From
Arcos de la Frontera we took a bus to the Sierra de Grazalema. We got off at Ubrique, a town nestled into the mountains and famous for its leather products. We bought groceries and the local sweet, called a
gañote, and headed for the mountains.
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| Roman road (calzada romana) |
From Ubrique there is a Roman road that connects Ubrique with a nearby village, Benaocaz. It's fantastic. The mountains in the sierra are of the same composition (limestone) as those in the
Picos de Europa. Their slow decomposition is evident in their jagged peaks grooved by rain over millennia.
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| Rain grooves |
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| gañote |
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| Ubrique in the background |
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| Ubrique in the background |
As we walked toward the next pueblo, Benaocaz, the sun set and we eventually set up camp outside of town. The next morning we had coffee (chocolate milk for me) in town and continued on toward the next destination, Grazalema, on the Senda de cabreros (Goat herder path). In the bar in town they had told us we wouldn't be able to make it all the way to Grazalema because part of the route went through private property and there had been a dispute that led to the owner's closing his land to walkers. It sounded a bit silly to me, so we went ahead and continued on, despite others telling us along the way that it was closed.
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| Benaocaz |
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| On the way to Grazalema |
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| Ibérico pigs |
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| Rocks. Outside of Benaocaz. |
The hike was, needless to say, stunning. We saw five people in as many hours.
