Monday 17th April 2023

A good start to the morning as Max got us to Chulilla. Max also got his first Hola of our trip from a Spanish red Max.

The route of the hanging bridges started off as a tourism honeypot. We can’t complain as we are tourists but did not have to pay the €1 tourist tax because we are oldies. The 2 bridges across the gorge were spectacular but rickety and we had to queue to get on the first one. No matter, the crowds thinned as we left the bridges behind.

The weather was glorious, the walking good, so had lunch overlooking the reservoir, Sixty enjoyed the shade. The wide track soon disappeared into a regular walking path which was actually a dry stream bed. We were looking for the signs to the cave paintings, but as we are used to errors in distances given on Spanish signs, we kept our eyes open, but still walked farther than expected. Eventually we found the sign and started hunting for the cave. This is where our canyoning without water, and paddle, started. We headed down a very steep, boulder filled dry river bed in a gorge which would, in its day, have had some wonderful water falls. True to form we kept going! Then the moment hit us that we might have missed the cave, or if we hadn’t someone was having a laugh! So with lots of scrambling, pushing and pulling each other back up the dry waterfalls and boulders, we rejoined the main path. Quite disappointed we continued on our way only to find an information board pointing right at the cave across the gorge. Back again for the 3rd time we found the cave paintings up a rickety old ladder and some broken steps. Nothing too startling but they were prehistoric.

The remaining part of the trail was pleasantly down hill through the trees. Within another 2 miles we were back in Chulilla, sitting at a cafe with a well earned beer.