balcon Europa restaurant. The view is wonderful! Here we are after doing the rio Chillar walk.
KK's is a special restaurant located in San Juan Capistrano. Since 2013 when we first started going to Nerja, Robert and I often would stop here for a refreshing cerveza after doing the Pet Cemetery hike. Below, our hiking group enjoyed a terrace meal overlooking Capistrano.
And the special culinary award goes to.....churros, fresh made at a kiosk on Nerja's main street opposite the China Home. We go every Sunday and bring back a bag of hot churros, probably for the latest Canadian arrival to Spain. Snip, snip....and back we go with hot churros, complete with chocolate dipping sauce. YUM!!
Worth a trip to this greenhouse in Velez Malaga to buy the lettuce plugs and flowers for the season. Bill and Lorraine go there on a regular basis.
Bentomiz Castillo
Quite an interesting trek up to this castle....mainly because we missed the turnoff for the top! Why, you might ask. Someone had placed the turnoff sign on the ground....it was anyone's guess which way to go. As you can see from the MapMyWalk image above, we walked the circumference of the castle grounds...and headed up from the rear of the hill. The Moors would've been amused to see this adventure! In any case a 2 km. trek turned out to be 9 kms.!!
Fallen down sign.....which, oh which way, do we go??!! We went to the left....and came down the road behind Bill and Lorraine. Oh, did we laugh!!
Montes Malaga (located near El Torcal and overlooking Malaga from the mountains). Here we are at the mirador lookout.
This hike starts at 767 meters and is located near the gardens of the area. What a great view down to Malaga! Very similar to the dramatic view from El Torcal.
So looking forward to hiking and walking this area with everyone.....here is one of my favorite photos from a few years back. Most of these familiar people will be back for another season!
Ciao from Capistrano Village....another spectacular sunset seen from our terrace.
1 Comments:
Lots of colour, sunshine, food&drink, elevation and oh yeah...geezers.
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