English to Spanish Art/Literary Tourism & Travel Flora

Just before writing this I made two visits to the Alto de Velefique. The first was early on a mid-April morning when the wind had such icy ferocity that I decided, given a miscalculation which meant I was totally under-equipped for the conditions, that to stay outside the vehicle for longer than necessary would be unwise.

A week later, again very early in the morning, I am back at the 'Alto de Velefique 1,860m' sign. This time it is much more promising; still cold on account of the height, but already sunny and clear. And I have warm gear. There's plenty of parking space by the road and from there I set off for the short walk to Portillo. The track rises across stony ground with low scattered plants. One of these, very common in this high mountain environment, is a stemless thistle with a rosette of deeply-divided pale silvery-green leaves, cabeza de cardo (Onopordum acaulon).

There are chunks of quartz and rose quartz too but the most widespread rock here is slate. There are many outcrops of it and, tucked against one of them, a shepherd's refuge has been built. It's a basic affair of breeze blocks with the slate bedrock forming part of the walls. There are windows and shelves, and wooden branches supporting the roof, though it's not a place you would choose to spend the night. Below it is a more substantial slate hut built into the slope, neater and presumably older, with animal pens and a threshing circle. At about 1,840m above sea level, I wonder if this is the highest threshing circle in Almería province? It's astonishing to think they must have grown cereals up here in the relatively recent past.