This walk begins at Alto de la Farrapona at the the very top of Valle de Saliencia among the high heather and broom. The drive to the starting point is breathtaking. Today we walk our way back to La Pinietsa in Valle de Lago, our longest walk of the week. The first stretch takes us down to Lago de Cueava, a beautiful lake and site of an iron ore mine now removed. The steep slopes running down to the lake on three sides offer grazing to thousands of sheep who walk across Spain to get here every year in the migration known as the”transhumancia”
The path beyond the lake takes us upwards through rocky territory, (stained red by the presence of iron), to the spectacular green plains that continue for several kilometres across the mountain top. These mountain pastures form a corridor enclosed by cliffs that echo with the sounds of cowbells and the call of birds. Herds of chamois can be seen grazing the slopes either side of the vegas. There is often a lot of signs of wolves up here. The feeling of being in such a vast, tranquil landscape is expansive. The wild orchids are lovely in the early summer. We walk the whole length of the plain until we break the ridge above Valle de Lago. The views of the valley, both up to the lake and down towards the village are extraordinary. We head down towards the lake for a while then beyond the scree we cut back down the side of the mountains and take the path that keeps us up above the valley floor most of the way back to L’Auteiro and home.
I so desperately want to do one of your retreats but I am a teacher. Do you ever do them during school vacation? I think there would be many teachers interested in retreats of this kind
Regards Rita xx
Hi Rita
Yes, I got another enquiry from a teacher a couple of weeks ago about doing the week May 25th-31st so you might be right about that, although they haven’t yet got back to me. Until now I have tended to run the retreats outside of the July/August period because there are less people about and it’s more conducive to tranquility. Having said that, this year I am putting on a special week for a whole group that approached me and could only make July. PM me via the “contact box”, or email me direst and I will make you a special offer. Regards Frankie
How far do you walk each day?
Hi Angela.
Longest walk is about 10 miles. The other three are between five and seven.
Email me for more info frankie@walkinginspirit.co.uk