Day 9 Saturday 9 September 2018
Unexpected Treasures
I set out late and did what ‘Mad dogs and English’ do, tried to walk in the mid-day sun, which might of been fine except I didn’t have hat or much of a map. I set out to walk to the Roman aqueduct and Peña Cortada (which might translate as Painful Cut). I notice walking through town that many garage doors are open and inside are small tractors and ride-on cultivators - Sunday is gardening day.
A Chelva Fountain, an old spring and irrigation pond and La Torrecilla- a Medieval Moorish Fortification.
I walked for about 20 minutes through town, past a roundabout, petrol garage, builder’s merchants and Municipal Depot until I found a track marked Service Access and took that! Immediately I was in another world of olive groves, an old irrigation pond and cicadas. It’s a slow climb and I eventually see signs of the Peña Cortada and dramatic views of the Medieval Moorish fortified tower of La Torrecilla.
The walnuts are almost ripe, a horse shoe embedded in the concrete track, sluice gates seem to be dedicated to S. Garcia and an interesting fence post.
After about 50 minutes I decide that it’s a much longer walk than I anticipated and decide to turn back; it’s too hot, but try to find the path up to the Tower - no luck there either! I return home following the route Ben and Helma showed me on the first morning’s walk, but get very lost in amongst irrigation ditches and wild fig and pomegranate trees and eventually have to retrace my steps to the petrol garage roundabout and walk into town from there. A frustrating outing but still full of visual treasures. Tomorrow I will be more prepared.
Lost
After a siesta I return to the studio and blog writing, then open a nice bottle of local red wine served with sepia (cuttle-fish) and green beans.
