The wild and wonderful gallery forests of the Cañaverosa were bathed in sunshine for this first date on the walking municipal calendar on Sunday.
We were a group of about 60 as we left the Plaza de la Corredera with our special motorized escort provided by the Civil Protection and the local police. By the time we joined the lower Sanctuary road our numbers had swollen to nearly a hundred.
Turning left just after the almond trees, heavy with flower at this time of year, and behind the little white house we walked down to the tunnel, passing under the motorway and then cut across country on a track which brought us out just in front of the Tierra del Sol urbanization. Along the way we passed the Cabeza Negra, a small mountain on our left which has been developed for tourists. From our track we can clearly make out the narrow path with its safety rail winding along the top of the ridge.
After crossing the main road and made our way down towards Los Viveros and past the Camping. Further down the road towards the Sanctuary, on a left hand bend, is the river crossing.
An officer from the Civil Protection drove his four wheel driver straight into the river, which is quite high and fast at the moment, and stopped, thus providing a safety barrier for walkers as they hopped from stone to stone to cross the river. The river crossing turned out to be a major operation for the CP officers due to the high level of participation and many of us had already eaten our “elevenses” at the gates of the park before the final stragglers arrived.
The wooden walkways along the river banks have been recently repaired and renovated and the branches and canes overhanging or encroaching on the path have been cleared. However, according to our guide some of the broken vegetation was not due to the human hand but to a pack of wild boar which had been roaming around the area in the early hours of the morning. With an expression that clearly said the only good wild boar is a dead one on a plate he showed us the damage they caused.
As we walked between the overhanging trees, creepers and massive canes the river is not always visible but there are several clearings including a small sandy area from where you can clearly see the dam built by our local otters.
At the end of the river path we turned left and followed the path as it cut across country with views of Moratalla and the great house of the Cañaverosa on our right. We walked between pine forests until finally at the tope of a slope we could see the urbanization again. The walk had come full circle.
The walk was estimated at 8 kilometres, although it seemed more like 10k, and is a round walk if the start and finish is the Tierra del Sol. This is probably the best place for independent walkers to leave the car if you don´t want to walk from Calasparra.
According to our guide if you want to see the otters, or the boars for that matter, it is necessary to go very early in the morning, not to take dogs, and to be extremely quiet. Please remember wild boar can be dangerous especially if they have little ones and good advice is to get out of their way if you hear them coming in your direction. There are several clear vantage points for viewing the otters a short distance along the path where you will also find places to hide from view as otters are extremely timid.
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
