08-Aug-2025 -- What an adventure! This visit did not quite go as planned - to say the least. While driving from Granada to Murcia, I made a detour to visit this Degree Confluence Point. I left the motorway at the town of La Calahorra (with its spectacular castle perched on a hilltop nearby), and drove up the narrow but well-paved road that snaked up through the Sierra Nevada National Park. After cresting the summit, the road began to descend, passing though the small town of Laroles, and the smaller town of Picena. A previous visitor made the wise decision that because Picena has very narrow streets, and is quite close to the point, it would be best to hike from there, rather than trying to drive through the town.

I should have taken that advice. Instead, I started driving slowly through the very narrow streets of Picena. At one point, I took a wrong turn, and then made another mistake: trying to reverse back down the street (instead of going to the end and making a U-turn). As I was reversing, I didn’t see that I was headed towards a ledge, and my right rear wheel went off the ledge - leaving the car stuck.

Like my visit to [38,-6] just over a week earlier (when I damaged a tire), I had to call the rental car company’s "roadside assistance”, dealing with a language barrier (I speak almost no Spanish), and using Google Translate as much as possible to help. After about an hour, two men arrived to help, but they figured that they needed more equipment. They told me to wait several hours(!) for additional help to arrive.

Because I had several hours to spend, I figured that I had time to visit the Degree Confluence Point. I hiked down the road to cross the small river (which I used to fill my water bottle; I hope the water is safe), then climbed back up the hill on the other side. At [37.00049,-2.99992], I took an old path that branched off the road to the right; this led me to the point, which lies on a scrubby hillside (with an agave-like plant growing nearby). I was able to fly my drone to get an aerial view of the point.

After several hours, more help arrived, but they, too, couldn’t do anything - they needed a tractor small enough to fit into these narrow streets. I then called the rental car company’s roadside assistance once again, but they told me that they would not be able to send more help until Monday(!) (it was currently Friday afternoon.) So I got a ride to Laroles (the next town over) and managed to get a room for the night there. But before I left Picena, I left a note on my car (in Spanish, translated using Google Translate) asking that if anyone had a tractor small enough to help me out, to please contact me by phone or email.

I didn’t have much hope; I was resigned to effectively abandoning my rental car, somehow getting a ride down to the rental car office in Granada on Saturday, handing in my car keys, and continuing my trip without a car. But, to my surprise, I got an email on Saturday morning from a local person saying that he had a tractor, and might be able to help me. So I made the steep 4km hike back down the hill from Laroles to Picena. To my relief, the tractor was able to pull my vehicle clear. (The friendly tractor operator even declined my offer of money for his help.) I was then able to continue my trip - albeit with damage to the side of my rental car (but, coincidentally, in the exact same place as the damage in Almargen prior to my visit to [37,-5] a few days ago - so I won’t get charged for damage in more than one place). But I've now learned my lesson: Don't bother trying to drive through the narrow streets of a town, if you're already close to a Degree Confluence Point.