Hiking in Madrid: La Pedriza

At the beginning of April, I did something that I had been wanting and meaning to do since I first got here in September - I went on a hike! There is a group that uses the website Couch Surfing to organize hiking trips in the area around Madrid, with a chartered bus and two guides who lead you along the paths.

The commencement of our hike!

The event attracts all kinds of people of varying nationalities and ages. There were lots of Spanish people, some Americans, a decent number of British people, some Germans, some French people, and some others from a smattering of different countries. Although one of the trepidations which had kept me from signing up for so long was the fear of going alone and finding everyone cliquish and hard to talk to, this was certainly not the case! Everybody was extremely friendly and outgoing, and I think I actually talked to almost every single person in the group at some point during the day!

Me on the ascent

The hike was in a place called la Pedriza, about 45 minutes north of Madrid, near a town called Manzanares el Real. The path basically wound its way up a mountain and then back down. It was a pretty difficult hike, but the views were amazing and definitely rewarded the effort. In addition to views of the beautiful countryside in the distance, there were also some weird and interesting rock formations, as well as some seemingly camera-conscious wildlife!

Me at the top

A perfectly-posed mountain goat!

The descent

Although I really enjoyed the hike, the "guides" had some troubles guiding us back, and we accidentally took the wrong trail down and ended up taking way longer than expected and coming out on the complete opposite side of the mountain from where our bus was supposed to pick us up. However, it all worked out in the end, as there were a couple of little bars with really nice outdoor patios where we enjoyed a cold beer while waiting for the bus.

Rewarding ourselves with beer after the intense hike

All-in-all, it was an excellent experience! I loved the social aspect, and at the end I felt exhausted in a good way - the kind of tiredness that you have to work for, and that makes resting feel so well-deserved! I'm definitely going to go on another hike as soon as possible, and I can't wait!