Andalusia 2020

Sunday1stNovember

For this first day of November, we are not going to visit a new cave, but a very nice little curiosity: the Caminito del Rey. "The King's little path"! To reach this "path", you have to find a parking lot by Lake Guadalhorce and go through this tunnel to pass on the side of the El Chorro canyon where there is a long path suspended on the cliff side...  

It was between 1901 and 1905 that this long path suspended on the mountainside was set up for the needs of the construction of the El Chorro hydroelectric dam, completed in 1921. From this date, the path was no longer exploited and was abandoned. Despite the continuous decay of the facilities, the site became a spot for thrill-seeking adventurers. Indeed, most of the narrow passages are dangerous and several tens of meters from the river. Following accidents, fatal for some, access to the site was condemned in 2000. And in 2006, the region decided to exploit the site to make it completely accessible by rebuilding a new secure walkway, just above the old one. The tourist attraction opened in 2015.

Here is the new secure path, much too secure for my taste, because the sensations are much less strong than those of the time when you had to attach yourself to a lifeline using carabiners...   Nevertheless, the helmet remains mandatory to avoid receiving some stones detached from the cliff on the head... And little icing on the cake, you will also have to keep the mask! Yes, the eternal precautionary principle has even managed to sneak up here...  

"In 1921, the construction of the Conde del Guadalhorce reservoir was completed. King Alfonso XIII came to inaugurate it by taking this path, which earned it its name of Caminito del Rey" © Wikipedia

Here it's jammed! Indeed, a small part of the walkway is made of transparent glass.  

The site is superb and in places, the huge canyon walls seem to crush the small path appearing very fragile here...  

You can clearly see the old path made of concrete slabs, and just above the new one made of wood and metal.

A bridge and a railroad crossed part of the cliff.

And here is the place to "really" walk above the void.

Before the new installations, the site had awarded itself the title of "most dangerous path in the world"...

So, what would you have preferred? Concrete or wood passage?  

A suspension bridge was added right next to the old one.

The end of the route passes over the old railway tunnel. It took us about 2 hours of quiet walking to do everything. After this breath of fresh air (masked...  ), we return to Malaga for some cultural visits with the city museums!

Back therefore, to Malaga, here at the Picasso Museum. Photos are not allowed in the museum so I let you enjoy its patio!

And we finish the day in the little piece of France imported here with the Spanish extension of the Pompidou Centre. This extension is provisional, but renewable every 5 years! Obviously, the lease has been renewed, because it has been a little over 5 years since the museum was inaugurated.

As in Paris, the museum gives pride of place to contemporary works. Here, the abstract painting "De la danse" (1946) by Nicolas de Staël (1913-1955).

The museum also exhibits this photo by Denise Colomb (1902-2004) where Nicolas de Staël poses in his studio on Rue Gauguet in Paris in 1954.

Restaurant to end the evening with pomegranates for dessert.