According to the head of the Department for Health, statistics recently released show that the Malaga region are lagging behind when it comes to medical waiting lists. So unless you’re an emergency, be prepared!
For operations whose maximum waiting time is 120 days – Malaga’s waiting time is 54 days, and the Andalusian average is 50 days.
For first appointments to see a specialist – Malaga’s waiting time is 50 days, and the Andalusian average is 48 days. At the end of 2009 that equated to a massive 41,588 patients who were still waiting to see a specialist.
For diagnostic tests – Malaga’s waiting time is around 23 days, similar to that of the Andalusian average.
What’s the official word
The Department of Health says that they’re addressing the waiting list issues and have already instigated the afternoon opening hours for operating theatres.
They say that they’re also investigating the increase in demand shown in recent years. One theory is that the population in the area is growing quicker than they are able to cope with. Another theory is that the population is becoming predominantly older.
This second theory may in fact prove to be correct as it seems that the majority of operations are for age related problems, such as the removal of cataracts and bunions.
Are there ways around the problem?
The answer to that one is yes. You can’t jump the queues within the national health service but you can go privately which would cut waiting times.
I know it all means extra money to pay out monthly for private health care, or pay a lump sum to the private hospitals, but if you don’t have your health – what do you have?
By the way, if you’re one of the unfortunate people waiting on one of these lists, you can check what position you’re at. Go to the official Andalusian Health Service website which is www.juntadeandalucia.es/salud
It was a warm Friday night a several months ago when John and I were sitting on our terrace. It was about 11 o’clock and the sky was clear and full of stars. It was beautiful!
Then something unusual happened (well for us anyway). No not a shooting star. It was spontaneity. I said ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to see the stars without all of this light pollution?’ Next thing I know we’re looking at camp sites on the Internet and talking about going away for the weekend, in the tent!
We knew there was a place called ‘El Chorro’ somewhere up near some lakes. We didn’t know much about the area, but we had passed the sign post for it when heading to the inland farmers markets when we first moved to Spain. We found the website www.alberguecampingelchorro.com and it looked ideal, so the decision was made to go.
Drive to the lakes
Armed with our trusty Michelin Map it took us about 1¾ hours from where we live on the coast to get there. We followed the A357 Malaga to Campillos road that, once beyond the dual carriageway near Cartama, passes through some lovely countryside.
You pass various turnoffs for a town called Pizarra on your right hand side, which is still very much a farming community, with a large area given to growing oranges and lemons.
Alora
In the distance behind Pizarra you can see the town of Alora nestling between three rocky spurs, one of which has the ruins of Alora Castle on top. This pretty white washed village, with steep cobbled streets lined with lemon trees, is definitely well worth a visit. It’s said to be the birthplace of the Malagueno flamenco and the town still hand-make traditional castanets, if you fancy purchasing the real thing rather than the plastic souvenir shop alternatives.
Mountain roads
Once you’ve passed the last of the roads to Pizarra you start winding your way up between the ‘Sierra de Aguas’ and ‘Sierra de Alcaparain’ mountains. Along this part of the road you see the river -‘Arroyo de LasCanas’ continually wind from one side of you to the other as you head further up into the mountains.
Worth making a stop at the petrol station along this stretch of road, if you’re getting low on fuel, it’s the last one you’ll see for a while! By the way the A357 is very well maintained with extra crawler lanes added for easy and safe passing of slower moving traffic.
Ardales
As the road finally starts to descend you’ll notice two things in particular. The first is the number of huge wind turbines perched on the top of these mountains and the second is the town of Ardaleson your left hand side. Again, it is a very quaint Spanish town with its own castle dating back hundreds of years and some lovely buildings and monuments. If history and architecture is your thing or you fancy grabbing a few food essentials on your way to the campsite, or you just fancy a coffee, then it’s worth making a stop. For those of you who like the more basic things in life, you may also like to know that the town make their own ‘crisps’ which are sold throughout the province.
The Guadalhorce lakes
Start looking out for the brown tourist signpost for ‘El Chorro’ when the road gets to the bottom of the hill. You’ll see that the maps class it as a ‘minor’ road (we expected it to be like the old B roads in the UK, very narrow and badly maintained – we couldn’t havebeen more wrong). As you drive along you pass the edge of the smallest of 3 lakes which have been formed by a man-made dam across the Rio Guadalhorce. It’s difficult to comprehend the size and sheer beauty of this area from this initial glimpse, but I can assure you, you won’t be disappointed! However, keep following the signposts for ‘El Chorro’ to get to the campsite.
Eagles above
The countryside that you’re about to travel through to get to the campsite is quite simply – STUNNING!! Keep an eye out for the eagles and the strange rock formations!
You finally come to the Rio Guadalhorce and a hydroelectric plant – the Spanish government really do know how to make the most out of harnessing power from natural sources. Not the nicest looking thing but just past it is a bridge, cross that and head up the hill. There’s a bit of a strange junction at the brow of the hill where you need to turn left, we missed it, so if you end up at the train station – you’ve gone too far. The campsite is just along from the junction about 500 mtrs on the right hand side.
Albergue Campsite
The campsite itself is in a potentially idyllic location, with the river in front of you and a magnificent backdrop of sheer cliff face behind. However, in reality you’ve got the constant buzzing from the hydroelectric plant and a campsite that could do with an injection of cash to finish it off, and a large group of cleaners! Such a shame, it has so much potential for someone with a good eye for business.
You’re not given a designated pitch so you can literally go anywhere, which may be a problem in summer if you don’t like neighbours too close. Anyway, we pitched our tent, broke out a couple of bottles of beer and sat and watched the eagles fly in and out of their nesting places in the rock face.
There’s a bar/cafe on-site serving food and drinks at reasonable prices, or if you’ve got what it takes you can fend for yourselves on the campsites many BBQ’s.
We chilled out for the rest of the day and, as the sun went down behind the mountains and the stars came out, I was mesmerised. If you’ve only ever lived in a town or city you may not appreciate just how many stars there are out there, and how many you can see with the naked eye. There’s millions!
Garganta Del Chorro
We wanted to do some exploring the next day so we walked from the campsite to ‘Garganta Del Chorro’ using a well signed, official route. I would recommend a good pair of boots or trainers as the surface was covered in rocks and loose shale. One girl passed us wearing flip-flops – not a good idea.
As we followed the route and neared the top of the climb we had some stunning 360 degree views. We could see the Rio Guadalhorce head down the valley towards Malagaand the sea, there was the mountain near ‘Bobastro’ that has a bar/restaurant perched on top, and the cliff face that went behind the campsite had continued at our side.
Binoculars and cameras are a must
The few eagles that we’d seen the day before were nothing compared to what we saw at this point. There must have been twelve to fifteen large eagles, and by large I mean with wing spans of at least 4/5 foot. They were so close! I’d taken a cheap pair of binoculars with us and I could easily see their eyes, not to mention their talons. Wow!!
Camino del Rey
As for the gorge itself, it too was amazing. There’s a famous railway line that goes straight through the mountain, it was the scene where Frank Sinatra was killed in the 1960 film ‘Von Ryan’s Express’.
There’s also a path called ‘Camino delRey’ or ‘Kings Pathway’ which was built in 1901 and opened by King Alfonso XIII of Spain that quite literally clings to the cliff sideabout 100 metres above the river. The path has officially been closed for a number of years now as the concrete has started breaking away in big chunks.
Rock climbing
However, try telling that to the many rock climbers who still manage to walk along it to get to Makinodroma – renowned as one of the best rock climbing areas in Europe. Havea look at this YouTube video to give you an idea of just how scary this is!
After going back down to the campsite we headed out in the car to find the lakes themselves, which was easy thanks to their sheer size and popularity. We drove around a good portion of the lakes, passing picnic areas, bars, cafes and restaurants busy with people wanting to relax. The area is so big you’d easily find a quiet cove to sunbathe, picnic or swim in the crystal clear water which is a beautiful shade of turquoise.
The authorities are quite rightly very proud of this area and have installed plenty of information boards around the lakes, telling tourists in different languages what they can see. We stopped off in a little bar overlooking the lake and had some food and a couple of beers before heading back towards El Chorro.
Parque Ardales
On the way back we passed signs for another campsite, and went to investigate.
Have a look at their website on www.parqueardales.com This site was a lot bigger with spaces for 100+ tent pitches, plus caravans, plus apartments to rent if you want a bit more comfort. If privacy is important to you then I wouldn’t suggest going in the busy summer months, however everyone is given a specific amount of space per pitch so you’re not going to wake up with someone too close.
The place was spotless, well looked after and had a shop selling all the stuff you’d need as well as a bar/cafe. We’ll certainly be giving this campsite a try next time we go up to the lakes for a few days. However if you fancy seeing the area but don’t fancy slumming it in a tent, then there are the chalets on the campsites plus lots of hotels and B&B’s to choose from.
Beautiful countryside on your doorstep
It’s great to think that you can have such diverse areas within an easy drive of the coast. So, for a quiet chill-out, why not head up to the lakes yourself and do some exploring of your own!
According to the head of the Department for Health, statistics recently released show that the Malaga region are lagging behind when it comes to medical waiting lists. So unless you’re an emergency, be prepared!
For operations whose maximum waiting time is 120 days – Malaga’s waiting time is 54 days, and the Andalusian average is 50 days.
For first appointments to see a specialist – Malaga’s waiting time is 50 days, and the Andalusian average is 48 days. At the end of 2009 that equated to a massive 41,588 patients who were still waiting to see a specialist.
For diagnostic tests – Malaga’s waiting time is around 23 days, similar to that of the Andalusian average.
What’s the official word
The Department of Health says that they’re addressing the waiting list issues and have already instigated the afternoon opening hours for operating theatres.
They say that they’re also investigating the increase in demand shown in recent years. One theory is that the population in the area is growing quicker than they are able to cope with. Another theory is that the population is becoming predominantly older.
This second theory may in fact prove to be correct as it seems that the majority of operations are for age related problems, such as the removal of cataracts and bunions.
Are there ways around the problem?
The answer to that one is yes. You can’t jump the queues within the national health service but you can go privately which would cut waiting times.
I know it all means extra money to pay out monthly for private health care, or pay a lump sum to the private hospitals, but if you don’t have your health – what do you have?
By the way, if you’re one of the unfortunate people waiting on one of these lists, you can check what position you’re at. Go to the official Andalusian Health Service website which is www.juntadeandalucia.es/salud
According to the head of the Department for Health, statistics recently released show that the Malaga region are lagging behind when it comes to medical waiting lists. So unless you’re an emergency, be prepared!
they can see. We stopped off in a little bar overlooking the lake and had some food and a couple of beers before heading back towards El Chorro.
Twitter
Facebook
RSS