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Looking at my guests over the years I’ve decided that we all have a little bit of the “Indiana Jones” in us. I even have the hat, and am regularly called “Indiana” by passing Spanish schoolchildren, as well as probably less complementary things once they are outside my reaction distance! I am sure we can all remember Indiana’s first movie “Raider’s of the lost ark” when he ran along broken walkways pursued by all manner of dangers including an enormous granite ball. 2 good things are true about that chase, one, it was exciting to watch and two, it was only fiction.

However, here in Southern Spain we do have an actual walk with a similar level of extreme challenge. It was built in the 1920’s as an access way to the Guadalhorce Reservoir complex and its water supply for the El Chorro hydro-electric power station. The then King of Spain, Alfonso XIII, was invited to walk along it to officially declare the project complete in 1921. The walkway was named after his visit as “Camino Del Rey or The King’s Way”.  It appears to have received very little maintenance since then! Now large sections of the concrete pathway are missing with only the reinforcing steel rods for a foothold above the river gorge far below. The path is set at right angles to the sheer rock walls of the “Desfiladero de los Gaitanes” better known as the El Chorro Gorge.

This incredible natural marvel is about 2.5 miles/4km in length and uo to 1300ft/400m tall. However, it is the narrow width of only 33ft/10m in places, which is perhaps the most spectacular aspect. Before the arrival of the AVE (Spanish high speed train which cruises at 220mph), the main train line from Cordoba to Malaga ran through El Chorro Gorge, and you could catch tantalizing glimpses of the walkway from the comfort of your train seat. The dangerously degraded state of the walkway has resulted in it being closed off with steel doors but people still use it, legally or otherwise, to access some well known climbing areas.

Fortunately one of them used a video camera to and so you can safely enjoy the experience at http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1438490562

If you want to see the real thing, with the view in the photo, from a completely legal and safe viewpoint, then come and see me!

Yours Davy

Spring is sprung! And there is no better indication than the arrival of thousands of pairs of European Flamingos to the lake at Fuente De Piedra in Andalucia. These beautiful birds are here to find a mate and hopefully become proud parents.

They are presently engaged in the flamingo equivalent of  “Speed Dating” when they can be seen constantly circulating on the lookout for a potential partner. Their graceful parading, with complex twirls and darting off in different directions, has even led a minority of people to suppose that the Andalucian gypsies may have called their dance Flamenco after these intricate movements.

The European or Greater Flamingo (Proper name Phoenicopterus Ruber) is not as pink as people often expect. The photo, taken in mid-March, shows many birds milling around, perhaps the counterpart of “Dancing round their handbags” while 5 are landing to join the group. The colour differences are clearly visible. While standing the birds are a generally pinkish off-white with pink beaks and legs. However, the flying birds are displaying their remarkably  pink, almost crimson, wing colours, edged by contrasting black flight feathers.

We are lucky to have such an incredible display of wildlife only 5 minutes off the Malaga-Seville motorway. Only 3 breeding sites exist in Europe, our own, The Camargue in France and the intriguingly named Kulu Golu in , our own, The Camargue in France and the intriguingly named Kulu Golu in Turkey. The total European population is estimated at up to 35’000 breeding pairs, with almost 50% of these living in . The total European population is estimated at up to 35’000 breeding pairs, with almost 50% of these living in Turkey, Fuente De Piedra can boast the majority of the other half. The lake is , Fuente De Piedra can boast the majority of the other half.

The lake is Spains largest and was called Fons Divinus or Divine Spring during the Roman occupation of the largest of the Peninsula. This was because, as in Bath in in England, they believed its waters to have medicinal qualities. Depending on the warmth of the day and the brackish smell coming from the lake I would have to take their word for it!

Come and see the flamingos with  Davy, he can get you to the best spots and knows where to find the best Apres-Flamingo refreshments.

Most seasoned travellers should already be familiar with the incredible efforts of the mighty Roman Empire to build military supply roads to the very corners of their conquered territories. Despite the fact that many of their roads were built before the birth of Jesus Christ, they ran all the way from Rome to the wild and windswept border of England and Scotland!

Although, of course, those country names, being German because they end in “land”, had to wait until the arrival of the English around 425 AD to be introduced.

In British/Roman times the southern part of the main island of Britain was known as Albion and the northern part as Caledonia. At much the same time, here in Spain, probably the “Jewel in the Crown” of the Roman Empire, they built 34 principle roads.

The most famous, and at around 1500 km (940 miles) the longest, was the Via Augusta which ran from Cadiz, then called Gadir, to the Pyrenees and onwards into Gaul, now France.  

It had previously been called the Via Hercules but in some very early roadworks, between the years 8 BC to 2BC, it was renovated on the instructions of the Emperor Augustus and subsequently renamed in his honour. There is no information to suggest any major traffic disruption at the time so perhaps the Romans could be persuaded to come back and supervise all roadworks!

The impressive Roman road in the photograph is the Tietar Valley, in the Gredos Mountains, south of Madrid and is at least 1500 years old. Some geographers believe that the Roman roads in Spain remained the best available routes of communication right up until the 1920s!

Certainly King Carlos III felt the same; around 1750 he had many of them repaved rather than build new roads. When the Romans relinquished control of Spain, around 409 AD, they left some 21’000 km (13’125 miles) of major roads. If we accept that these were the motorways of their day, by contrast, China had only 45’400 km (28’375 miles) of motorway in 2007!

There are Roman roads all around us in Southern Spain. Do you know where? If not do you want to go looking with someone who does?  

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