Some photos I took the week the Caminito Del Rey opened it's new walk... Can't remember when now, off hand, if you're on the desktop page of my Blog use the search bar, top left-hand corner to find it.. if you want! Of course! 

Was amazing, and definitely safer than the old broken and dangerous walk for mountain climbers, and those of us who could only get close and look across! Or risk life and limb as we did and walk over the narrow path over the Ravine, below.. we walked from the left-hand side to the right, at that time, maybe 20 years ago? There was nothing much to stand on on the right! 

Been a stressful week, and been on a non fibre diet for last three days, white bread, white rice blah blah blah..

And today at 7pm I start the awful drink, a litre to be drunk over an hour, then lots of water, two litres or so... Try to sleep later, then about 3am, the second drink, repeat process, no more liquids from 7am.. into hospital for 9am and .. well, there we go! 3 to 4 hours surgery and hopefully all well afterwards.

Got my head in a bad place, being positive is only something I can be for others...

M.

 

More from last Mondays trip to Ronda...

                  

Taken from the train...

No further earthquakes have hit the northern Moroccan coast... There was one further up in Spain, actually in Spain, but not a bad or deep one, I feel I have now become a bit of an expert on earthquakes, found a great site explaining them and listing every dam one of them!!  There are hundreds every year in Spain... a biggy took down Malaga two or three hundred years ago!!

                 

Taken from the train... another view of El Chorro and the Kings walk! Even the green bridge above!

We've had met up with friends who are over for a few weeks, they stay down at Calahonda where we used to live and are meeting up with them again tomorrow...  Also tomorrow I might be collecting my new gafas!  Can't wait, went to a new shop in La Cala and the owners are so helpful, so knowledgeable, I actually learnt more about frames than I have ever learnt from any other opticians... ever!!

                

The Kings Walk, Caminito Del Rey...

Yesterday morning up in the car park were two stray dogs... a scruffy black and white long haired one and a younger looking tan dog, might only be a big puppy, its feet seem to large for its body and the way it lumbers about, blue eyes... a lovely pair of dogs, and they are definitely forever friends, because when we came through the car park later in the evening one was laying on the other, we had Pip with us that time and they were all over her... too nervous to come too us, but friendly enough, like they wanted to, but were unsure of us... Well, an hour later I was back up in the car park, handing out food and water, and they were soon my friends too, knowing they could trust me, which was okay, but they wouldn't leave me as I walked back down, and as I followed a couple down the driveway, I explained, as best as I could that these dogs were strays, lost? abandoned?  and could they put them on Facebook for me, I had already but only covering mostly Brits, I wanted the whole of Alhaurín to know about them!  So they took some photos!! Of me and the dogs!!! And the poor things followed me home, and I had to leave them outside... I worried of course... and of course Franco said I couldn't do anymore...

and this morning.... there they were not far from our house again, and unfortunately me with the Pipster, she does not like lots of dogs, even two together, she had already snapped at a little dog earlier in the day, she is getting very grumpy!!  They remembered me and were licking me and jumping up at me, and round and round Pip, she was starting to pull out of her harness, so the only thing I could do to avoid her running off was to pick her up, and I had to carry her home like that! The two dogs at my feet, and as we turned into our street they ran straight up to our front door, and it was a case of who was getting in first!! lol oh heck!  Now before I go to town this morning to join Franco after his Spanish lessons I am wondering if I can risk going the way I normally go, because I know forsure they will follow me down into town, and I can't risk that!

I have put a photo and all the information on a web site for missing dogs here in Spain... and just hope the owners find them... Only worse case scenario is that were dumped there... in the car park, because that seems to be where they are staying, just like that dog a couple of months ago at La Trocha...  It breaks my heart....

            

From the train, I have, shall we say, enhanced these two... made them pop!!

Yesterday we went to La Canada, such a beautiful day!  Really can't believe this weather, its been truly gorgeous, the same today!  But we are thinking ahead and looking into getting a burner, we had though a wood burner but the amount of work it would entail to get the flue up through two floors, Spanish floors remember, we're talking concrete and tiles!  And yesterday saw a different idea we hadn't considered, pellet burner!  It only needs a vent to go outside, so can easily go outside the front of the house downstairs, it will easily heat the dining and den downstairs, and we think the heat would come up the stairs and heat the lounge and bedroom too! So watch this space!

TTFN
Marian

Caminito Del Rey - The Kings Walk, El Chorro, Ardales...

 Fantastic! Amazing... and there the opening to the beginning of the walk! After searching for years to gain access to the narrow old walkway, as it became closed to the public by other means...  We began the walk from the lakes at Ardales, by the restaurant El Kiosk, take the tunnel there and follow the new signs... it was about a fifty minute walk, taken at leisure, through beautiful scenery as yet unseen by us after about fifteen minutes.  We had walked previously through some of the forest there, we had taken the lower walk, the medium walk, but never this walk!

The mountain above, incredible beauty I must have taken about ten pictures of it!

We came to the sign in office and at 10:15am showed our bar coded printed tickets and walked through into a small area, with our hard hats and hair nets in place, we were given strict direction as to not to interfere with either flora nor fauna, to leave nothing and take nothing... but pictures!

To respect the area and its beauty and power....
That we could take our time, and to walk to the end and get either the bus back or a lift!

I wanted to get a better view of the area below... not easy to see what I saw when actually there!


Perspective is hard to get in a photo... the one on the left is just looking down... but how far? Its a long long drop down!  I luckily, don't get vertigo much, had an inner ear thing... Labyrinthitis, a few years ago, and oddly had a bit of it the day before this!!  But a friend of mine in Spain gave me an answer to it, which a doctor did not, and I can get it fixed myself now!  Thankfully!

We were looking forward to seeing the bridge we walked over years ago too... and we were not disappointed!

You can no longer walk over it, and 'they' have fixed a metal support beneath, a wire runs next to one side as a hand rail maybe for workers?

But to think we crossed this!  Tony was with us that day, he and Franco walked along the old Kings Walk over the broken concrete... ugh!!! While I stood and took photos!! LOL, I did walk along the walk, in the other, safer direction!

 Here to the right you can the new walk passing up and over the one one, we are glad they left some of it, to ooooh and arhhhh at and remember how it was... Near the bridge beneath.... there is a plaque marking respect for some of those who have died walking the walk over the years...

Walkers would have walked over the waterway there, now we cross on a new suspension bridge, no more than ten at a time, and it bounces! lots!! Metal you can see through and a guard stands there to make sure no one uses it as a swing or trampoline no doubt!!









"We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep."
William Shakespeare, The Tempest

TTFN
Marian