fishydreams

Pip and I were out walking with the dogs this afternoon and we decided, just for the hell of it, to have a photography competition. The idea was simple enough. Each of us would take as many photos as we like and then whittle them down to a shortlist of 5. Mum would be the judge and score our photos out of 10. Mum´s words are final. Everybody knows that.

The campo is just crazy with flowers at the moment. It is just lovely out there. It seems, in places, as though clouds passed overhead and rained paint – purple clouds, yellow clouds. The verges of the paths are overgrown and heaving with colour. sometimes the dogs, straying off the track would just disappear into the plants as though they had been swallowed by the campo. Continue reading →

We heard a sad story when we walked the Caminito del Rey. It was told to us by one of the guides and concerns three local young men.

You don´t need me to tell you that young men are full of testosterone and bravado and they get up to crazy stuff from time to time. Sadly, there have been a number of fatalities here which have been reported from time to time in the press. Continue reading →

As you may be aware I walked the Caminito del Rey recently with my friend Julio and we were both hugely impressed by the place. The walkway is half way some way up vertical cliff faces and a question that inevitably pops into your mind is this: “why would anyone build a walkway in a place like this?”

It turns out that to understand the walkway you need to think about something about which I was previously unaware – a canal. Extraordinary as it might seem, and it is at least as extraordinary as the Caminito itself, there is a canal which was built through this inhospitable terrain. Continue reading →

On Thursday I had a chance to walk through a stunning gorge along a famous walking path called “El Camino del Rey” or “Caminito del Rey.” The walk is named after King Alfonso XIII who walked this path, or more correctly the “old” Camino del Rey path, almost 100 years ago. It is a quite remarkable experience to complete this walk and I was lucky enough to walk it in the company of a good friend, Julio Rodriguez.

The walk is fascinating for all kinds of reasons. In addition to the jaw-dropping scenery, the history of the walk is fascinating as is the natural history. I am planning to consider the history and natural history in future posts on this blog, together with a sad story we heard from a walking guide. Continue reading →