Oct 30th Update

Last week we took a trip with our friends Peter and Sherri to visit El Caminito Del Rey (the king's little pathway). The trail is located about an hour's drive east of Olvera in the mountains near the town of El Chorro.

The trail, much of which is suspended along the cliffs of a narrow gorge, was originally built between 1901 and 1905. It was built by the workers of a hydro power plant to facilitate maintenance and inspection.  King Alfonso X111 visited the area in 1921 for the inauguration of a new dam and thereafter the trail was know as El Caminito del Rey.

Over time the trail went into disuse and deteriorated.  After several people lost their lives attempting to navigate the pathway, it was closed to the public in 1999.  With regional government funding the trail was rebuilt between 2011 and 2014 and was re-opened to the public.

Here area a few photos of the caminito and the parkland in which it lies.  The trail can walked in one direction only, from north to south.

There is  entrance fee of 10 euros and reservations are suggested.  By the time we decided to go, all reserve tickets were sold but tickets are also sold at the gate located at the beginning of the elevated section of the trail. You have to hike in a couple of kilometres and wait to see how many day tickets will be sold.  We went mid-week and didn't have a problem getting admission.

A limited number of people are allowed on the elevated trail at any given time. It takes about 1 1/2 hours to complete the elevated portion.

There is some hype about the fear factor, as indicated by the necessity of wearing a helmet, but we found the experience quite mild.  There is secure railing the full length of the walkway.

 Above is a photo of Peter and Sherri,
our trail companions.
They have a B&B in Olvera called #31.

There are several lakes in this area. As you can see the water is low. Rainfall has been below normal for the last couple of years.

The Caminito is visible passing over the rail bridge exiting a tunnel.

starting out on walk to the caminito

A view from along the caminito

 Just a another photo of the new trail with parts of the old trail below it.

The photo to the right is of a railway bridge near the end of the trail. I like the design.

Linda at the door to Casa Resolana. Getting ready to leave on a ride to the coast.

A few days after hiking the caminito Linda and I took a trip an overnight to the coast.  We wanted ride  highway A-397 again so we booked a night in a hostal in San Pedro de Alcantara.  Linda is on the hunt for gifts and the beach strip has a much better selection of stores.

We took the back road out of Olvera rather the main highway. The back roads are slow going but they pass though some nice villages. At Ronda we got back onto the main highway heading for coast.  On our last ride up from the coast we noticed a nice looking cafe so we decided that would be a good stop for coffee and lunch before continuing down to the coast.

 As I mentioned once before, the A-397 is a very popular motorcycle route and this cafe, Venta el Madrono, is a popular stop for riders. 


Upon our arrival in San Pedro we checked into our hotel and explored the town.  We generally always stay in the older part of the towns. It is more interesting than the newer area and also the small hotels as nice and inexpensive.   Many have names such as Hostal or Hospedaje  but they are not "hostals" as we know them. Many are nice guest houses or boutique hotels. Most have rooms with bathrooms and amenities such as wifi and roof top gardens.  Prices vary but we normally pay 40 to 45 euros per night.

This is the church plaza in San Pedro.

One reason we came to San Pedro was that there is a bicycle store that I wanted to visit. We had planned to rent bicycles and ride to Marbella the next day.  We visited the bike shop and chatted with the owner for quite a while.  As well as booking a couple of bikes for the next day I wanted to ask about longer term e-bicycle rental for next year.  The owner was open to long term rental and let us take a couple of bikes for a test ride. 

The next morning we checked out of the hotel, stashed our motorcycle gear in the luggage and picked up our bicycles for the ride to Marbella.  The distance between San Pedro and Marbella is about 11K and there is a bike / walking path along the beach front that connects the communities. The path was a little busy with the morning walkers and joggers but the trail is shared with bikes. The pedestrians have the right of way so it was a slow ride. On the return trip, around 2 in the afternoon, there was less foot traffic so it was a more pleasant ride.  There are plenty of beaches and cafes along the route. You can stop for a drink and a swim at any time. 

A typical beach on the Costa del Sol.  This shot form where we locked the bikes in Marbella

As you can see in this photo, the beach is far from crowded. It is almost the end of the beach season but the temperatures still reach the mid to high  20s.

Reaching San Pedro we returned the bikes, paid the rental fees (7 euros), put on out motorcycle gear and headed back to Olvera.  We stopped once again at the Venta El Madroño cafe for refreshments.

Packing Up

We are leaving Olvera on Friday morning so we are starting to get organized for the move.  I have made arrangements to store the moto and associated gear in a garage in town.  I'm taking the bike there on Wednesday.  We are also leaving a few other items here with our friends Peter and Sherri, who have the B&B in town.   On Friday we are taking the train to Seville. We have to travel 20k to the town of Setenil to catch the train, which will likely be by cab.

We will be spending 5 nights in Seville before taking the train to Valencia. While in Seville, we rented an apartment in Triana, an area of Seville across the river from the city centre.

Yesterday we spent the afternoon with the owner of the house we are renting and have made tentative arrangements to rent it again next fall for 2 months.  We really enjoy our time here.

That's it for now. Hopefully I'll get some time to do a couple of more entries before we leave Spain.