The lovely local tourist board site that didn’t help me find my way up-river and then to the walk off to the east (but did at least tell me where the riverbed is, and if you can’t find your way upriver from there then you shouldn’t be out) strikes again. I am not criticising it as such, just that it lacks detail. In this case, the detail of how you get back down if you don’t just retrace your steps.

Go to the riverbed as before, but go downriver for 300m before you take a left track. Someone – maybe them I guess - has written “Pinto” in spray paint with an arrow going left on a rock in the middle of the riverbed. Thank you whoever you are.

This was described as a “path”. If this is a path then I’m a Dutchman, one very young one of whom I met on the way up with his mum who helped me find the way down.

The walk is on. After a while you find some ruins that were apparently where goatherds used to protect their herds against “the local carnivores” (English tourists?). And you walk for a while until you see a chance to get off the big track. Take that and try not to poo your pants. I’m not particularly scared of heights and it wasn’t stupidly high, but there was, if not a sheer drop, then something that would have the same effect in terms of your body ever being found. Beautiful views but I didn’t take many pictures as both hands were holding onto plants or anything else I could to feel like I wasn’t going to disappear forever.

I’m not sure if the hill itself has a name, but right at the top is La Cruz de Pinto. I won’t recount the whole story, but he was a captain (named Pinto) who was giving thanks for safely landing in Nerja with three ships after a difficult time. A few hundred years ago Beyonce would have been signing of Spaniards “If you like it then you should-a built a cross on it”.

By the time I could see this, I was pretty happy, by which I mean relieved.

Beautiful views to the sea, over Nerja, and back to Frigiliana

So, the Dutchman. As I was walking up the hill, I passed a young lad and his mum. He was about six or seven. She was carrying quite a large rucksack and, even though he was only little, so was he. I overtook them while they rested. The arrived at the top about 10 minutes after me so, rucksacks and being about 6 and all, they weren’t really any slower than me (no rucksack – just me).

I was sat genuinely looking at the view when they arrived, but after a while I was sitting there and milling around trying to find the way down. I just couldn't find it. They were eating their lunch and helped me find it using an app they had that I can’t find to download, I’ll find one. I lost the path halfway down and ended up sliding down a bank after an uncomfortable fall - a few cuts and bruises and I still have a thorn in my finger. But that’s OK right? It’ll sort itself.

Another beautiful and moderately difficult Frigiliana walk. There are others, but this is likely to be one I’ll do again.