Alora: El Azul, Local Festivals, and El Camino del Rey!

After a short stay in Barcelona it was time for a long stay in Alora. This was actually the first city, since Lucerne, where we got to spend more than one full day. Alora was unlike all the cities we previously visited because it was so small. Here was the first city we visited where the locals did not know English. Caiqian and I never took any Spanish lessons, so our Spanish-American dictionary became very useful.

Day One

The trip started on a strange note when we got off the train and had to walk on the tracks to get to our hotel.

Above: You can just walk over the rails. Crazy...

One worry we had was that we wouldn't find our hotel. Alora was so small I could not find satisfactory directions. Fortunately our hotel's directions just said they were located by the train station. We didn't know how right they were until we arrived.

Above: Oh, there it is.

Right when we got off the train there were cardboard signs leading us to El Azul Guest House. Now our only worry was communicating with our hosts. We were in a city where everyone spoke Spanish, and we did not. Communicating was going to be difficult.

Above: El Azul!

Except communicating wasn't difficult at all! Imagine our surprise when we met Ray and Terry, the two British chaps who ran El Azul Guest House. They were more English than we were. Ray didn't even speak Spanish. After our pleasant meet and greet we were shown the best room we've had our entire trip. Our room had a balcony, a full-sized bathroom, and a real king-sized bed (not just two twins pushed together)!

The hotel also came with free breakfast, television, wifi, and an extravagant garden with a pool Ray was repainting. All this, and it was still the cheapest place we stayed at the whole trip. Cheers to small towns!

After our amazing reception at El Azul, Caiqian and I went to get our dinner. Alora was covered in orange and lemon trees, which gave it the faintest smell of citrus. It made our walk very refreshing and relaxing. 

Above: A Stroll through the Orange Trees.

Eventually we made it to our dinner destination.

Above: The best restaurant in lower Alora.

Terry had recommended Sol Del Rio because of its delectable food, and we loved it so much that we went back two more nights. But even the best place to eat in Alora didn't have an English-speaking waiter. So after grabbing a scenic table, it was time for Bryan to translate.

Above: Learnin' time.

By far the most hilarious thing was that on the menu there was an item called "au gratin or pil-pil style scallops." The first time I read it (remember, it's in Spanish), I didn't understand the "or" part, just the "scallops" part. So when our waiter came, I confidently told him that Caiqian and I would have an order of "au gratin or pil-pil style scallops." The first night I ordered this, he gave us au gratin style. The second night we ordered it, he (same waiter) gave us pil-pil style. After our confusion (we ordered the same thing both nights, why are these scallops different?) we realized what we told the waiter. Whoops!

On our last night I finally was competent enough to ask for one of each. He smiled when I did. He knew we finally realized what we had ordered.

Above: Hilarity.

My favorite dish were the lamb chops. They were rare on the inside but seared on the outside and seasoned only with salt. I could have eaten a hundred of these delicious chops.

Above: Well-Seasoned Lamb Chops.

I never asked what Caiqian's favorite was, but she really gulped down some fish dish that she ordered. Just look at the before and after pictures.

Above: Caiqian DESTROYED that fish.

Our least favorite dish by far was roast pig. It wasn't because the meat was bad (even though I didn't like it). It was because the pieces showed off a lot of the pig. For instance, the peice on top had some ear coming out of it. The leg piece piece had a whole pig foot attached to it. It was pretty gross.

Above: Pig... Parts.

One nice surprise was the crema Catalana. Crema Catalana has the appearance of creme brulee, but it is uses vanilla ice cream instead of creme. Also the sugar burnt on top is actually a thick layer of caramel that is burnt at the top.

Above: Crema Catalana.

That night we slept with full stomachs, ready to enjoy day two.

Day Two

Our first full day at Alora was unfortunately Sunday. Ray and Terry informed us we could go explore town center, but everything would be closed. Undeterred, Caiqian and I decided to at least see what Alora's downtown looked like.

Above: Behold! The White City.

Amazingly when we arrived every store was open! Not only that, but the streets were packed with people. How was this happening? Soon a sign explained everything.

Above: Sign for the Nazareno de las Torres Parade.

We had accidentally stumbled upon a local festival. There was a life-size Jesus being carried down the streets and the whole town was celebrating!

Above: I love local parades!

Caiqian and I really enjoyed ourselves. What a pleasant surprise. Who could have dreamed that everything would have gone so well?

Above: Beautiful Alora.

Fortunately, Terry also recommended De Knas, known for its tapas. When Caiqian and I spotted it, we went in.

Above: De Knas.

De Knas is the kind of place where you just sit down and eventually a waitress comes to take your order. So Caiqian and I sat down and found a huge, inexpensive tapas menu... entirely in Spanish. I got out my dictionary and started translating the dozens of tapas one at a time. About twenty items down, the waitress came and switched our menu with one with Spanish and English. Caiqian and I felt pretty silly.

Above: Sigh...

As for the tapas themselves, they were so cheap we ordered anything even remotely interesting. I won't show you the food we got (it was a lot), but Caiqian's list of tapas that she handed to the waitress should give you an idea of how much we ate.

Above: We just handed the waitress this.

After eating our massive meal Caiqian bought 12 bags of 3D Bugels since they were only 25 cents a piece. On our walk she found two doggies who were very friendly to her. Her favorite dog was the white one, but she ended up feeding both.

Above: Caiqian, the dog philanthropist.

At the end of our day we found a playground with smoothed cement balls. We had a good time trying to get on top of the biggest ball. We eventually got both of us on top of the biggest ball, but for obvious reasons we couldn't take a picture of it.

Above: The happiest kids at the park.

After we had our fun it was time to retire back at El Azul. We had a relaxing and satisfying second day. That night however I slept with nervousness in my blood, because I knew what tomorrow would bring.

Day Three, The Day at El Camino del Rey

Alora was wonderful, but for me it was all icing on the cake, because my original and primary reason for being here was to cross El Camino del Rey. El Camino del Rey, aka the most dangerous walkway in the world, was the second big thing I wanted to do while in Europe. It is a pathway that crosses across the El Chorro Gorge. El Camino del Rey is Spanish for "The King's Little Pathway," named because King Alfonso XIII walked across it in 1921 when the pathway was still new. Since then it has fallen to disrepair. It used to be open to tourists, but after some fatalities it was officially closed. Curiously enough, I found some old advertisements for the pathway while I went hunting for it.

Above: Old Advertisements for El Camino del Rey (before it was closed forever).

Getting to El Camino del Rey was fun. On the way there were several barriers, but for every barrier there was an alternate path.

Above: There's always a way around.

Eventually after a lot of walking and asking locals, I found the El Camino bridge.

Above: I see it!

As I got closer I got the more excited I felt.

Above: I'm pretty sure this caution sign says "Go on Ahead!"

Eventually I saw the start of the pathway. Do you see it against the wall?

Above: It begins.

The first step was getting around this fence.

Above: Level One.

Next I crossed the railway.

Above: Staring down the business end of a train tunnel.

And finally to the start of the path!.... wait.... how do I cross?

Above: I can't cross this. They cut off the bars!

I went back, dejected and confused. That's when I bumped shoulders with Marty, a man from Ohio, who was also interested in crossing El Camino del Rey. Unlike me though, he actually knew how to get there. I had gone the obvious, but incorrect, way. The real start of the path was about 100 feet below the bridge.

Above: The Real Way to El Camino del Rey.

The pathway began with no pathway at all. First we had to hop from support beam to support beam where a path used to be.  Although this part looks close to the ground in the photo, let me assure you that falling from this height would have been lethal. That's why Marty and I played it safe and had our dual-harness system, ensuring we'd always stay attached.

Above: Bryan's Version of Bar Hopping.

After making my way past the bars Marty and I climbed a tall, narrow, steep pathway upwards.

Above: Climbing the Neverending Stairway.

Eventually we made it to the top, which is also the start of the El Camino del Rey video that inspired my climb. Video below.

While making my way across I definitely saw that the pathway was falling apart.

Above: Some Holes in the Walkway.

Eventually I made it to a single metal bar I'd have to cross. Looking down I'd guess it was about a 500 foot drop.  Here would be a bad time to trip!

Above: Crossin' the bar.

After a bit more walking Marty and I made it to the the El Camino del Rey bridge!

Above: I made it!

The view from the top was breathtaking.

Above: The View from the Bridge.

To get down the other side of the bridge we had to go down this concrete wall without a harness. To the left was a huge drop, so we did this part nice and slowly.

Above: For this part we weren't connected!

After we got down Marty and I found a plaque for some who didn't make it across alive.

Above: We aren't all so lucky.

We continued going down the pathway, and encountered another metal bar. This time though to stay harnessed we had to climb on the wall instead of the bar. Fun!

Above: The easy path?

While we were walking we could really see what El Chorro gorge looked like from the inside.

Above: Neat Rock Formations.

Also while we were crossing we waved to some rock climbers who were walking down the train tracks on the other side of the gorge. Talk about dangerous! We took pictures of each other on our separate paths.

Above: Climbers in a train tunnel.

Eventually we made it to the end of the path and turned around. On the way back though Marty and I saw the beauty of El Chorro. It was awe-inspiring. We decided to take some final pictures from here with  El Chorro gorge and the El Camino del Rey bridge behind us.

Above: The Money Shot.

Alora was the highlight of my traveling in Europe. Crossing the path made me feel alive. And Even Caiqian, who didn't cross, loved Alora over all the other cities except Lucerne. Alora showed me how wonderful visiting a small city can be. Between our wonderful hotel, the cheap food, the colorful festivals, and the adventure of a lifetime, Alora is a city I'll always remember fondly.

After Alora Caiqian and I went back to Paris to meet up with Caiqian's parents. I then got to experience the joy of being in a Chinese tour-bus group.  We chinese-toured our way through Belgium and the Netherlands. So get ready, because next up is Brussels and Bruges!