It’s Sunday now and I’ve just realised how far behind I am on the blog. Mind you, apart from our walk up the mountain, we haven’t done an awful lot except sit on the beach or sit in the van (it’s been raining for the last couple of days 😦 )
So on Tuesday it turned out to be a lovely day and we finally made it down to the beach. There was enough wind for the waves to be rolling in quite nicely, but we positioned ourselves beside the breakwater and had a patch of calm water to paddle in (I got in up to my waist – it was rather cold…)
We popped down the shop in the afternoon, forgetting that it was still a bank holiday and most were shut. But we found a Supercor express open and got a few essentials (San Miguel, an Oreo cheesecake….)
On Wednesday we headed back to do our mountain walk. It was another beautiful day and we made sure we had plenty of liquids and snacks. I even remembered my hat! This time we noticed that the walk up to the Macho Montes viewpoint was actually a bit uphill after all – it’s just that it’s steeper going to the other viewpoint so we didn’t notice it the other day! We tried a couple of the other paths and found a fenced in area where there were goats and, we think, ibex. You couldn’t see in there very well and we can only assume it was some sort of conservation programme.
We reached the bottom of the mountain (which we believe is about 1200m but don’t quote me on it, I’m having trouble getting the information! We stopped for a drink before setting off up the path, which was quite clear at this point.
As we ascended the path was narrow, rocky and steep in places. At points Calv, the mountain goat (as I’m now calling him), was hauling me up to save me going on my hands and knees (I’ve only got short legs). There were times when we had to stop to work out where we were meant to go next, and points at which we had a choice (sometimes neither choice looked preferable!) When we got close to the summit the terrain became almost exclusively rocky and exposed. And it made me nervous – I was really happy with what I’d achieved and I wasn’t ready for this terrain. So it beat me I’m afraid. Calv continued to the top (just another 5-10 minutes) and he said that it was very rocky, but he thinks that I probably would have made it after all – next time (I’m getting more confident at these things all the time – trust me, not long ago I wouldn’t have got half way up this mountain. So I know that I’m getting a bit fitter). I did have a bit of a slip on some loose rock on the way down which set my heart aflutter though…
I’m very glad to have done it and would definitely do it again. I’m finding myself actively looking for mountains to climb!!
Perhaps due to the mile long walk back to the car we weren’t in the same state as when we returned from Gibraltar last week! In fact we were both pleasantly surprised by the lack of aching joints the next day 🙂
We didn’t want to cook so visited the Jaipur Palace, just up the road, for dinner. Calv said it was a bit boring, but it was an Indian meal. It was fine 🙂
Thursday was another beautiful day so, after Calv popped out for some essentials and to put a bit of fuel in the hire car before giving it back, we headed off to the beach again for a couple of hours. This time there was no swell at all on the water and we headed round to the other breakwater, the entrance to the harbour, so were on our own – for a while at least. This time I managed to get into the water up to my chest – it’s still very cold. Calv got his toes wet so that he could shoot a video – he says it’s artistic! (Unfortunately I couldn’t load the video up on here – if you ask him nicely he’ll send you it!)
Late afternoon was spent having a drink with a couple who were moving on the next day – hope you’re enjoying Cadiz John & Alison (if you ever happen to see this!) This meant we didn’t manage to cook and got a takeaway from the site instead. This takeaway provides anything from the restaurant (Da Bruno – very popular), but we got the chicken and chips for 10 Euros – it was lush! (Everything else was from the restaurant menu and so was restaurant prices, almost). I used the leftover chicken in the soup I made on Friday.
Also on Friday (weather wasn’t so good) I caught up with the ironing – it only took 3 hours, but I did get to do it in the fresh air. And then the rain started (as forecast). It stopped by about 4pm so we went out for a walk along the beach. What a difference a day makes. These pictures don’t quite capture just how windy it was, but the kite-surfers and wind-surfers were making the most of the conditions.
Saturday dawned as expected – raining. And raining, and raining some more! I spent the day writing up a draft of an article that I’m attempting for a magazine, and looking for some suitable sites in Portugal.
This proved more problematic than expected but we eventually found a few. I even ended up booking a site for Lisbon (which is not the intention whilst over here, but I felt it was the right thing to do). When we leave here next Thursday we’re heading 1st to El Rocio, just past Seville, then into Portugal, to Alvor on the Algarve. We might do an overnighter before getting to Lisbon on 15th March. After that, from 18th March, we don’t know where we’ll be stopping!
Elaine and Chris arrived and we met up with them in Cobapino Puerto (Alberts again) for some dinner. I think we’re seeing them later today and I know that we’re going to their complex, Dona Lola, for the quiz tomorrow evening (I finally get to go to a quiz!). Tuesday is our trip together to walk the Caminito del Rey. We were surprised to see the route that the SatNav says we need to take to get there – going back to Malaga, then North and back on ourselves – 58 miles and almost 2 hours! Turns out Chris wasn’t far off the money when he said we should leave at 8am…. I can’t wait though 🙂
I hope the weather’s improving over there. We’ll be back in less than 4 weeks!
Take a look at these related posts:-
turnrightoutofportsmouth 
Cool evening in Alberts – nice cakes in La Cala.
Eating through Spain.
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Nice long walk to earn the cake too!
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