Hiking La Pedriza, Spain

Last weekend I went hiking in La Pedriza near Madrid with a group called Hiking in the Community of Madrid. I already reviewed this great new group for Gadling, but wanted to share some more of my photos here. La Pedriza is a wilderness area above the town of Manzanares el Real, 45 minutes from Madrid. As you can see, it's pretty rugged, with lots of cool rock formations.
The photo below shows some strange markings they use here in Spain. While 99% of the world's population would assume it's an arrow indicating that the path goes to the right, actually it's to tell you that the path bends to the left. I would have never known that! You really need a guide in La Pedriza.
Here's the approach to a cool cave that used to be a refuge for bandits, Spanish Civil War guerrillas, and most recently a band of murderers. We were relieved to find it unoccupied. I was hoping to find some Civil War bunkers and fortifications like I did on a previous hike, but no luck.
La Pedriza is popular for rock climbers. There's some awesome bouldering opportunities too.
We also spotted a herd of Spanish ibex.
This tree growing out of the solid rock made me smile.
Check this out, a bar named after my son!
And some tagger uses my name! Maybe he's a fan of my writing. I was hoping to find something named "Almudena" to complete the family. Maybe next time. I'm hiking with this group again tomorrow, so stayed tuned for more photos of Spanish wilderness.