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This walk is a continuation of walk report:-
https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=109461Pitres to Capileria and then onto La Cadadilla 21/7/15
- View from the Hotel Marivedi terrace
- Early sun
- Early breakfast in the open
- A timeless landscape
- A Southern Scarce Swallowtail up early
- The Sierra de Jubileyl range forms the South side of the Guadaifeo valley where Orgiva lies
- The ATV track along the West side of the Rio Poqueria valley
- Bubion from above
- Looking North to Veleta - definitely reachable, note snow patch in July, see part 1 of report
- looking South to the Coast - the day 6 route can be seen down in the valley on the right
After a scorching day on the 20th we opted for an early start to take full advantage of the shadow on the east side of the Rio Porqueria valley. We packed early and ate our picnic breakfast in the open with the sun rising. We picked up the GR7 heading East but soon veered off onto a high level ATV track that kept us above the villages of Pampenera and Bubion. We made good time in the cool of the morning and arrived at the hotel in Capileira before lunch. The three towns in the valley were beautiful and prosperous, having thousands of tourists visit every month; everything was immaculate and there were plenty of shops, albeit ones selling mostly useless items.
- capileria
- The switchback road down to Capileria
- looking down the Rio Poqueria from Capileria
- local chimney style
- Someone has left their mop out
Having sorted out our packs and had lunch we decided to take a walk up the Poqueria valley towards the power plant at La Cadadilla.
- The day 5 part 2 route Capileria North to La Cadadilla and back
- The North path out of Capileria, the PRs A23 and A69
- Threshing floor
- La Cadadilla
- Looking North towards Refugio Poqueria and Mulhacen 2
We took the footpath PR-A69 North out of the village, keeping to the West side of the valley, the footpath picked up and ran parallel to an Acequia and then an unmade road which lead down to the scattering of buildings and bridge at La Cadadilla. On the way we passed partly abandoned farms and threshing floors, terraced fields of wheat and a few cattle. Past the bridge we walked on to the power station, a group of large pipes descended from the East side of the valley from the heights which supplied the water for the Hydro plant. The footpath continued past the plant to Puenta Naute. This path is the PR-A23 which led, with a 1000m of ascent and 5000m travel, to the Refugio Poqueria which would have made a neat circular walk had we not been staying another week locally.
- Rio Poqueria below La Cadadilla
- The Puente da Buchite
Back to the road bridge we followed the PR-A23 on the East side of the valley; this is much less build upon, with a few decrepit farm buildings and overgrown fields. The route rises up the side of the valley and then drops quickly over rough ground to the small bridge at Puente de Buchite (I’m not sure what the English translation is as I didn’t have my phrase book!). There are accessible pools either side of the bridge and we took the opportunity to cool off and sooth our battered feet, despite this being the height of Summer, the water was cold and refreshing, a wonderful spot to rest in the shade of the trees. We dragged our way up the slope on the West side of the valley, past the rock shaped like a fist, past more threshing floors and back into Capileria via a lower path.
- Further down the valley
- Fist rock on the PR-A69
Capileria to Soportujar 22/7/15
- The day 6 route - Capileria to Soportujar
- Fountain on the way out of Caplileria
- Back on the GR7 below Bubion
- Looking back towards Bubion, Capileria and Veleta
- Pampaneria
We were due to meet Debbie, who was flying in today so we could spend a week in a villa near Bayacas. The idea being that we would walk as far as we could get and meet up for lunch. If we missed each other, we would end up at the villa. We set off from the hotel early, again to have the benefit of the shadow on the East side of the valley. We found an unmapped path out of Capileria, which didn’t drop down to the valley floor, parallel to the road. It dropped into the lovely town of Bubion and then down the valley to Pampanieria; this part of the valley was very green and well farmed.
- Looking West from the GR7 to Soportujar
- Walking into Soportujar, Caner on the hill beyond
- The Witches Plaza in Soportujar
Somewhere we picked up the GR7 and walked down the winding main road to the bridge and another Hydro plant. After a short distance the path left the road but didn’t stray high up the slope. This contour path took us almost all of the 6Km to Soportujar. We found this a slightly odd town compared to hose we had already visited, not as tourist influenced. The little plaza, which had a great view South, featured a statue of witches and a strange choice of tiling. We were just about to leave when we received a call from Debbie. We agreed to rendezvous on the main road just below the village so we headed down the steep footpath towards Carataunas where we were picked up. We found a restaurant where to have lunch and told tall tales of our adventures.
- Bayacas, our destination
- Orgiva and the range to the South
As a postscript, in the following week, with Debbie, we repeated the walk to La Cadadilla, part of the Pitres circular (4th time) and also a walk along the valley above Travelez; the latter proved to be something of a disappointment as the river valley was very scrubby and featureless.
In conclusion a very satisfying week in beautify country. If we had been more experienced or confident in our abilities, I think we would have tackled more, especially La Alcazaba and the Siete Lagunas above Travelez. Having said that it was very hot, and we came out of it without injury or heatstroke so maybe we got it right. Our relative success spurred us on to try a few more hills in Britain, which is an ongoing adventure.