I love hiking, the mountains representing my peace and home. But, I also like rock climbing, and the closest place to go to do this was 30 km away from my flat.
Therefore, I told myself: why not trying to cycle to the starting point? 30 km can't be much. I was in good shape. Why not trying to take up the challenge?
So, after a few hours of overthinking, I decided: I will cycle! I was aware of the fact that the hiking route was going to tire me, but I was optimistic, as always.
What could happen? Worst case scenario, I would've taken the train back. I made a decision and, I had to respect it! I have prepared my cycling pants and helmet. It was all set, I only had to wake up early (I knew that it might take more than Google maps said).
I woke up at six and left at seven. We had to meet at around nine. When I left, I didn't see anyone in the entire city. Murcia seemed so empty!
The destination was Ermita de Nuestra Senora del Pilar. That was also the starting point of our route. I remember that one friend asked me whether I want her to come to pick me up from Callosa de Segura (this is the village where the ermita is). The hermitage (ermita in Spanish) was very close, so I didn't accept the offer of a lift.
How awful could it be? Oh, well, people who live on that street are extremely fit, or at least they should be because it's very steep. However, I was ambitious and tried to cycle (haha, not a good idea). After this attempt, I started walking, holding the bike close. Honestly, I wanted so bad to leave it there, but the thought of cycling down on that road won, so I just continued. I arrived at the hermitage a bit tired but happy. I did it! Let's start the route! And I wasn't even thinking about what was going to happen.
Amazing adrenaline!!! There were so many rocks waiting for me to climb them. I was so thrilled but scared at the same time because I wasn't doing rock climbing for a while. But well, this is just like riding a bike. You never forget it! I loved that hike!
It took us around 3 hours, we reached Aguilas peak, took photos, saw the shelter and then came back to the hermitage. Everyone was heading home with their cars while I was there, with my bike. Only the thought of another 30 km demotivated me a bit, but I was like, well, I will make a stop in Orihuela before heading to Murcia. However, I didn't want to stay for too long in Orihuela, so I started cycling back home. The route I took was lovely. I had the mountains on my left and the river on my right. And I was good for the first 20 km. But in the last 10 km, I was so anxious. I was only thinking about resting.
So, after another 2h of cycling, I got home. The next day, I was feeling like a newborn. I was so energetic, but I needed a small pause from sitting on the saddle, haha.
What a great adventure!
