So yesterday’s road trip…

It’s been on my mind all day long. Some of the sights we saw are burned to my brain. Very impressive landscapes indeed.

So here I have collected some of the landscapes for you to see.

We started at the Talave water reservoir in the Liétor area in Albacete province which belongs to the Castilla-La Mancha autonomous community in Spain. This was the first time we’ve visited anything in Castilla-La Mancha. So it was pretty exciting to see some the uplands / highlands over there.

Two of the dogs enjoyed cooling off in the lake and Nelson enjoyed just the drinking part. There were few ducks on the lake, but lots of chirping around, so I guess the area was more habitable for little birds and eagles and ravens. Also saw some fish swimming in the lake as the water was so clear.

Talave water reservoir is located in the first section of Rio Mundo. Rio Mundo is the main source of Rio Segura, which flows to the sea about 20 km south from us. Segura is just the remains of the flow of Mundo. It was nice to see a vivid river for a change.

After walking along the dam lake we returned to the car and drove to Puentes Romanos (Roman bridges) de Isso in Hellín. The Bridges of Isso are considered as Roman. It is possible that they are an eighteenth-century work, at least in the case of the main bridge.

Never the less, what a beautiful place it was with Rio Mundo running wild underneath them.

Then we headed towards Ayna. I read that there’s a viewpoint called the Devil’s viewpoint (Mirador del Diablo). Of course that was something to see just based on that cool name.

At first we were driving through fields on both sides. Reminded me a little of Poland. Then all of a sudden we came to a mountain side and the road started to go serpentine between mountains and gorges. It was such a dramatic change in scenery that we both nearly yelling in the car that what the hell happened!

Driving through these dramatic landscapes we see a sign to another mirador and park the car there. This one is called Mirador del Infierno (Hell’s viewpoint). We the on the little area there is and WOW! It’s like you are on top of nothing. Just plummeting steep hills down to something you can’t even see.

The sight twisted my stomach and my legs were shaking when I tried to take few photos. I could not go next to the fence. It was just too scary (the photo in the middle).

So driving towards Ayna continues. Husband saying that this looks more like the Alps. We come to Ayna and their sign says: Ayna - La Suiza Manchega (Switzerland of La Mancha). So, there you have it! 

From one of the viewpoints we learn that famous Spanish classic film Amanece, que no es poco is partly filmed in Ayna and it’s surroundings. They have a sign for you to spot the sights. The film is 30 years old and is apparently some kind of crazy humour. There’s a

“A young Spanish engineer working at the University of Oklahoma returns to Spain to enjoy a sabbatical year. Together with his father, he arrives at a remote mountain village that seems deserted, although in reality all the neighbours are at mass, like every day of the year.

Aýna, Liétor and Molinicos hosted the filming, and are part of the itinerary whose streets were forever portrayed in the script. Not only the fact that the shooting was done in these locations, but the participation of hundreds of residents of these towns as extras of it is a fact that highlights the characterization of the language and ways of life of these people in the film.” - wikipedia

There is a marked route in the Sierra del Segura where you can see all the shooting locations yourself. We landed on the one where I was able to sit the “vehicle” in which they drove around.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwY9Dargt9k/

Heading up the hills and we finally arrive to the Devil’s viewpoint, Mirador del Diablo. That was built in a  way that didn’t twist one’s stomach, but the landscape was more impressive. That’s the photo I had yesterday.

After that we started to head home, but did stop in Archena in Murcia to take a walk with the dogs. That’s the picture with very dry and beige mountainscape in front of the dogs. 

This trip was about 320-340km in total. And the whole day. I’m so glad we did it. All the things we saw has really made an impact on me. So diverse nature and landscape in relatively short distance.

Lots more pictures in Insta if you wanna see: https://www.instagram.com/heidihhfin/