Biking & Baking in Las Alpujarras

Our friend Anne has been trying to organise a snow-shoeing expedition for some weeks, but each time the weather has got in the way, or some other deterrent...finally we decided that today would be the day and 4 of us booked a session with the Navadensis chaps up at the Granada ski station.  Down in the valley all was green, with the occasional jewel-like oranges or pink almond blossom indicating spring...but up on the mountain it was another story altogether.  Threatening, dark clouds rolled around, a light drizzle was turning to fresh snow (at 10am) and some roads were already getting very narrow thanks to the drifting .  Visibility was poor.

But hey, we're British, we don't do negativity!  By 11.30am we were out on the mountainside (at 2500m perhaps), wrapped up in waterproofs, woolly hats, gloves etc with 'raquetas de nieve' on our feet and ski poles in our hands.  Buitre was our guide and we headed up the snowy slope into the stinging wind...this quickly became even heavier snow and a stronger wind as we climbed, until we were well past the Virgen de la Nieve monument and getting towards the top of a 'red' ski route; by this time we couldn't see anything much, although the odd skier passed by going down.  We were glad of our protective clothing and decent energy levels, but decided that we too should turn back after a couple of hours as it was all getting a bit risky; even Buitre wasn't sure of the route back in what was now a complete white-out and temperatures of about -10 with the wind chill factor and blizzarding snow.  When your hair turns stiff and white, your cheeks are sore and your eyes watering, and only your snow-shoes are stopping you from sinking or skidding over icy patches - it's time to go home!   We collected up a young Spaniard, Juan on the way down, suffering from a bit of altitude sickness and, I think, fear of where his troop of snow-shoers were going.  We were all glad when first the Military mountain refuge and then the Albergue de Juvilines came into view, although we still had a few miles to walk to reach our car and the main road.  It was 5pm by the time we left.

But we were not done...the road down to Granada was in chaos!  Very, very icy and full of traffic!  The World Finals for Snowboarding and Freestyle ski are taking place this week and next, so the resort is packed out, but many people had headed down to the city for a day in sunlight of some sort...and now they were coming back up to their hotels, without realising how bad the weather had been all day.  People had stopped to put on chains or because they were slipping about or, being in Spain, because they wanted to overtake the car in front but couldn't quite make it...and people like us going down the mountain were tending to do the same thing!  Result: a horrible mess!  It took a good hour to get clear and the only solution was to head for Lanjaron and hot chocolate with buñuelos to sustain us!

We enjoyed the actual snow-shoeing and will do some more;  we were glad of our sensible clothing and warm layers;  we thought Navadensis did us proud at 30 euros per head for a good 4 hrs; and Buitre was an excellent guide and a nice man.  But next time we want sunshine and a view, not the sensation of being adrift in Antarctica!!  Oh and some decent driving too!! Happy days!!

They say that you make your own luck...I don't know whether that's always true, but today it seemed to work.  Despite the weather forecast and the appearance of the sky, I thought I would take a gamble and go to Granada, just to see if there would be any tango in the Plaza de las Pasiegas in front of the Cathedral.  Low cloud and dark skies hovered over me all the way to Padul, then the rain started to fall...should  I bother at all or just turn around and go home?

Well, I carried on, parked and walked to the centre...the rain almost stopped...I met up with a number of tanguero friends...about 12 people were already dancing despite the wet marble slabs...time to put away the brolly and get out there!  It got better, we even had a few minutes of sunshine, and people danced in jeans, boots, jackets, stilettoes and skirts.  It didn't matter and we all had 2 hours of creative fun and elegance.

Even as I walked back to the car park the rain started again and the drive home was beset by foggy mist.  Now it's pouring down but we are snug and warm to watch the Ireland v France 6 Nations match...and I've had a lovely day!  So the moral is, I suppose, that if you really want to do something you have to make an informed decision and then stick to your guns...and maybe a bit of luck will come your way. 

I've had time to start reflecting on our trip and to focus on the best elements..and what information anyone else might find useful if they went in that direction.  First of all, our itinerary was as follows (geographically):

Getting there: Granada - Madrid - Buenos Aires - San Carlos de Bariloche.  All very smooth, with at least 3 hours in each airport which allowed for transfers to different terminals, collecting the suitcase etc.  We used Iberia inside Spain (great new Nostrum planes, delightful staff) and Aerolineas Argentina for the rest (not too bad except for dreadful 'soothing' music at take-off and landing and somewhat indifferent food, plus a long time to be sedentary...).

We had 1 night in Bariloche (Hotel Tyrol was excellent)  then took a bus down the lakeside, caught a day boat tour to the end of Lago Nahuel Huapi and walked for 2 days mostly through forests via the Paso de las Nubes through to Pampa Linda and Mount Tronador.  We slept that middle night in our bivi's after a long day's hiking and were most glad of a) mosquito nets for our heads and b) Steve's brew of tea. We spent about 3 days at Pampa Linda on a wonderful but simple campsite (you can stay in the hotel or a refugio).  The weather was great, we went riding and walking and ate some reasonably good food (the hotel does the best breakfasts).

Then we took buses via Esquel and El Bolson to get to Futaleufu in Chile and eventually Palena.  A taxi from Palena got us to 'the end of the road' and we then walked for about 4 hours, including crossing the Rio Tigre in bare feet, to reach Alto Palena and the ranch.  The link for this is rincondelanieve@gmail.com and you can walk, climb, ride, fish and amble about in the most gorgeous surroundings.  There's also a lot of river kyaking and rafting around Futaleufu and I swam there in the river.

Our next destination was Alto Mapucho but I can't recall which buses we took back into Argentina...we certainly ended up on a private boat across Lago Puelo and then a 2 day walk back across into Chile (heavy rain) and then an hour in another boat all the way down Lago Azul to the homestead of Giraldo and Azalea...their lovely horses and more fishing!  They have cabanas you can stay in and will also cook meals etc.  Take some mite/flea powder though because something 'got' us whilst there which we never completely got rid of until we got back to Spain...itch, itch...

Eventually we ended up in Puerto Varas and took a 6 hour bus ride back to Bariloche, then a flight to Buenos Aires (more on that next time).  The buses are excellent although the  bigger distance ones have  to be booked in advance at one of the fairly numerous ticket offices; local ones you pay as you get on or off.  Prices are low (15 euros pp for that 6 hr return trip) and there are coffee/toilet facilities on board.  Chilean roads are almost all unsurfaced so don't expect luxury, just enjoy the people and the roads!  If no bus comes, stick your thumb out and hitch a ride...we did and met some lovely people from Santiago de Chile who spoke excellent English.

We could have spent less on B&Bs and done more camping, we could have skipped the boats and gone the longer routes using more buses, but in the 20 days we had, it was the longer stop-overs that counted the most.  And the deep, mysterious, lush forests...high snow-covered peaks rumbling with the sound of collapsing glacier blocks...eagles, condors, river birds...amazing mosses, wild fuschia bushes, semi-wild pigs and cows...and so many horses...

More next time!