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Thursday 13 February 2014

El Caminito del Rey

Okay I admit that I haven't quite shaken off Andalucia. I've progressed my virtual house stalking from quaint village casas to tumble down fincas with olive groves and stunning views of the mountains. I've received my order from Awesome books and am creating tapas recipes in the kitchen. All this to howling, storm force winds, is it no wonder I'm still looking south?

In my musings around the internet I chanced upon some stunning photographs taken from/of  the 'Caminito dey Rey' and so delved a bit further but what I found really made me quake. Never will I complain about commuting again.

Translated as 'The King's Little Path' it is apparently seen as the most dangerous walkway in the world and can be found along the walls of El Chorro, a gorge in southern Spain. The construction of the path started in 1901 when workers at two hydroelectric plants (Chorro Falls & Gaitanejo Falls) needed to be able to cross between the two falls for transportation of materials and maintenance of the channel. Completed in 1905 it was not until 1921 that the inauguration took place when King Alfonso XIII crossed it. Hence the name.

The path is one metre wide, and three kilometres long, and is constructed of concrete and steel rails. Although  currently in a dangerous state of disrepair it nevertheless has become an adventure sport for tourists. Not me. Not ever.








2 comments:

  1. Nah. Not me. I can't even cope with a nicely supervised Via Ferrata.

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  2. So I've just Googled Via Ferrata and if you've done that you're a braver woman than me! Mind you I'm listening to the wind outside now and I'm not sure about walking down the lane.

    ReplyDelete