Join me in 2022

HIKING IN THE SPANISH HILLS:  CAÑON DE LAS BUITRERAS (Vultures Canyon)

Saturday dawned a beautiful day with a golden sunrise.  

I was looking forward to a day's hiking with two wonderful friends and the day didn't disappoint. 

We were headed for a special hike up in the mountains, along a canyon on the Guadiaro river, past Gaucin and starting from a village called Colmenar.  I'm not going to lie, the car journey there wasn't much fun!! It's a very windy road and, as a passenger in the back of the car, I was feeling a bit car-sick by the time we arrived!  

But once I was out in the fresh air, my sickness disappeared and, breathing in the beautiful fresh air, I was rejuvenated. 

We began along the road towards the electricity station and the road was lined with great big trees that reminded me of Ents from the Lord of the Rings stories.  Once of them looked like it had a little fairy door and it was easy to let your imagination run wild.  I love these kinds of adventures that get the creative mind flowing!

Then we took a trail that followed the river valley and to say it was breathtaking is an under-statement.  The canyon was deep, the mountains towered above us and the river was emerald green.  

And the company was great - so much fun!  

We crossed little suspension bridges and acted like children, bouncing up and down on them to see how much they would move. 

For me, this is the great thing about adventures - they bring out the inner child that lives in us all and can often be forgotten about in daily life.  I believe it's essential to embrace the inner child on a regular basis - it grounds us and, for me, it's essential for mental health and well-being. 

Our path took us down to a little 'beach' on the bank of the river.  The sound of the water was like music, playing it's song as it burbled on its way navigating over the rocks.  The fish jumped and splashed and the birds chirruped while we took it all in, feeling the warm sun on our arms, the refreshing breeze on our faces and the whole scene giving us a complete sensory experience. 

Then we continued, and the path took us up.  And up.  And up.  And up.  

I thought the climb was never going to end!  

I'm not going to lie, it was hard.  Following months of inactivity due to lockdown and then a summer too hot for hiking, I haven't got my stamina back yet, even though I've been on a few hikes.  

As I huffed and puffed, I thought to myself "Did I really hike the Inca Trail last year?  How the hell did I manage it?"  

But I remembered that the secret was not to focus on the end point, but just the next 100 steps.  Or 50 steps.  Or 10 steps!   

And it was essential to keep stopping, not only to breathe, but to take in the amazing views that were revealing themselves to us.

One of the striking features, was the railway tunnel.  A beautiful tunnel that had 'windows' so you could see the train passing through it.  We were rewarded by the view - and sound of the train as it wooshed by just above our heads.  

We also got to play with the echo of the canyon.  I think we startled some other hikers by our piercing rendition of 'The Sound of Music' followed by cackling laughter like hyenas - all repeated back to us with the echo! But we were having fun!

The other amazing spectacle was the sight of the vultures that give this canyon its name. 

Beautiful, graceful, huge soaring birds that circled above us, hovering, swooping and floating on the breeze. 

Eventually, we came upon a lookout post and were able to see how far we'd climbed.  We rested at this point, drinking water, eating some snacks and giving our lungs and legs a breather.  

It was spectacular.  The emerald river below us now seemed so far away and very small.  The canyon ahead looked dark and mysterious and just ripe for exploring - we made plans to go canyoning down this section of the river once the season begins again.  

Then we began climbing again - up, up and up.  My legs and glutes were protesting but I knew the hard work would be rewarded and it was. 

We eventually reached the top of this section of the canyon.  

There was an outcrop of rocks and we decided that would be an excellent place to stop and have lunch.  

There was a large pile of rocks, placed into a kind of tower and it reminded me of the gifts to PachaMamma that I'd seen on my hikes in Ecuador and Peru.  I guess it's the same concept here.  

Navigating over the rocks to our chosen lunch spot proved difficult, except for one of our friends who is literally a mountain goat!!  We eventually picked our way across them, ditched the backpacks and viewed the splendour before us. 

If I'd thought the view from the previous viewpoint was spectacular - this was on a completely different level.  The river now seemed tiny and even the train tunnel was a long way below.  

We were also now above the nesting places of the vultures and looking down on them as they flew.  One huge bird flew out from a spot nearby and it was absolutely massive.  It's a shame none of us managed to capture it on photo or video.  

We took all the inevitable photos with the canyon far below us and sat down to enjoy the beauty of our surroundings, eat and drink.  The wind was chilly now, so I was grateful that I'd packed a flask of hot coffee.  

The view in the opposite direction was also pretty spectacular, with more mountains - bigger and bolder and they seemed to stretch on forever.  It was as though these mountains were a relative of the Andes as I got that same feeling of the mountains owning the land.  Majestic.  Spiritual.  Significant.  

I love the feeling that washes over me when I'm up in the mountains like this.  A feeling of being insignificant, yet significant in the exact same moment.  A connection with nature that I just don't have the words to describe.  It makes me feel connected with something bigger than me - connected with some kind of special energy.  It makes me feel alive.  

Then, we heard a rumbling.  Faint then growing.  It seemed surreal. 

At first, I thought it was a helicopter, flying up the canyon.  It seemed like a sound from the film "Apocalypse Now".  It turned out it was another train. But from up here, the sound was completely different and magnified somehow.  

After enjoying this very special place, it was time to begin our journey back.  It's not a circular route, so we had to go back the same way we came.  This time, down, down, down.  

Much easier on the lungs, thighs and bum.  Much harder on the knees!!  

But this time the view was in front of us and not behind us.  

Once the big descent was done and we were walking back along the river, crossing the sweet little bridges, I could feel that I was tired. 

Back at the car, I looked at our hike stats that I'd recorded on Wikiloc.  I couldn't believe my little eyes!  We had hiked a little less than 8km.  Really?  It felt like at least twice that!!  And the elevation gain was only 333m.  But the climb was pretty much all in one hit.  

One thing Wikiloc did lie about was the 'moving time'.  It had us moving for only 2 hours and 'not moving' for 3hrs and 45 minutes.  No way were we only walking for 2 hours and no way were we resting for that long!  I can only assume that we were going so slowly up that climb that somehow wiki thought we were still.  And of course, it was very slow picking our way across the rocks. 

A long bath was calling and I realised I have a lot of work to do to get my previous levels of fitness back again. 

But I know I will.  

For me - you can forget gyms.  Working out in nature, along beautiful paths and with a feast for the eyes is the only way to go.  

I can truly recommend this hike.  But do yourself a favour and allow enough time to enjoy the spectacular views!  If you go all out to get there as fast as possible, you will miss so much.  

The same is true of life!

Love and hugs <3

#Atrévete!