Cuenca - Albarracín - Rodellar!

So we finally left Oliana after almost 2 months! We were very comfortable there but we are on a rock trip not a stay in one place trip! We decided to check out Cuenca seeing as neither of us have been and we have heard good things about it, and temperature wise it should still be ok. 

View from the carpark for Primate

We arrived in the town of Cuenca which is a lot bigger than we expected and the climbing and car parks are right next to the city. We stayed in Las Piscinas car park and from there you can walk to various sectors and you can even walk to the centre of the city if you want. There is also a local climbing gym, Espacio Pachamama https://espaciopachamama.com/ with a little shop where you can get guidebooks and all things climbing and inside the gym there is a ClimberUp workshop https://climberup.com/ for getting shoes resoled. The actual car park is fairly urban and a lot busier than we thought it would be. It didn't help that whilst we were there, there was a wedding and several christenings near by! 

David on Las Grises

The actual climbing we found to be quite hit and miss, some routes were really good fun others were just a physical pull fest without any feet..! Neither of us were that enamoured. We spoke to some locals and they did admit that you have to pick and choose the routes that you try. You definitely try and get some recommendations before going. We stayed for just over a week and had a look at Piscinas, Martín Alhaja, Rincón de la Ermita, and Primate crags. We preferred Primate as the routes there (or at least the ones we tried) were a bit less manufactured and more importantly there were more feet as the rock itself is a bit more featured. We tried a few recommended routes like Goliath, Las Grises, Ladrón de Cuerdas, Rasca y Pica and Ondanadas de hostias. I loved Goliath but Ondanadas for example I found the moves all unnecessarily long and the feet non existent. It was also the last day and we already knew we were going so I was running a bit low on energy but all in all we decided to leave. There was also a bank holiday weekend coming up in the area and we did not fancy discovering Cuenca when it gets busy. The actual climbing was not too busy but the car park is shared with people visiting the city, climbers, walkers, bikers, party/wedding goers and just generally anything and everything and so it gets pretty busy and can feel a bit overwhelming especially on a rest day. Whilst we were there we shared some days with a friend Helena and her Dad and she absolutely loved the place so it really is all about preference! 

David walking through Albarracín, or is it Spongebob?

We decided that our next stop would be Rodellar, we had avoided going until now mainly because we thought it to have been hit by rains but apparently not! On our way North to Rodellar from Cuenca we stopped in Albarracín for a couple of days. Albarracín is a great bouldering spot near a really picturesque village. I went once years ago and David had never been. The boulders there are a lot of fun and you can find compression problems, big juggy roof problems and even some crimpy ones ranging all levels of difficulty! Since I was there last they have installed parking meters in all of the car parks and now if you want to stay overnight you can go to the Mirador car park. This is a lovely look out point from which you can see the castle wall of the town of Albarracín. Price wise it's pretty reasonable at 4€ a day or 7€50/48h. In the Mirador car park we even found a compost toilet that I'm pretty sure climbers have dug as it was literally a hole in the ground with some dodgy planks over it. Still a pretty good idea as the Mirador is fairly exposed and the ground is pretty hard. At the main carpark there is a really good BBQ area with information on whether BBQs are allowed depending on the current fire risk level, AND there was even a pile of fire wood stacked neatly next to it. Both the car park and Mirador have covered parking spots to keep the heat of the sun off and the whole area is pretty flat. Plus the view of the sunset from Mirador is pretty spectacular!  

The sunset from the Mirador carpark

 

Me, Pru on Eclipse in Techos secteur

From Albarracín we continued our journey all the way to Rodellar! We are planning to be here for most of June and maybe longer depending on the weather. Rodellar is a tufa paradise full of kneebars and steep routes. It is a beautiful area full of natural pools and the great thing about it is that you don't need to move the van. There are two campsites and a hotel in the village and I'm fairly sure that there are even AirBnB accommodations, free camping is illegal and you can be heavily fined by the local authorities. David and I actually helped write a piece about Rodellar for Rafiki a while back, you can find it here: https://www.rafikiclimbing.com/article/141/climbing-in-spain-rodellar/ We have decided to stay in El Puente campsite https://www.campingelpuente.com/en because for rest days it is a lot better, plus the campsite is quieter on the whole. You can get phone coverage or wifi across the campsite (something that is pretty hit and miss at El Mascun the other campsite http://www.campingmascun.com/es/ ). There is also a river really nearby that you can swim in and rest days feel more like a rest day rather than just a waiting and not climbing day. El Mascun campsite is better for short trips if you want to go to the main crags because there are closer. From el Puente you can access the other valley easily by dingy but to get to the Mascun valley (where Ventanas, Gran Boveda etc. are) you have an extra 15/20min walk. The path is easy to find and it is fairly shaded though so we feel like it's worth it and coming back is all downhill!

Breakfast pancakes with friends at the campsite

So here's to tufa hugging and lounging around in the luxury of a campsite! I shall keep you updated as to how the climbing goes!

Swimming in the river with friends by the bridge that gives the campsite its name, El Puente meaning the bridge in Spanish