After visiting the Montes de Propios a few days earlier, I decided to take Celia on another hike close to the previous route. This one was slightly longer, about 15 kilometres in total, and a bit harder because of the bigger difference in altitude (almost 600 metres). The weather was still great and well prepared we started the trail at 9:45 AM. Some of the few birds we were able to photograph were waiting for us at the very beginning of the route: we spotted a Firecrest and a Chiffchaff.
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| Celia and Henry together with the group at the highest point of the route |
We were soon joined by a group of hikers who had arrived at the same time and we decided to follow the route together. Doing so, we formed a group of 9 people, hence we didn't spot too many birds but we learned a lot about plants and trees.
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| Oak trees giving the forest an eerie look |
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| Goldcrest |
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| Chiffchaff |
We heard bird species that we expected, like Treecreeper, Nuthatch and Blue Tit, but overall we saw very few of them. The beautiful landscape was worth the long walk though. Most of the track is a relatively comfortable climb up to the highest point, where we found a small watchtower, used to keep an eye on possible forest fires. The views from that point were amazing. Unfortunately we were not able to see Africa because of the fog.
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| The observation house on top of the mountain |
It was while we were having a chat with the guard when we observed another few birds: a few Griffon Vultures, A Black Redstart and a Blue Rock Thrush.
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| Black Redstart has caught an insect |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Blue Rock Thrush |
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| The highest point, Pico de la Gallina, 798 metres ASL |
We had seen photos on websites of people posing next to the milestone on top of the Pico de la Gallina, but nobody in the group had the courage to undertake such a hazardous endeavour.
On the way back we spotted a very peculiar insect. It seemed like a hollow wasp or something, dead but still elegantly posing.
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| Strange but beautiful little creature |
In total, we spent about 6 hours walking on this entertaining route, whcih we appreciated mostly because of the beautiful sights and variety of trees and plants rather than the presence of a lot of visible bird species.Cheers!
Celia & Henry.
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| An interesting lake in the far distance |
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