So – after all the food consumed on this trip, it is time for a little exercise.  That means a five mile hike on The Caminito del Rey.  This path was once considered one of the most dangerous in the world, but today it has been carefully restored.  It is spectacular from beginning to end with walkways hanging over 328′ up on a sheer cliff face.  The path crosses the Desfiladero de los Gaitanes, a gorge carved by the river Guadalhorce, with walls 2300′ high.  Hang on to your hat – here we go.  But, first we must hike a mile in to the beginning of the gorge.  This part is through tunnels and forests.

Welcome to the Caminito;-)

Route to the trailhead.

And then it starts.  Easing one in gently, there is a view of some of the hydro-electric system created on the river.

This part was a piece of cake.

And then one goes around the corner – and there it is!!  Throughout the walk the old trail is visible just below the current – much safer – trail.

Narrow, deep canyon.

Did I mention narrow boardwalk on the side of the canyon wall.

Trying not to look down.

In case you are wondering – the hardhats are for falling rocks;-)

New atop old along the face of the rock wall!

The rock formations and ‘caving’ are all natural – not dug out.  And that is a RR track across the way.

Here the rocks looked like books on a shelf.

We’re going to walk across that?

What a fabulous experience and the sights were awesome.  This was especially magnificent, as it was the swan song for this trip;-(  A trip back to Malaga (due to a VERY early plane in the AM) to meet up with the Smithsonian group for one last activity – Flamenco dancing – and to say goodbye to all our new friends.

Sculpture at the entrance to the Pompidou Museum at the Malaga port.

Just a little something for a getaway weekend.

The Flamenco dancers were amazing.

Our last dinner on the water in Marbella.

The sun setting on a wonderful adventure.

Just like that 5 weeks were gone – but lots of memories are in the head.  Perhaps one of the greatest lessons learned on this trip was that not all is as it seems at first glance.  AND – that hard work and good food keep ones body in the shape it was meant to be.  Very few people seen on this trip were heavy or out of shape.  Maybe because there was a great deal of manual labor, they walked miles every day and they ate food that was fresh out of the water or out of the fields, with no chemicals in the meat or fish and none on the fruits and vegetables to get them to market.  If only we could take a lesson from this.

E & G – grateful for a trip with lots of lessons and memories;-)