Day 43 – to Hoya del Portillo (above Capileira)

Before the crowds gathered for their Sunday afternoon lunches and slow walks around the village I headed off on one of the hikes from Guy Hunter-Watts’s Walking In Andalucia. It heads out of Capileira on the east shoulder of the Poquiera gorge to the village of La Cebadilla, now completely deserted, a ghost town, originally built to house the workers on the hydroelectric station. There are excellent views both to the head of the gorge, and back down the valley.

I laid low in the afternoon and waited for the hordes to depart as I needed to take the van into the village to fill up with water. The road continues up the mountain from the village, but the asphalt soon disappears, which means 10 mph or less. Patience is rewarded though as in 6 kilometres or so it climbs to 2150 metres at Hoya del Portillo, a good base to start from tomorrow.