A Spanish Holiday - Walking and vlogging.

Yesterday morning, before the exertions of the day, i decided to do something i've been meaning to do for a few days now. But, just hadn't got around to!
I went for a walk.

Leaving our cottage and instead of turning left and heading towards Orgiva itself. I decided to turn right and head towards the hills and the unknown.

(Our cottage and the view towards Orgiva)

I had been told that the path led towards the village of Bayacas. So, i just started walking.

The whole area around Orgiva and indeed the Alpujarras thenselves, are well known for walking. Although, i doubt that this would be encouraged during the heat of an August day. Hence the reason that i headed out around 9am.
At some time, i'd love to come back at a more sensible time of the year and explore more fully. I'm sure that would be a very valuable experience.

After only a few minutes on my path, i came across the dried up river bed of the Rio Chico. Another, lower, part of the river can be seen going through  the outskirts of Orgiva itself and i had noticed it a couple of days ago.
But, this time i was up close and actually walked into the dried up riverbed to take some photos.

(The Rio Chico - looking back towards Orgiva)

As you can see from the photo above, there are all manner of rocks and general debris scattered along the river bed. I should imagine that when the Rio Chico is in full flow, it must be one hell of a sight.
I don't know if the amount of rocks and the sheer size of some of them, is normal. Or, whether it is partly the result of the very bad, rainy, weather that the Alpujarras region experienced during last Winter?
(I've just had this confirmed by Clare, the owner of our property. Apparently, there was a period of unusual, prolonged and heavy rain in the area. This resulted in snowfalls on the Sierra Nevada mountains. The wet weather was followed by warmer temperatures, which then caused a rapid melt of much of the new snowfall. This in turn led to the Rio Chico becoming very swollen. Hence the huge rocks and boulders, which were swept downstream by the raging torrent. Several bridges were washed away and people on the other side of the river were left cut off. And all of this happened on Christmas Eve)

It seems hard to believe that this "river", when seen like this, could ever be capable of disturbing and carrying rocks downstream. It really was quite odd to be able to clamber amongst the rocks and boulders, with not even a trickle of water flowing.

At around this point, the landscape changed into what i later described to my wife, as a kind of lunar landscape. This was partly due to the eerie river bed. But, also because of the rock formations that surrounded me at this point. I had turned a corner and the rocky hillside had become a lot closer and steeper.

A little further on and the valley opened up once again, to show the village of Bayacas in the foreground and the rising hills. The start of the Sierra Nevada mountains, in the near distance. A very picturesque sight.

(Bayacas and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains)

Towards the left of the photo above, you just see the start of a gorge. Through there i could glimpse some of the higher peaks of the mountain range and i had this whole amazing sight to myself. As, although i had seen a few locals walking their dogs, further down the valley. I was alone at this point.

Although, i was very tempted to see what was around the next corner, something i can't usually stop myself from doing. I decided that now was the time to head back, as i was by now getting rather hot.
I think i may well try and take another walk up into this valley, before i go home.

Another aspect of this walk that made it slightly different, for this holiday at least. Is that, after over a week here, i finally took my video camera out of it's case and recorded two vlogs.
As i said in one of the videos that i recorded at the time. I have just not had the inclination to record any video footage, yet alone a vlog. For some reason, the situation has just not been quite right and maybe, that's no bad thing?
And yet, as soon as i started walking, i felt like vlogging again. The video camera came out and off i went.

There is something about walking that seems to start me thinking and wanting to talk into a camera. I find this happens in many different situations. Whether that be on the beach, in the woods, or anywhere where my mind has time to wander and think.
Maybe that's one the reasons that i enjoy walking so much in the first place?

Long may that continue.