Mountain Goat Trails – March 2014

On a clear and temperate morning, 9:30am we set off from Finca Los Pinos accommodation, to complete the half day mountain goat trail walk that Competa Hikes offers. We climbed straight up the mountain, from right outside one of the log cabins on the property. It was excellent to be able to start a hike from right outside our front door. A green rope tied from post to tree, guided us up the 30 meter climb to get to one of the many mountain goat trails that cross the splendid mountains here. That 30 meter initial climb certainly got the blood racing and the muscles warmed up for what turned out to be a simply stunning hike, where it felt like we were on the roof of the Almejera mountains. As we walked I could smell the scent of wild Thyme, blooming Sayge and Wild Rosemary. This scent never left us throughout this hike, it was a truly welcoming scent that fit so well with the wilderness of fauna we were walking through. I did not know whether to continue to look at the ground, amazed at all the wonderful wild flowers, or look across at the view of the mountains and the sea.

The path meandered around the top of the mountain and we came across many large boulder clusters, dotted with tropical and savannah type fauna all in one place. As we came across a sheer cliff face reaching upwards from our path, David pointed out two wild eagle nests hanging from the cliff faces. Stepping over fallen trees, that had been there some time by the look of the wild orchids, and other green plants growing amongst them, we continued to stroll along thees pleasant tracks until we came to a ‘cross-roads’ – well David said it was a cross roads, but to my eye I would never have found it – simply a fork in the track – to continue to ramble around the tops of the mountains for an extra two hours, or to start winding down the mountain to the river and back along the mountain road to Finca Los Pinos. As we had only been walking a couple of hours by this time, we decided as a group to continue around the tops of the mountains. So at this point we all perched on some “comfortable” boulders and enjoyed a refreshment of cold water and fresh juice, and some fresh fruit to energise the rest of our hike, all supplied by David and Sarah as part of our package. I am glad we decided to continue with the walk around the tops of the mountains as we came across wild orchids, starting their Spring pursuit, and the views continued to be absolutely breathtaking. The walk took us through some forested areas as well, which were lush and green, but on the whole we climbed quite gently and descended gently throughout the walk and had clear views to the sea, and to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco – which were surprisingly large, showing how close they really are. A real treat was when David spotted some Ibex – a mother and two babies scuttling up the cliff faces of the mountains above us. David told us that the Ibex had become an endangered species in Spain only ten years ago, but they are thankfully starting to grow in population again. So we were very pleased to see some today.

Another fork in the paths ( again, only seen by David) brought us to begin our descent, down a well defined mountain track through Eucalyptus tree lined paths and across the river, past La Fabrica de la Luz III, back towards Finca Los Pinos. The descent was a good challenge, as the path really narrowed at this point and was fairly overgrown. We were glad of our long paths that we had been advised by David to hike in. When we reached Finca Los Pinos by around 1:30-2pm a delicious lunch oh warm salads and home cooked breads welcomed us back, and I prepared for a little book reading and siesta in the hammocks of the “Tranquil Zone” of Finca Los Pinos for my afternoon. Others in the group decided to take on an activity of an African and Latino drumming workshop around the pool. It all sounded great as I drifted off, a gentle breeze whispering through the pines…