El Perro Negro

Grumpy old mountain man living in Spain

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El Perro Negro (@elperronegro) on Khumbu

I felt so enthused by my journey yesterday afternoon I decided to write about it.

The Finest Journey of All (Or, How We Stopped Being Grumpy Gits)

If you’ve been following this TravelLog, you’d be forgiven for thinking we’re two joy-sucking vampires who hate fun, sunlight, and functional transportation. The journey had been a masterclass in frustration, requiring the patience of a saint and the resilience of a Nokia 3310.

https://scribbles.page/patagonia-diaries/posts/the-finest-journey-of-all-or-how-we-stopped-being-grumpy-gits

After a tough, frustrating 45 hours of difficult travelling, the final 3 hours were unmitigated bliss! The gods were smiling down on us as we approached El Chalten and the magnificent Mt Fitzroy welcomed us. Not the best image as shot from a mini bus travelling at 95kph, constantly hit by crosswinds and a dirty windscreen.

Will write more about this magical 3 hour journey tomorrow but beer and pizza await.

A road on the lower left heads towards some jagged mountain summits with snow

Very soon we head south to Patagonia. Been looking for software to record our TravelLog. I use 11ty for my sites but it's not for posting from mobiles. WordPress overly complex. Mastodon ... don't want to fill timeline with every post. Looked at micro.blog but settled on scribbles.page which is distraction free, intuitive & simple.

https://scribbles.page/patagonia-diaries

Also posting to Just Penguins which is more visual https://tinyurl.com/2uy23k9h

Spent a few hours today thinking about a tent for Patagonia. Don't need expedition tent as only out for 3 days max at a time. Given ferocity of weather in Patagonia it needs to be very strong to withstand the winds. It's a weight x comfort x performance equation. Eventually settled for the single skin Crux Raid X1. A little small for two but very strong, stable, tough & relatively easy to put up in blizzards. Plus, only 1.5kg (3.3lbs) to carry around.

A red Crux Raid tent on a white background

Unusual view looking down on the village of Capileira in the Alpujarras from high up on the slopes of Las Alegas (2700m) in the Sierra Nevada.The morning sun has reached all parts of the village but the Barranco de Poqueira remains in shadow,

The morning sun has reached all parts of the village but the Barranco de Poqueira remains in shadow,

After a bit of a grey and dismal long weekend in the UK, today it was nice to head up above home on 4WD tracks and get the clearest view of the African continent we've had this year. Morocco did indeed seem very close, although in reality is some 220km away in a direct line across the Mediterranean.

View from the summit of las Alegas, 2700m looking south over Salobreña to Al Hoceima in Morocco

View from the summit of las Alegas 2700m looking south over the white town of Salobreña, over the blue Mediterranean Sea to Al Hoceima and hills in Morocco.

There are some amazing online & Management apps out there. I've tried most of them. As I get older & focus more on reducing pack weight, I realized that none of the existing solutions quite fit what I am looking for. So, 6 months ago I decided to create something for myself. Been using ever since.

It's for all. No a/c registration required as all data stored locally. It may work for you, it may not. It works for me.

https://hikeliteapp.com/

Just starting to excited about heading back to Patagonia. Only 3 weeks to go until we head out and get back to scenes such as this from 2014 on the western side of the Cerro Torre massif. Better start making a packing list pronto.

4 people, one pulling a sledge cross in front of a jagged mountain range of rock and ice. A gap in the white clouds reveals blue sky.

Sometimes the ways of the world get me down. Why oh why can't we just be nice to each other?

But all that negativity disperses when I do the morning dog walk. Life isn't so bad after all is it?

Have a great weekend everybody!

Shadowed olive trees with sun hitting a Spanish town in the distance. Distant mountains

Fantastic half-day hike up the isolated peak of Gilillo in the stunning Parque Natural de la Sierra de Cazorla.

Begins with gentle ascent through beautiful forests before breaking out onto the open hillside. Trail leads up to the Puerto Gilillo pass and onto a summit that is far more dramatic than we expected.

The summit itself is sharp and rocky, and because the peak stands so alone, the 360-degree views of the endless sierras are absolutely breathtaking.

A person with blue shirt stands on a rock looking down over hills and forests

A person in red walks along a high trail between two trees. There is a drop to the left

The traverse round the peak to attain the summit. 3 hikers negotiate a narrow path

Our group ascend a traverse path leading to to the summit of Gilillo peak 1845m

Hard photographing birds in flight isn't it? Especially for a landscape photographer who's subject is pretty much static. Thing is with birds, the little blighters just won't stay still, will they?

Here's 4 images of the Griffon Vulture from a photo shoot I did a few days ago at the amazing El Chorro cliffs in the Sierra de Cazorla a few days ago. Keep rate was probably 1/50 🤣

Shows a Griffon Vulture in flight over green terrain

Shows a Griffon Vulture in flight with vertical rocky cliffs behind in shadow

Shows a Griffon Vulture in flight with vertical rocky cliffs behind in shadow

A group of Griffon Vultures sat on a sunlit rocky platform. One in just in the process of taking off

Not a menu for @khusky my vegetarian wife. Maybe she could try the Vegetarian Croissant tapa though which only includes a bit of tuna? Don't you just love rural Spain 🤣

A black on white list of tapas available in a Spanish restaurant

What a superb Grand Final this is at it's finest

Been a bit out of my comfort zone today. Instead of hills and mountains I've had to do a cultural tour showing a lovely couple around my local home town of Lanjarón in the Alpujarras. So its the Arabic influence with "acequias", history and castles mixing with the Christian architecture, churches and traditions. Turns out, I live in a very varied and interesting place 🤣

Been playing with CursorAI today. Believe they call it . No doubt however that it's remarkably fast at turning ideas into websites.

Here's my new website announcing the arrival of NomadNet, a mesh for the Alpujarras, Spain.

Been a hobby for a while but basically I've got sick of talking to myself each day 🤣 .

The network has now a sound base and I've plans for further repeater expansion. Hopefully others might be interested too?

https://nomadmesh.org

2/ Casilla de Agua - Peñon de Granada - Rambla del Durcal Sierra Nevada

The Rambla del Durcal area is amazing with stunning scenery more akin to Utah or New Mexico than southern Spain. Some rough hiking to be found here, it's all steep and loose apart from the valley floor of the Rambla itself.

Hikers on a descending track on the left above a deep arid valley with a few trees dotted around

Rough arid peaks drop down in a series of barrancos to the valley floor with a few trees emerging from the stones

Approaching the valley floor of the Rambla del Durcal

Barren arid hillsides with a few surviving trees sticking out of the bare earth