Well things continue to 'gel' here in Pampa and the surrounds. I (Jose, Pep, Joe, Pipe) have finally found a bit of time to post another blog albeit at 11 pm-1am, Friday night, in the pueblo of Pampeneria... Fam resting from yet another day of checking out the surrounds. Trying to concentrate as the whole town is having a bingo session on the 'sauce', which is very entertaining.. We went and did a cursory visit of the area (Berchules, Cadiar, missed Lobiar where they actually lived... oh well...) where good family friends (Annie, Adam, Gideon, Jacob, Eva) stayed to the east of us in the Alpujurra several years ago. But I digress, back to the past several weeks since the last post, I'm back on track now.
18-July: First a few shots of our first finding of our local beach at La Herradura (totally by accident, but hey these things are meant to be...), a smallish enclave that is relatively quiet (for Costa Tropical) family friendly beach that is a meez-ly 1-1.5 hours from Pampa. We weren't organized yet with beach accessories (umbrella, esky for beers, and oh yeah food & drink for kids...) but Robsie and me had a wonderful swim out a 100 m or so with nary a worry of noahs (that's great white's for you northerners), which was a seemingly novel experience. Whilst at the beach a street vendor sold us a great imitation of FC Barcelona home uniform (Sammy's new favorite sporting league (la Liga) and sportsman (Lionel Messi) (he also has the soccer game on the ole I-pad now that Robsie and I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to manage...)
A few shots of life in front of our casita Alpujurra during a typical down period. Clearly soccer (futbol, GOOOOOOOOOOOAALLLLL!) has become an influence in our family...
19-July: Today's the excursion was to simply go down to the Rio Porquiera just below Pampeneria and get wet (that's pretty much 1-2 day snow melt flowing down the river, kids are champions in the cold water!). This was a simple 1.5 km hike down about 200 m from the pueblo. Last shot indicates that Perth kid's sleep time of 7-8 pm in Spain doesn't work, it's more like 11-12 pm here (thankfully followed up by 8-10 am wake ups rather than Sammy's Perth 6 am wake ups...).
20-21-July: Finally, the one of the major reasons for coming to Spain to catch up with familia comes to fruition with my cousin Francisco, Marie Angel, Hugo (8 yr) and Luca (2 yr, same name as our Luca) come to Pampa for a good ole catch up and chin wag! This started in the Pampa plaza at the bar of course.
Frankie looking after Luca and assisting with kicking the FC Barcelona soccer-futbal ball.
Followed by a late dinner on the casita's terrace!
And then up to the mountains, spectacular backdrop with the whole clan in the frame along with the high alpine of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Then off to a 'secret' small creek pool that Abel (our casita's owner) told us about. Frankie about to make the plunge with Marie Angel looking on...
After Frankie's breaking trail of the pool, Robise was enticed to follow soon after!
After a day in the mountains, cousin's chilling out on a bench next to the outdoor bar at Capiliera where we knocked back a couple tubos of cold cerveza, a pueblo about 500 m above Pampa in the Rio Poquiera gorge (2nd highest pueblo in Spain).
22-July: Another excursion day, bit of driving involved in this one. I thought it would be good to check out the western side of the Rio Poquiera valley (more like a canyon really..., all the sane accessible stuff on the eastern side of the valley) that is quite remote, dirt roads, single track, dicey, etc... (particularly in a front wheel drive rental Hyundai!). First stop was a Buddhist monastery purportedly to seat the Lama of Spain. When we got there it became immediately apparent that the decibels associated with our family chatter was not harmonious with this particularly scene, so after disembarking from the car Robsie and I gave the orders to re-embark and carry on... After about another hour (probably 2 hrs according to Robsie and the kids) of single track dirt road we came to at about ~2200 m elevation at Casa Mundial (a winter refuge), the end of the road... A few pics follow at this most delightful picnic spot with nary a soul around for kms... First, Frankie doing the Buddhist meditation thing...
The obligatory scenery shot. Note this was a odd day as usually at this time of year not much build-up in these high mountains.
Robsie giving a lesson in high sub-alpine ecology in a meadow.
We then descended and happened across a functioning, manned fire lookout about 300 m above the Buddhist monastery (as close as we dared disembark!). Nice shot across the valley (the rio is way down below) looking across to the eastern side of the Rio Porquiera canyon where you can see the three blanco pueblos of Capiliera (left), Bubion (middle) and out beloved Pampa (lower right).
Another perspective with a major pueblo, town called Orgiva down below at about 450 m.
23-July: Back to La Heradurra beach after that trip to Casa Mundial... Afterwards, I went for a short hike on a local Sendero (trail) that was supposed to be about 2 km. Hmmm... Took off at about 8:00 pm (final light a 9:e30 pm) I got off the trail accidentally and happened over to the next canyon, realized it at about 9:30 pm, decided to take the direct route straight to the summit of the ridge. Got up there and a lot of cliff all around, so took the ridge up mountain (on the way spotted about 15 Ibex [mountain goats, no camera with me unfortunately]) and managed to find a trail down to Bubion, then got on a trail I know down to Pampa and showed up at the door at 10:30 pm. Robsie was just starting to wonder what I was up too, and than she came to the conclusion I would be alright as it doesn't get too cold this time of year. Distance estimate of excursion was 8 km, 800 m vertical ascent and then descent, a topographic map would have been handy...
24-July: Morning shot of Pampa as me and Sammy head up for an 8:30 soccer training session on the local soccer pitch a bit above town... Great view of the pueblo, and nice backdrop for a soccer pitch!
25-July: Today we headed up to the highest pueblo in Spain, Trevelez, famous for the best Jamon (ham or better said prosciutto-like for you Aussies) in Spain because of its superior drying climate. We promptly found a sendero (trail) and headed up river and found a great spot for picnic and dam building.
And then Lulu decided to show off her potential appearance in a decade's time!
We then spent the afternoon in a wonderful low land area of the Alpujurra below Pitres (small villages of Ferriola and Fondales). Very quaint, and managed to find the famed natural spring/fountain of agua con gas (carbonated water or as Sam says Bubble Water). Amazing!
Finally got a picture of an Ibex, female, so no horns... Kids were excited about the experience.
This platform is kind of cool, essentially it was a manually milling area where grain was brought here in days of old (i.e. Moorish times) and a bit of milling, hard work and wind up the canyon yielded flour.
27-July: Start of a family catch-up. First up staying with Franciso and family at his place for the night. They have a great outdoor area with a pool. Fantastic late night dinner served up a la BBQ, very full and very good. Francisco and I had a lot of catching up to do, til the wee hours of the morning (was it 4 am or 6 am, can't recall...).
Luca and Luca quite late at night having a nice bonding moment.
28-July: Then off to my Tio (Uncle) Elle's (yellow shirt) in Algecerias (close enough to Africa to throw a stone to Morocco) who's is a master chef. My tia Carmen, tio Domingo, Francisco, Marie Angel and Robsie enjoying Chilean style Prawns, salad, avocado salad, etc.. Muy bueno tio! Kids also had a fantastic meal. Great to catch up with him as he is departing to the US to hang out with the folks for 2 months soon, so unfortunately this will be the only time that we will catch up with him as he will return back to Espana just as we arrive to the western USA in late October.
29-July: Then off to catch up with my prima (cousin) Maria del Mar, her husband Paul and kids Ismael and Tania. They have a great house in La Linea with a pool and fantastic views of Gibraltar and the Atlas Mountains of Africa in the background. First pool acrobatics with Frankie on my shoulders and then Ismael.
The cousins warming up after a long playful swim in the pool.
The two cousins (born within a week of each other) doing the bonding thing!
Ismael bonding with his two newly met cousins!
My tio Paco (got to get a picture[s] of him in the blog as well as Marie and Paul) and tia Mariekita (also need a picture) as well as navigating us to Marie and Paul's house (we would have had great difficulty navigating on our own), cooked up a fantastic mid-day paella!
Sam hamming it up in the pool!
And that view from Paul and Marie's house with La Linea in the foreground, Gibraltar in the middle and Africa in the background, is simply amazing! A great wood-fired pizza extravaganza for the late night meal by Paul cooking up a storm and Marie fixing up all the trimmings. Hopefully they never come to Australia as we will be hard pressed to match their hospitality!
31-July: 30-July we got back to Pampa and then started preparation for our Alpinist ascent of Mulhacen. Well actually we had no intention of doing an ascent but rather going to the Canon de los Siete Lagunas (Valley of the Seven Lakes, below Mulhacen, at about 3000 m). So here is the start at Capeliera on the bus that take you to the Mirador of Trevalez at 2700 m (you can only get up to 2100 m at the Hoya de Portillo in your own car, so we decided with the kids to get the extra 600 m).
A view of Mulhacen from the bus drop off. That's nearly 800 m vertical to get to the top. Note the upper snow field, we have a play there.
Hmmm... the one sign we saw on the way up, we were expecting another for the Valley of the Seven Lakes, never eventuated...
Frankie and the high Sierra Nevada as a backdrop.
At this point Robin realized we missed the trail (if it exists!), so she made the executive decision up to the top we go! I said sure.
This is me at the peak of Mulhacen, the highest point in the Iberian peninsula, I had 40 million Spaniards below me and if the June statistics are any guide about 6 million tourists below me as well.
In order to get to the top, the kids ran out of juice at about 3400 m (80 m vertical short of the top, but probably another 0.5 km of ridge walking in quite high winds). We came across this simple rock shelter looking down on the Lago de la Caldera. They bivouacked there for about 20 minutes with Robsie while I summited (thanks Robsie for letting me get up there!). After a bit of rest, lunch and tender love and care, by the time I got back they were ready to make the descent. Note the kids did make it to the top of the secondary peak (Mulhacen II at 3387 m, and we easily climbed another 50 m or so they definitely broke the 3400 m barrier on the Iberian peninsula -- to be bettered in Colorado in October by the way).
That snowfield I point out earlier then became a summer playground. Something surreal about watching kids knock around a snowfield in shorts, 25 C weather and then going barefoot around the edges at around 3250 m.
Lulu got so excited about the snow she did an impromptu jig!
Obligatory snowball experience.
Ice cold beers at 3250 m for me and Robsie was well, nice...
After the snow field experience the kids were full of juice and breaking trail with us old folk trailing behind. They became quite adept and finding the trail markers, the nascent beginning of alpinists!
Looking back at Mulhacen, a great challenge.
Well, those are some tired kids, well deserved helados (ice creams) to be had at Capiliera after the bus ride!
No comments:
Post a Comment