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Lakes (day 4)
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Once
out of Seville we leave the autovia and plunge into Malaga's lake district.
There are actually three interconnected, stunningly beautiful lakes here; The Embalse de Gaitanejo, The Embalse del Conde de Guadalhorce and the biggest of them all The Embalse del Gualdalteba-Guadalhorce.
Here we take a break, admire our surroundings and enjoy the sound of the cascading water. Cameras at the ready, and look out for the wildlife which abounds around the lakes. Orchids grow in this area. If you’re lucky, you may even see a ‘buitre leonardo’, a marvellous large golden vulture with a head resembling a lion! You can also see a smaller species of vulture, called ‘alimoche’ (Egyptian vulture), and maybe even a ‘caribú’, which is a type of deer.
El Caminito del Rey (English: The King’s pathway) is a walkway or via ferrata, now fallen into disrepair, pinned along the steep walls of a narrow gorge in El Chorro. The name is often shortened to El Camino del Rey.
It was built in 1901 to allow local workers the ability cross between two nearby waterfalls, Chorro Falls and Gaitanejo Falls. It served as a shortcut so the workers would not have to climb down the mountain on one side and climb back up on the other. Now a century later, the walkway has fallen into a state of serious disrepair. Many parts of the walkway have completely collapsed, leaving nothing but a metal beam and a wire between you and 700 feet of nothing. If you fancy walking the narrow path, you're going by yourself, and whatever you do, don't look down!
The danger doesn't seem to stop people from climbing it. This walkway serves as time-saving approach to Makinodromo, the name of a famous climbing sector of El Chorro. Since the walkway is just as much a shortcut today as it was one hundred years ago, people risk their lives on a daily basis despite its illegal status.
It's truly is amazing what Thoughtful Mark will do for the cause. He didn't really want to do it, so I blindfolded him and strapped the camera to his head. If you look closely at the photo on the left, you can just see him as a speck in the middle of the gorge. Click here to see how he got on. I promised him a pint if he did it. Remind me to get him one, will you.
When we are gazing up in awe (all of us now, no slackers), we will see the railway line cutting it's way through the mountains and over the gorge. Those of you who don't get out much will recognise the setting for 'Von Ryan's Express'.
Anyway, after all this excitement we ride down to another beautiful Lake; Lake Vinuela.
The road leading to Lake Vinuela is a bikers paradise; reasonably quiet with long sweeping bends. At over 6000ft, Mount Maroma dominates the skyline above the lake, and we're staying here. I can hardly wait. It's not the back of beyond either; there are a number of atmospheric restaurants and bars in this area for us to enjoy.
