Day 40 – to Hoya del Moro (Pradollano – Sierra Nevada)

It had been a restless night; that dreaded hum after the lights are out… by first light there were five carcasses splattered on the back wall, but it had taken some time for the killings to be completed.

My Mosquito Policy needs some tweaking; especially with plans to be in the Arctic next summer. I had let my guard down, there haven’t been so many here in the late summer. They tend to be on campsites more than wild pitches, attracted perhaps by the litter and associated detritus.

Added to this was this supposedly luxury campsite tried to overcharge me significantly. Rather than the quoted 40 euros (by far the most expensive I’ve been on) the receptionist wanted 70 euros, as I didn’t have a ‘camping card’. It was a minor delay, but a needless one. The people behind me in the line were appalled at the idea of a pitch being 35 euros a night. I can’t quite imagine where that figure came from.

There’s roadworks on the way out of town, so it’s not possible for campervans to head to the Sierra Nevada that way, as it means it’s necessary to go through the narrow streets of the town, not a good idea, despite what google maps may say. Backtrack for 10 kilometres therefore, which isn’t such a bad thing, as the road that then climbs and climbs, is a much better one. I was headed to Pradollano, the town for the ski resort on the Veleta mountain. The town is at 2500 metres, no mosquitos up here.. These days, campervans and motorhomes must park at the new High Performance Sport Centre (at altitude of course) for 5 euros for the night. Fortunately, the car park is being resurfaced, so it’s possible to head up the road further, to the point where only works traffic can proceed, Hoya de la Mora; and it’s a better view. I had read this on a web forum, and at this time of year there’s usually only a few vans up each midweek night, as of course, it gets quite cold.

I arrived just after midday and headed out for what I had planned as a short stroll with the dog, my longer mountain day was planned for tomorrow. Just up to the Virgen de las Nieves statue, Our Lady of the Snows.. (the peak of Veleta is directly behind)

The ghostly legend has it that… a priest and his assistant were travelling over the Veleta mountain in August of 1717, at an altitude of 3200 metres, when a snowstorm that suddenly surprised them. Realising the danger they were in, they prayed. A bright light shone through the storm, and the Virgin Mary appeared, instantly calming the storm and directing them to safety.

A story reminiscent of the Big Grey Man of Ben Macdui, which I read a lot about earlier this year when adjacent to the mountain. There is a very good BBC dramatic production concerning it also, and following on from the legend, the book by John Geiger, The Third Man Factor, about survival in extreme environments.

I digress.

I met two Polish guys with a friendly dog, and we got chatting, and so my stroll was extended into being out for several hours. They completed the ascent of Veleta, at 3352 metres, I stopped short, as was without pretty much any equipment of water. They were on a 6 month trip themselves, from Krakow, but had finished work, and decided to wander in the camping car, with the intention of settling somewhere else in Europe. Both of their jobs had been affected by the pandemic, one in IT, the other a hotel manager.

As I turned to head down, I met two other Polish people.. and we chatted for the descent. This time it was a couple who worked in Eindhoven, one an electrical engineer, the other a vet, who was amazed at how many pisses my dog took, marking his scent for basically the entire route.

This will be, by some way, the highest stopover place I will be at on this trip, and probably many others. I got the prime place as well, out of the wind, in the evening sun, and looking down over Granada as the sunset, and the lights of the city came on. To add to the spectacle, a shepherd brought his flock of sheep and dogs down through the car park in preparation for winter. Roja was happy to share his water with the huge working dogs.