Sierra de Gredos
A peek inside my phenomenal week in the sun of the sierras.
This past week, I had the privilege of working yet another route with Equiberia. This route was my fourth route with the company, and this week marks my seventh week in Spain. The route this week was through the Sierra de Gredos, meaning we spent most of our time in the much cooler Gredos mountains as opposed to the valleys.
We had a very small group this week — three folks joined us from Germany and Ireland. After a number of weeks with larger groups, we welcomed a more intimate group with open arms. Large groups are wonderful, but getting 11-13 horses ready every morning is quite exhausting. Per usual, we met the clients at the Parador for drinks and dinner on Sunday night. Two of the clients had ridden with Equiberia before, so they were familiar with both the horses and how the week was bound to unfold. We spent the dinner getting to know one another before the team headed home and the clients went to their rooms.
Since I’ve already written about many of the specific routes we took this week, I’ll present you with the highlights instead.
On Tuesday, after arriving at Pozo de Paredes, we went for a swim! It’s incredibly hot here this time of year, with temperatures in the 80s and a UV index of 11 (!!!!) in the afternoons. So, we took the opportunity to jump in easily one of the best swimming holes in the Gredos region before heading to lunch at the restaurant.
We then rode to Navaperal de Tormes, where we stayed for the night in what used to be a hotel but is now an Airbnb type situation. Equiberia brings in a chef from one of the local bars to serve dinner there, and the food was (per usual) incredible. The chef, Raul, knows I’m a pescatarian who often struggles to consume my recommended protein intake in meat-centric Gredos, so he always serves me fish. Tuesday night, I had calamari. Poor me!
After dinner, we walked down to the town to take a look around. We spent a good amount of time around the church, which was the only source of light at 11 pm — besides the local bar.
After we had our fill of Navaperal, we walked back to the hotel where we stargazed for about an hour. The stars are gorgeous here, and that’s coming from someone who sees gorgeous stars on the regular in Unionville. Almost everything is visible in Gredos, including Venus, some satellites, and (two!) shooting stars.
We had a lovely ride home the following day, with a nice lunch in a pinar (pine field/forest? — there’s no direct translation).
That Thursday, we headed up around Hoyos and San Juan de Gredos, the true “sierra.” While it was still quite hot, a nice breeze emerged as we climbed into the Gredos mountains.
A new horse was brought in for trial on Monday, so after he had a day or so to settle in, I was thrown on him to see what he would do on a route. He was a bit skittish on the ground, but was phenomenal to ride. He did incredibly well with the group — with walks, trots, canters, everything — and was an overall pleasure to work with. He seemed to prefer when I neck-reined him inside of two-handed steering, which took some getting used to, but was quite fun to do.
Lunch was held on the other side of the mountain along the Tormes at a fisherman’s hut I had yet to visit. There, we had the chance to swim once again in an equally beautiful (and slightly less busy) watering hole.
After a lunch of Salmorejo (my favorite) and crab lasagna (very different from the crab I am accustomed to as a child raised by two Marylanders), we headed back up over the mountain. We took a more direct route to get home, crossing through thick broom and juniper bushes. Both horses and humans were sneezing at regular intervals, but it smelled incredible.
We also encountered this mind-blowing rock formation that I found utter fascinating. The horses were not quite so amused.
We made it home safe and sound despite the high temperatures and the tall, formidable wall of flies standing between us and the stables. I was not prepared for the sheer number of flies here in Gredos’ pinars. They are also quite fastidious in their dedication to swarming, biting, and annoying large mammals such as horses and humans. Lucky for us, María Elena’s husband, Joe, brought some fly whisks over from the States, so we arm ourselves and the clients with those before heading out each morning.
The following day was the last day of the trip, at least for us in Gredos. The route is one of my favorites, taking us up and around Hoyos into the true Sierra. This route is ridden on the final days of the Valley, Escapes, and Sierra rides, so I’ve ridden it a number of times. It never fails to amaze or surprise me with its sheer beauty. I was also given the new horse to ride again, and I discovered he quite enjoys being at the back of the group, which allowed me to capture this shot.
We had a lovely lunch overlooking the mountains, though it was a bit bittersweet. We had gotten to know the clients so well, and we didn’t want to say goodbye!
After lunch, we saddled back up and began our descent back towards Navarredonda. The clients were off to Ávila for a day of non-riding and “normal” tourism, and we went back to our normal routine — which including riding some of the retired horses back to the summer pastures, decked out in halter-lead rope bridles that are all the rage right now.
With that, we ended yet another successful week at Equiberia.
How about some more recent stuff?😊💕
I’m so excited for you & really enjoy vicariously enjoying your adventures! 😘