Weekend away 9/10 May 2015

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This week it was our annual May weekend away and we went to Castril in the far north of Granada province.
We had an early start because it was a long drive and we had a lot of things to fit into our day. I thought we would be able to stop for breakfast just before we got to Castril, unfortunately the bar I had chosen to stop at was closed. Not wanting to upset anyone before the walk had even started we headed into Castril. I have never been here before but even on our short visit it looks well worth a look around.
After breakfast we returned to our plan, which was a drive up the Rio Castril. This is a beautiful valley and we followed the road as far as it went. This was the start of our first walk, to the Naccimento of the Rio Castril. It was an easy walk in the valley bottom to a spot where the river appears out of the rocks.
The path then continued up the valley getting steeper all the time. At one point they had cut steps into the steep sided gorge, it felt like there was 10,000 of them. Fortunately we discovered a cool cave where we stopped for a short break. I didn't tell anyone that we were following the route of the Bear and this was probably where he slept.
We then continued to the top and stopped for lunch, it was a fantastic spot. The heights of the surrounding mountains are nothing compared to our own Sierras but they are magnificent none the less. This was only a short walk of  8.6 km so it was not long before we were heading down another path back into the valley.
Cees was on point duty as I was hanging back taking photos. I was amazed to watch him march straight into the river and up to his knees in water. There was a footbridge 20 metres up stream.
We headed back to the cars accompanied by the squelching sound coming from Cees, He was complaining his new boots weren't waterproof.
Our second walk started a couple of kms back along the road, so we drove there and set off again, this time to the Cerrada de la Magdelena. The walk was only 3.3 Km but what a beautiful place it was. Once again a sheer rock face with the river just appearing out of the rocks and cascading down into a pool.
We stopped for a beer before we heading off to Jerez del Masquesado and our accommodation for the night at the Postero Alto Refugio. This is a amazing place we discovered a few years back when we were doing the Sulayr walk. It looks like no other building I have ever seen, and we nicknamed it the Hobbit house the first time we saw it. So we had go back with the Hobbs for a night 2000 metres up in the Sierra Nevada.
There was just enough time to get a tepid shower before going for our evening meal at the refugio. We were all seated around one table, so with a bit of alcohol, a lot of food and some lively banter it was a perfect way to round off a superb day.
The following day dawned bright and clear and we had another walked planned that set off from the refugio. We were going to do a section of the Sulayr path that we had last walked on in 2011.
Our destination was Cerro de los Muertos, an apt description as last time we were here we were rescued by a cowboy who told us we risked certain death if we had continued along  a diversionary path. This time the temporary diversion had become permanent and it was a lot better marked. We followed the new path for 3 kms before returning on the old Sulayr path which is still passable.
After lunch we returned to the refugio hoping for a refreshing cold beer. Unfortunately it was closed so we had to wait until we drove back to Jerez del Masquesado. It was worth the wait as the tapas was superb.
We walked 20.5 km and climbed 841 metres.
It was a good weekend, stunning scenery, perfect weather, good food and great friends.  
 
In total we walked 32.5 km and climbed 1403 metres.
There wasn’t any tapas this week.

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