Looking down the view can be as lovely as looking up.
Grating under a drinking fountain in Sevilla.
Cobblestones along a Sevilla river walk.
Rocks near Santa Fe
Nacimiento
Water access
Floor in the Museo de los Tiros
Acess
Museo de Arte Doña Pakyete
Graffiti is everywhere and much of it is really well done
Moclin to Granada – 15 miles plus a bus ride
Waking up at the church we breakfasted on bread and coffee then walked to a local walking path, Ruta del Golizino, and began a descent to the town of Olivares.
On the the way we met a group of middle school students out for a walk on the path with their teachers. We enthusiastically exchanged Spanish and English phrases then went our separate ways.
Leaving the mountains we hit flat farmland surrounding Granada. Seeing this rich area helped us understand how the Granadian emirate remained independent for another 250 years after the fall of the Muslim capital of Córdoba.
Good morning Moclin.
View towards Olivares.
Alfred checking the route with the Moclin Castle in the background.
Down the trail!
On the way to Pinos Puente.
“Las flechas Amarillas” (yellow arrows), mark the Route of the Caliphate and were well placed to augment our maps.
Church in the hamlet of Bucor.
Horses on the outskirts of Pinos Puente. Arriving here things seemed grittier with more graffiti and abandoned factories.
One image said “this is the graffiti of unemployment”. We walked into town and took a bus to Granada.
Alcalá la Real to Moclin – 19 miles
Today we thought we’d do a quick visit to the Fortaleza then head on to Moclin.
We started with the main museum in town and toured the rooms with artifacts from Neolithic to medieval times.
Some of the many interesting finds.
The Fortaleza and church are well worth a visit; blending original and reconstructed works with a wide array of presentation techniques to teach the visitor what life was like living in a town on the Christian – Muslim frontier.
Walking up the hill.
Through the first gate.
View from the tower.
A copy of a trebuchet used by Catholic attackers to defeat Muslim defenders after 9 months of siege in early 1300’s.
Inside of cathedral destroyed by Napoleon’s army during Peninsular War (per video shown in church).
We left Alcala at 3:30 and started the walk to Moclin through lowland farm country.
Asparagus fields
Climbing up towards Moclin.
Storm clouds gathered as the steep climb began. Dark settled in and we followed the white roads by the light of the moon.
A loop trail visiting caves and fountains just below Moclin.
Information on Moclin. As we entered the town fog settled in; restaurants were closed and we found no hotels.
We settled in for the night at the church; someone shined a light on Alfred but otherwise we slept through until morning.
Fuente de Viñuela to Alcalá la Real – 13 miles
After walking several days we began to lose track of time and scenes began to merge.
We found a sign all about the E-4 and E-7 trails we plan to take in a few weeks. We are “senderistos”.
Duck palace
Each town has a source of usually potable water and in some places we’ve seen public wash houses.
Santa Fe lavadora
Finana
Alquife
Huanaje
Fountain in front of the Alhambra.
Everyone seems to have a dog. Ones in the city often have lovely little sweaters but in the countryside they’re working animals. They bark a lot but seem to back down pretty quickly.
Subbeticas to Fuente de Viñuela – 19 miles
Even though sunrise isn’t until 8:20 we still got an early start. We had lunch in Priego del Cordoba and visited the incredible cathedral there.
Olive harvest is in full swing. The sound of tree shakers and pruning shears fills the air.
Each area we’ve passed through has a special sweet. This one was delicious with almonds, butter and sweet wine.
Historic square in Priego del Córdoba. There is a castle under reconstruction to the left and a church in the background.
Here’s the marvelous inside of the main cathedral.
View from “La Balcón”.
A friendly burro alongside the road after Priego.
Couldn’t resist taking a picture of this incredibly old tree; still producing too.
Sunset with the evening star in the upper left corner. Time for bed!
Across the Subbeticas 9 miles
Today we left the lovely town of Zuheros and spent the day hiking through the Subbeticas Nature Reserve. All day we heard the sounds of belled goats and smelled thyme and other herbs.
Adiós Zuheros!
Limestone caves were everywhere and one cave is enormous with prehistoric remains and cave art. (El Cueva de los Murciélagos)
Much of the land was covered with oak trees and flowers grew in the shady glens.
The amount of work to clear the land must have been incredible.
We saw bones of old houses and lots of animal bones.
Looking over the valley at the edge of the park.
At last we saw goats!
We laid out our bags at the base of a huge cliff filled with calling birds; as the sun set we heard an owl.
Sunset
Baena to Zuheros – 8 miles
Today’s walk was short with glorious scenery! Zuheros is in the Subbeticas Nature Preserve and it’s well worth the visit.
We stayed a second night in Zuheros and went to a bat cave. Photos forbidden so no record but a good hike and great guide.
Leaving Baena
Down into the valley from town.
Baena
This day we followed the Marbella River.
Olive groves
I was amazed to see trees in full bloom.
Almost to Zuheros.
Subbetica!
Castle at Zuheros.
We stayed an extra day in Zuheros and visited the bat caves. We just saw two bats but as our guide said “it’s not a zoo and the bats don’t have a schedule”.
Entrance to the cave.
Just inside, no photos allowed beyond this point. We went on to see cave paintings, burial sites and incredible cave formations.