Latest update for 1st April walk

8.30 pm Friday 30th March
The weather forecast is not looking good for Sunday, heavy rain. If the weather is dry but cloudy we can do the Monachil walk and then go on to Colin and Lesley's for tapa, so meet at 9 am in Nigúelas. If it is raining and the walks are cancelled, the tapa will still be on, so meet in Nigúelas at 1 pm. Check this site for the latest information.

Carretera de Cabra

The walk this week, the 25th March, saw us all meeting in Padul and, even though the clocks had gone forward during the night, everyone was on time. The big feature of this walk is the great car shuttle, which involved leaving 2 cars positioned at the end of the walk, 16 walkers and 3 dogs squeezed into 4 cars which were then driven to the start of the walk., about l 2km down the Carretera de Cabra., The cars had to be retrieved when we had completed the walk.. The walk is on a good quality campo road that twists and turns through farm land, and so far it has escaped the attention of the cement mixing road builders. The road is as near as you will get in these parts to a 12 km long down hill road, having only 3 short up hill sections. At all times you have extensive views over the Sierra Nevada. The weather was good and the strong northerly wind that had been blowing all week had abated. After all the walkers were reunited with their cars we all headed off to Rob and Sandy's house in Mondújar, where to the delight of the vegetarians we could eat just about everything on this weeks very extensive menu. The only sour note in the proceedings, was when Arturo put garlic favoured yogurt on Sandy's celebrated Cornish scones instead of cream.

To celebrate the return to the Valley of little John, the group secretary, this weeks walk, the lst April, sees us returning to the area above Cumbres Verde, so he can see the peak of the infamous Trevenque, otherwise known as the Milton refusal. The walk should take about 3 hours and is classed as multi ability as you can do or leave out sections depending on how you feel. The walk starts at the car park at Cerro de Seville and heads off on a level path towards Boca de la Pesca, a peak we have passed on a number of occasions but have never climbed. It only takes about 20 minutes to the top, and the 360 degree view is well wealth the effort. If you feel unable to do this section you can continue along the level path to another view point. When the group reunites we head across country on good paths for Cumbres Verde, where once again you can drop out if needed and sample the local hostelries. The rest then returning back to the car park for the cars. Tapa will be taken at Colin and Lesley's house in Monachil. This walk has been planned to take place on a number of occasions, but has had to be cancelled due to low cloud, if once again we are unfortunate with the weather we will do the Monachil gorge walk instead. Colin and Lesley have a cat so dogs will have to sit in the car for the duration of the tapa. If you are going on the walk please meet in the car park in Nigúelas at 9 am. for the drive to Cumbres Verde.

Last week I put up for auction either to publish or destroy a picture of a guy wearing a paper hat, I can now disclose that I have received a unspecified amount to publish the photo on the web. This and other photos can be seen on the photo site.

Nigúelas Gold finger walk

We awoke on Sunday morning to a bright and sunny day, which was a pleasant surprise after the mist and rain we had had on Saturday, its great to have a wet day now and then, but we can't do with it interfering with our Sunday walk. After meeting up in Nigúelas, this weeks group of Limpers set off on the Gold finger walk, that starts off by following the GR7 path from Niguelas towards Acequias before heading up the hillside of Cerro Alto, quite daunting to the untrained eye, but surprisingly easy once you get started. and we did it with only one stop, so the fitness levels must be going up. I can see the high altitude summer walks becoming a race to see who can get to the summit first. This weeks tapa had been arranged at Chez Als', who unfortunately is still on sick leave, and unable to walk in his beloved mountains, but it did give him time to prepare a rather delicious Paella, but I did notice on a couple of occasions Quina offering him helpful suggestions. The party was held outside on Als' roof terrace in what turned out to be a wonderful afternoon. How the world is shrinking, we welcomed our 2nd Limper this week who lives in the valley and commutes courtesy of Ryanair to London, and there is me thinking it's a long way when we go into Durcal.

Our walk this coming Sunday, the 25th of March, is a linear walk that starts off from the Camino de Cabra road, better known as the Padul to Alumunecar road, and finishes in Padul. The walk is about 12km but it is virtually all down hill (gentle gradient) on a drivable track. The views are magnificent as it looks over to the Sierra Nevada, the walk is classed as suitable for Olwyn, and should take about 3.5 hours. If you want to go on the walk meet in Padul at 10am, by the second set of traffic lights on the main road coming in from Durcal. Don't forget the clocks go forward on Saturday night. After meeting up, we then have to drive to the start of the walk, and upon our return the cars will have to be collected again. Tapa is arranged at Rob and Sandy's house in Mondujcar afterwards.

Just a few points I would like to make particularly as we are attracting a lot of new members at the moment.

The Lecrin Valley Limpers are not an official walking group, we are just a group of friends who go out for a walk, Even though I usually know where we are going I am not a walk leader, the title of which implies some responsibility for the safety of the group. I try not to plan walks that may be considered dangerous, but paths and tracks do change over time and diversions sometimes have to be taken. Also my interpretation of dangerous may be different to yours. You are solely responsible for your own safety, but we all try and look after each other. Water is vital, particularly while out walking in the summer, I know it is heavy but you will die without it. We usually have at least one stop for food, so bring what you require. Walking boots are the preferred form of footwear as they give some much needed support on slippy surfaces. Everyone agrees what a great bunch folk we all are, so if you are thinking of introducing someone to the group try and make sure they will fit in with our friendly easy going ways, most folk will, but we all know the ones who everyone tries to avoid. Your friends over on holiday are welcome, but we don't do tourists. Finally if something goes wrong it's not my fault.

Huetor Parque Natural

Dear All

I know I keep saying in our walk reports how wonderful the walks have been, and that the views were great, but our walk this weekend, to the Huétor Parque Natural, must rank amongst best. To get to the park, which is north of Granada, involves a 45 minute drive, and I know that you who still live in the UK will consider this trivial, involving a journey of probably no more than 2 miles. For us hillbillies from the valley it was a major expedition, to a land far away, that not many Lecriners had ever seen before. Surprisingly the start of the walk is only a hundred meters away from the A92 autovia, but you would think you were a million miles from anywhere in the thick pine forest and the views over the park. So with a group of 12 eager walkers we set off to discover this natural paradise. The walk is a circular one and for the first part follows a forest Camino as it meanders along in the valley floor, and it is only when you have gone about 3 km and gained a bit of altitude that you get to see the stunning back drop of the snow covered Sierra Nevadas behind you. At the halfway point we stopped both to enjoy the views and our midmorning snack. At this point so intoxicating were the views that it was hard to get the group walking again in any coordinated fashion, and serious words had to be said with the tailenders, especially as the hardest part of the walk was coming up and I was worried that they would curl up and go to sleep instead of climbing up the hillside. The path then follows a contour along the side of the hill, with uninterrupted views in all directions, and at all the best vantage points the forest rangers have very kindly provided comfortable seating where you can sit and contemplate the troubles of the world, or just sit back and think what a fantastic walk this is. The sky was a deep blue, the sun shone all day and the air was fresh, what else could you wish for on a Sunday afternoon. Upon our return to the valley we retired to Annie's house in Mondujar for our usual tapa treat. So infamous have the tapa parties become that television cameras were on hand to film it for a new Sky TV channel about living in Spain.

A couple weeks ago I mentioned that Joanna had slipped and twisted her ankle while walking down the path from the Hermita in Pinos del Vale. It now transpires that it was more serious than we thought and she had in fact broken it, and she will have her leg in plaster for a few weeks. We all wish her a speedy recovery. On this note we are looking into the costs and problems involved in joining a walking federation and having insurance cover for this sort of thing. If anyone has any thoughts about this please let me know.

The walk this coming Sunday the 18th March is a local one from Nigúelas famously named the Gold finger walk. which starts by following the GR7 path towards Acequias and up Cerro Alto before dropping into the los Canjarros and returning to Nigúelas. The path is not difficult but does involve climbing about 300 meters and it is about 8 km long, estimated time about 3.5 hours. Tapa will be held at Alan's house in Nigúelas upon our return. He has suggested that we can drop the tapa off at his house which is near the start of the walk. If you want to go on the walk meet in the carpark in Nigúelas at 9.30.

Lanjaron to Mondújar

Dear all

What a glorious day we had on Sunday, for our walk from Lanjaron to Mondujar. The sun shone all day, and as a change from the last two walks there was no wind. The walk sets off from Lanjaron and for the first hour follows the GR7 track towards Nigúelas, then, just as you start to get fed up of the up hill trek, it branches off on a little track that twists and turns its way across the hillside towards Mondujar. You can tell from the photo that the temperature was quite high by the fact everybody headed for the shade when we had a coffee stop. Water was a problem on this walk, but with judicious sharing of scarce resources everyone survived. The tapa club reconvened at Josettes' house afterwards. Alan, who arrived back in the valley during the week, put in a guest appearance. Having returned from India with a bad foot he was unable to do the walk, and there was me thinking that the A team walks would be starting again. Once again thanks to everyone for a good day out and an excellent tapa.

The walk this coming Sunday, the 11th March, is in the Sierra de Huétor parque natural, on the Guadix road out of Granada. If you have not been to this area before I can highly recommend it, the views of the Sierra Nevada, particularly at this time of the year when they are still covered in snow, are wonderful. The walk is a new one for the group, having previously been surveyed by the A team last year and classified suitable for general release, it is not difficult and the paths are good, it climbs about 200 meters over something like 8 km. with one very short steep ascent (it is not a problem). The total length of the walk is 12 km and should take about 4.5 hours. If you are going, meet at the Acropolis in Mondujar at 9 am, we then have about an hours car journey to the start of the walk. Tapa will be held at Annie's house in Mondujar. afterwards.