North Coast Trail

After a long delay, we finally got a window in which to hike the North Coast Trail near the end of August. We spent five nights and six days hiking the trail from east to west, which included a day touring the Cape Scott Lighthouse area before returning to our car. The weather was a mixed bag - we had everything from fog to mist to gorgeous sunshine. Luckily, it did not rain. Although some of the beaches were beautiful, the highlight of the trip was undoubtedly the boat ride to the trailhead. We came upon a pod of orcas and spent close to half an hour bobbing in the waves watching them feed around the boat. None of us had seen orcas in the wild before. It was a special treat.

Random pictures from the trail...

Happy that we're home...

Jaen

Jaen is a small city in Andalusia, an autonomous region in southern Spain. Having spent time near Cuenca the previous year, we decided to return and venture a bit farther south to an area we'd heard little about. Although Jaen had much to offer, the weather proved difficult and we were forced to thread our outdoor activities between various stormy periods, culminating with snow on our final day! When we did manage to explore, we found a countryside laced with kilometres of olive orchards nestled below misty peaks and bright orange cliffs. We enjoyed the break from Canadian winter and a bit of sunny climbing, but our tumultuous journey home, a result of cancelled flights, was truly exhausting. Pictures from the trip:

Cathedral in Jaen, a notable local monument.

Farm life near the climbing area, Reguchillo.

Guin DJ (7c) in the massive cave at Otinar, a good escape from the rain.

Wildlife!

Flowers at our casa rural.

Exploring the castle ruins in Albanchez de Magina.

The castle at Bedmar.

Coastal exploration in Parque Natural Sierras de Tejeda. We all swam!

Ibex near the beach. We counted eight including some young.

Elise climbing a 6a at Reguchillo.

Pet ferrets at Reguchillo. Elise was thrilled!

Cliff terrain at Reguchillo on one of our sunny days.

Our casa rural in La Guardia de Jaen.

Climbing in the impressive cave at Otinar.

Wildlife in Parque Natural Sierras de Cazorla.

We bring cat food everywhere we go...

Taking in the scenery on our hike of the Rio Borosa gorge.

Suspended walkway along Rio Borosa.

Sunset in Parque Natural Sierras de Cazorla.

Elise in action at Reguchillo.

We visited during the olive harvest. Busy times.

Misty day exploring the castle of Otinar.

Elise inside the castle.

Winter flowers at Reguchillo.

The massive cave at Otinar.

A final image of the Castillo de Otinar.

Happy New Year to you all...