Rio Chillar

Joe has been fantastic about introducing us to his favorite spots in Almuñécar but also in the surrounding region. Two weeks ago he brought us to hike ('hacer senderismo') the Rio Chillar. Cyrus wrote a little bit about this experience already, see here). This is a gently-sloping hike up a stony riverbed that winds through a canyon. At first it's completely flat and the "river" is basically sporadic puddles. Then you can walk on the riverbanks. Eventually the canyon walls narrow and you have to walk IN the river. In most places, the water was only a couple of inches deep, and we all had water shoes. In a few places the water reached the knees of the kids. In contrast to the heat of the day, the water was cold and amazingly refreshing. We went slowly and stopped often for the children to build dams out of rocks and sticks and just sit and play in the water. On the walk back down, Piers and Cyrus built a little bamboo raft which the kids enjoyed following over mini-rapids and obstacles. We stopped for ice cream in Nerja on the way home, which is a more touristy (also quite lovely) seaside town: bigger and fancier than Almuñécar, and with many many many English speakers. The weather has been the same almost every day we've been here: sunny, hot, incredible blue sky.