Middle-aged flash packers

Day 3 – Ruta de el Escalaron y La Raya. Serrania de Cuenca National Park

We did a fabulous walk today. More quality than quantity (it was approximately 6 miles), it delivered in spades.

Another leisurely morning. It’s been so nice not having to rush out. First it was a quick hop over to the supermarket to buy some lunch to take with us. I’d envisaged cafes , maybe a restaurant en route but we decided it was easier to eat on the hoof. Good job we did, there were a couple of restaurants in Una (where the walk starts) then nothing. Nada. Proper wilderness.

It takes around 40 minutes to drive to the park from Cuenca. Apart from getting out of Cuenca, the drive was easy and we hardly saw a car. I think this may be a different story in high season, but for now it’s all very quiet.

When we arrived at our destination (Una), it started to rain. Of course it did. Full waterproof gear was put on and I was glad I packed my walking boots. I hadn’t packed an extra layer or gloves (they were back in the hotel) which I thought I’d regret as it was not warm but actually I didn’t need them.

All tooled up, we were ready to go. Although we enjoy the company of other people on our hikes, we also quite enjoy it when it’s just the two of us as we can fart about to our heart’s content without worrying about holding anyone up. At the Una lagoon, we took photos, S used his Merlin app (identifies bird song) and I messed about sticking my head through  photo cut out boards. 

Time to get serious and start the walk. The trail is great. Well marked with yellow and white blazes, the paths are obvious if a little stony. From the lagoon you can see the rock formations towering overhead. An easy and gentle ascent  takes you to the top of the formations where you walk along a path that is on top of them.

The views are amazing. And it was so peaceful. Birdsong abounds and during our whole hike we saw only one person.

Eagles and Griffon vultures were everywhere.I spotted a juvenile Griffon roosting on a rock face and a protective Mama circled above me, making sure I wasn’t going to do anything silly. 

Meanwhile the weather played games with us, one minute sunny and warm, the next hailing on us. But we didn’t mind, we sauntered about, chatting, looking at  flowers and pointing out birds of prey.

All too soon it was time to start our descent and we had a bit of a surprise. Our very safe path suddenly changed to a slippy, rocky narrow track which took some careful navigating. Once that was over, we realised we had to walk underneath an overhang of rock formations, with very little path and no barrier to save us plunging over the side. 

That done, the narrow track theme continued, this time accompanied by an overhead thunderstorm. Lightning struck the lagoon and every crack of thunder was making me jump, which is not helpful on slippy rocks. Eventually we got to the bottom and hot footed it to Una for a strong Americano and a sit down.

If you go to Cuenca, have a car and like walking, do this. If I was going to change anything I’d do the hike the other way round but otherwise – I wouldn’t change a thing.