(I didn’t click this pic, it’s from Pixabay.com 🙂 )

I had that solo hiking situation in Andalucia, Spain where I eventually got lost and had to be rescued. Well, yes, the latter part of it – getting lost, accepting it and then getting rescued –  was totally crazy and I had to write down immediately for therapeutical value. But now that it’s a little bit in the past, I have to say this – the first part of this hike was amazing. It was one of my best hikes!

A lot of treks and hikes are on a cobbled road or stone stairs with metal railings and they bring a constant sense of civilisation with them, but this one was good that way. It was rustic. It spoke of farmers and people of the land – not exactly ‘urban civilisation’.

And there was an icing on the cake – Griffon Vultures!

The Subbetica natural park is home to the largest colony of Griffon Vultures in southern Spain. And they are awesome! I am sorry to say that cartoons and movies have spoilt them for us. They show the vulture as this hunched carrion bird, brooding around and waiting for creatures to die, so it can feast. What you don’t realise, until you actually see them in the wild, is that they are MAJESTIC. Yea, never thought I would use this word for them. But I do.

I got one video of them (on my mobile camera). It’s not too bad *cough*.

Yes, okay, you can hardly see the birds. But here’s another one (not shot by me), that shows the birds a little bit better. And it has some interesting details about them too….

Walking in on these amazing creatures, made me dream of days where I could stay in such a natural park for many days with a better (heavier?) camera, clicking amazing pictures and videos of such birds and other natural elements.

I spoke to my outdoorsy traveller friend and she told me about this thing called ‘independent hiking’. Same thing that I did here – basically go out hiking on your own, using some trail maps and such. Except on this Subbetica hike, I thought I was going to follow a simple, beginners trail. It turned out to be not ‘beginner’s’ level at all, and I got lost. But the same thing, done in a more prepared manner should be amazing. Add a few awesome birds and other wild life elements and we have a party!

I am looking out for such wild trails that I can hike, either solo or with some ‘chosen few people’. Let’s see. 🙂

Have you hiked some good trails? Share… 🙂