Walk 17th August 2008

Our walk on Sunday was the delightful little stroll from Albúnelas to Restabal, it was advertised as very easy and ending up in a bar. I think I have finally found what motivates people to get out of bed on a Sunday to come on a walk, it is that little 3 letter word "BAR" because this week 12 turned out for the walk. The walk starts in Albuñelas and follows the GR7 path as it meanders down through the campo, to Salares and Restabal. It offers plenty of shade at this time of the year, and the views over our Valley and the Sierra Nevada are wonderful. As we neared Restabal the pace rapidly increased as the prospect of a cool beer became a reality, our planned stop of bar Sifon was dismissed in favour of the new bar Andrea, which I must admit served very tasty tapa. Because of the high temperatures and wall to wall sunshine we are experiencing at the moment, it is too warm to sit out and enjoy our afternoon tapa parties, it was decided that we would all go home and have a nice siesta before meeting up again at Josettes house in the evening. I am sorry if this last sentence rubs salt into the wounds of our UK based members as you sit huddled around the gas fire with a mug of cocoa, but it is fantastic at the moment, whoops, sorry! I am upsetting another group of folks again!! Thank you to everyone who turned up, and to Josette for hosting the wonderful tapa, a very enjoyable day.

Our walk this coming Sunday, the 17th of August, is Mulhacen.
The walk is about 12km long and involves 735 metres of climbing on a well marked path, it is not steep, but at 3479 metres it is the highest point in mainland Spain, so a few points need to be mentioned. Bring plenty of food and water (at least 1.5 ltrs), a fleece and windproof/ waterproof jacket, sun hat and a warm hat, gloves, sun tan cream. At the moment the weather forecast for Mulhacen on Sunday is 14 degrees and cloudy, if it is not suitable to go to the summit we will still do a high altitude walk. If you have not booked your place on the bus and want to go on the walk please get in touch.
Because we have to catch the bus from Capileira at 8.30 we have to leave at 7.15, we should get back around 7.30 in the evening. There is no tapa arranged we will stop for a drink or 2 in a BAR in Capiliera.

Description of walk

Height gained	735 metres
Length	12 km
Estimated time	5 hours
Difficulty	8
Meet	Acropolis bar Mondújar 7.15 am