The gorge was gorgeous - wild swimming adventures

When I first began investigating "wild swimming" locations for this summer, one name kept cropping up in things that I read: the Guadalmina River Canyon. I wanted to make a detour and check out this activity beauty spot for myself.... and I wasn't disappointed. Just outside the little town of Benahavis, there's a spot where the Guadalmina River forms a deep gorge. At either end of the gorge are deep pools, just perfect for swimming. At the top end, the pools are surrounded by rocks, from where the more intrepid bathers can leap into the crystalline waters below.  (See video at the end of this post.) At the bottom end, although the deep pool is also formed by rocks, the river sort of comes to an end there in summer, and so the remaining river bed forms kind of a beach.

Between the upper and lower pools is a stretch of about one kilometre of river. You can navigate all the way up or down the gorge, sometimes walking in waist deep water, sometimes clambering over some rocks, and sometimes having to swim because the water gets too deep in places. Later I looked down from a high bridge and I could see people and dogs, swimming down the river. It looked like a lot of fun, and I immediately decided I need to put it on my bucket list and come back sometime to go down the canyon with a friend.

As it was, because I had my phone with me and had no way of keeping it dry, I had to content myself with swimming in the pools and staying within sight of my shorts and little bag on the rocks. Even so, the water was lovely; not as cold as you usually expect from rivers, and the surrounding scenery was stunning. What a beautiful spot and a wonderful end to my three days of adventures.

Knowing that the coastal roads would be busy on a Friday afternoon, I drove back home over the mountains to Alhaurín, where I had plenty of time to shower and have some dinner before picking up the rest of my team mates who were also returning from their travels.

With the adventures behind me now, I feel thankfulness to God for His protection on the journey and for the beauty of this country I live in.  (Spain is so much more than sunburned tourists lying on the beaches of the Costas.) It seems amazing that so much could be seen and done in only three days:

• I drove around 800 km 
• I traversed stunning mountains and beautiful coastline
• I swam in two different rivers and in the ocean
• I drove through two Spanish provinces - Málaga and Cádiz
• I crossed the Gibraltar border four times
• I visited four pueblos blancos (white medieval villages)
• I drove through three national parks
• I saw lots of beautiful and interesting things that I hadn't known before

Not bad for a three day break, a few little side trips while delivering a box to missionaries in Gibraltar.  I'm so glad I dared to live my own adventure. 

As we enter a new week, my time will be given again to coaching missionaries, preparing resources for an upcoming gathering in Thailand, and preparing teachings for an October trip to Germany. Thanks for your prayers.