Waterfall, Ultimate Surviour Style

(source)

Today´s hike is another one I´ve done more than once. Sometimes when you´re at the beach, you need a break from... the beach. Enter, Waterfall Adventure Trek, otherwise known as Les Fonts de l´Algar. It´s essential to get there early to beat the crowds, especially since there is now a visitor cap as well as an entry fee. Pack a picnic and spend the day paddling in the river or at the base of the falls, or pack your stuff in a waterproof sack and start walking.

(source)

The first time I visited this park was at the end of an extra hot, dry summer, so the falls weren´t very watery. Hiking to the source was fairly easy, and it was interesting to walk along the river bed, so when Tall Guy suggested we go back, with Tweedle E and Tweedle N in tow, I agreed. It´s a lovely natural area, and it would be nice to show them another Spanish landscape.

This time round, things were different. For starters, we had a mini hike from the overflow lot to the entrance. The place was packed! It had also been a rainier year, and after walking along a boardwalk, admiring the dips and falls, we started onto the trail following the river. So far, so good. We were all enjoying ourselves and the scenery, the water was emerald green and turquoise, and there were many, many waterfalls. 

Then the wading began. At first, the water barely covered our shoes. Then, it was up to our ankles. Tall Guy was sure it "wasn´t much farther" to the source, so onward we pressed, and soon enough we were up to our necks, and finally swimming, holding our day packs up out of the water over our heads, a la Bear Grylls in every other episode of Ultimate Survivor.

"This is the most amazing thing I´ve ever done!!"

"We´ll never make it!"

how tweedle e describes it

The water was calm and cold enough to be called invigorating, and once the swim-hike was over, we were rewarded with a sense of accomplishment. I´m pleased to say that both cousins survived (a testament to the power of a promised ice cream) and look back on the experience positively, although I´m pretty sure if we were to go back, one of them would offer to wade in the shallows with Baby to avoid a second grylling. 

how it actually was