Walking Spain

Today was an interesting day, it had all sorts of ingredients that made the walk extremely varied and it had its challenges as well. It starts off gently the walk and I started on the CV 590 I think it was 32.7 kilometres down that road. From the starting point, you go through first a wood and it’s flat the land. You walk past an area where there is apiculture going on, there are beehives. You find on quite a few walks that you come across beehives; one could worry that you might have a problem with the bees, but I don’t think that is so. I have walked past many beehives and never had any problems. After a while walking through this gentle and flat countryside, you suddenly start going downhill and downhill quite steeply and, to be honest, the path is not great. There’s a lot of shrub and thorny bushes, so it was a good thing that I was wearing  jeans that protected me. However, the worry is that the path is going to become overgrown and it’s quite a narrow path as well at some stages. It’s interesting walking and the views are spectacular across the valley. But the path needs tending to if not, in the future, this part of the GR7 is going to be completely overgrown. I suspect not many people walk down this path which is a pity. Going down this path, you go past a house which has been renovated an old traditional stone house (medieval looking, think Tuscany, Provence). It’s got a swimming pool and it’s off grid using solar power. It looks great the house and it would be good if more people restore these old houses like these people have done. I think if I’m not wrong the house is called “Casa Pupo”.

Once you get down to the bottom of the valley, the vegetation is thick and wonderful and it’s very green for an area of Spain which is not necessarily always green. So, you go down this steep descent into the bottom of the valley lots of vegetation and then you climb out on the other side and suddenly you find yourself in a situation where the path for GR7 goes right through someone’s farm. They’ve made it very clear from the electrification of the fencing and warning signs about the gate being electric. which didn’t sound great to me (after all, the farm was in the middle of nowhere).  I mean it is obviously not nowhere, but the area is remote and uninhabited so I went around the farm and took me quite a long time and a lot of scrambling. By the time, I got around this farm I was feeling a bit fed up (the dog was also pulling on his lead because he was interested in all the farm animals including two bulls). After this little excursion, I suddenly saw I had an extremely complex and steep climb, lots of rocks, to get up to the other side of the valley. So, it was interesting, very interesting and the walking is excellent but the farm getting in the way and making my life difficult didn’t put me in the mood for suddenly going up this very steep rocky mountain side. It was not at all clear where the path was, nevertheless, very enjoyable. When you get to the top, it’s great and it’s a leisurely stroll to Casas de Benalí, which is a very interesting place. I sat on a table there outside and had my lunch (rather shared it with my dog) before turning back to go the way I had come from. If you follow my tracks, you shouldn’t have any problems but be warned that this walk is not without challenges. The descent is steep, and the ascent is even steeper and there’s this farm blocking the way. On the way back, I also had to do a large detour to get round the farm.

What follows is some information and my general impression of Casas de Benalí. Casas de Benalí is a hamlet of 3/4 houses with an annnexed chapel and a rather exotic/mystical graveyard. I didn’t know whether to be spooked or enchanted by the graveyard, it is weird but also colourful. There is an abundant spring (water is always a major factor in this area) near these 3 or 4 houses. The houses are in a long row as if they had been a large single farmhouse. The word Benalí is clearly of Muslim/Arabic origin. More recently, the houses have been restored with a certain fidelity to their traditional elements and to the simple aesthetics with which their previous inhabitants would have adorned them. They are currently a tourist complex for rural accommodation. It is a kind of wellness centre with an emphasis on yoga, vegan/vegetarian diet and spiritual rest. The place is very special and beautiful. I felt at peace.

You can check out the trail here:

https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/tintorero-cv-590-32-7-km-to-casas-de-benali-126085915