Carmelito del Rey - Antequera
Today a hike is on the program. The breakfast buffet in the hotel is not opened yet, there we already sit in the car and drive to the Carmelito del Rey.
This was once the most dangerous hiking trail in the world. After it was abandoned and the paths in the rock face began to deteriorate, there were still enough adrenaline junkies who were looking for the risk.
In the meantime, the path has been restored or newly built and access has been restricted in numbers. The path is described as safe, but also as a challenge for people with a fear of heights. In retrospect, Freya can confirm this.
We take part in a Guided Tour. Due to access restrictions, there are only a limited number of tickets for the respective slot, which can be purchased via an online-tool. Those for individual access were already fully booked at noon on the first day the data was online.
As we saw on site, there are also local tour operators. Probably they booked the tickets very early in the morning so that in reality there is no individual access at all. But maybe it was just because of yesterday's holiday.
It is quite fresh when we arrive early in the morning at the kiosk where the parking lots and the access are located (there is also an alternative parking lot with costs a little further away).
We catch up on our breakfast with a nice warm coffee and cake. Then we walk a short distance along the road and through a tunnel that is carved into the mountain. At the end of the tunnel, there is a nice path through a small forest along the river. About half an hour later we reach the actual entrance area with temporary toilets. Since this will be the last chance for the next hours, we take the opportunity again like many others.
At the booked time we are allowed behind the barrier tape and are assigned to a guide. We are the only ones in the group who do not speak Spanish. Fortunately, the other participants of the tour are not super sporty either and one or the other is our age. Everyone gets a radio receiver and a helmet and then we start.
The path was originally built to construct and maintain the hydropower plants at the ends of the two canyons. In total it consists of three parts and leads along the rock face in large parts at a height of about 100 meters.
Directly after the entrance gate, it enters the wall. Here, steel beams were set into the rock and then covered with planks. A railing is also part of it nowadays. Freya is not one of those who lean over the railing (she walks inside) but she too can enjoy the walk.
Then there is a stretch of path that leads through the valley and resembles the path that came after the tunnel. This is almost boring and for once it is quite nice to listen to the explanations of a guide. Besides we have to be careful anyway. If he asks something in English, we have to answer - otherwise, they are all Spanish 😉.
Then we enter the next canyon. The construction is the same as in the first one. But here you can still see the remains of the old path in some places. How one can be so crazy to walk that way is not really evident.
At another place, they built a small balcony with a glass floor. Here it gets jammed because almost everybody thinks he has to take a selfie. Why there, of all places, is not really clear either. From the view down you can't see anything that way.
At the end is the suspension bridge. No comparison to the bridges we crossed in Asia. Freya just waits until the people in front of her are almost over and then she goes. No problem.
On the other side of the gorge, we now take a long flight of stairs to the top. Sounds unproblematic, but we both find this part the most unpleasant. Freya disturbs the proximity of the abyss, Jürgen the narrow steps.
From the exit, we walk a long way to get to the bus stop. Carmelito del Rey can only be walked in one direction. In order to get back to the start, one realistically has to take the bus. The ticket for this is best booked together with the entrance.
All in all, the hiking tour was much easier than some of the comments we've read. In any case, a nice change to all the cities on this tour.
Back at the kiosk (called El Kiosko, but it is a combination of cafe and restaurant), we had lunch. Well, the cake in the morning was much better.
