27 January 2013 Molvijar

By -

Above Molvijar

Well, this week it is my turn to apologise for letting the team down, first for leading them astray and then succumbing to the unaccustomed heat.
It was the end of the month and we had two walks organised, the big A team walk and  also a B team one with Hilary.
The A team went down to Molvizar on the coast for what was billed as a spectacular high level ridge walk. I know you don’t expect to find a high level walk down on the coast but the hills behind Molvijar reach up to 1100 meters.
We met in Beznar on what promised to be a lot better day than of late, I know we have not experienced the atrocious weather that northern Europe has been having, but even so it has been pretty miserable.
Things started to go wrong on the drive up from Molvijar to the start of the walk, the road was pretty rough with more potholes than an English motorway. Not wanting to be landed with a bill for repairing Conchi’s car I decided to park up and walk the extra 2 km to the start of the walk.
We had not done this short section of the walk before but it looked straight forward on the map, unfortunately what is on the map and what is on the ground are not always the same. Choosing what looked like the best campo road heading in our direction it soon became apparent that things were not quite right as the road deteriorated rapidly. We were close to our destination when the road finally gave out. Taking an executive decision, at times like this, it is no good pussy footing around with a democratic vote I decided to press ahead and make a new path across country. Well it wasn’t really across country, more like across a wild forest of 2 meter high pine trees, gorse, thorns and anything else that would grow and and cause damage to vulnerable body parts. When we finally got through it, we had to do a headcount to make sure we hadn’t lost anybody.
Finally at the start of the walk we set off on an excellent contour path that meandered along the hillside. You follow this for about 5 km before it suddenly turns up hill. We had all come dressed for a winter walk but were rapidly disrobing the layers as the temperature shot up into the stratosphere.
It was at the start of what was going to be a substantial climb that my legs decided they had done enough, and did not want to climb what appeared to be a 10,000 meter mountain. We stopped for lunch and a short rest, by the end of which the legs were seeing things in a different light, the mountain had become a 1000 meter hill.
We set off again and made good time to the summit. At the top we were rewarded with some excellent panoramic views but also a shortage of water. We were in winter mode, plenty of clothing and limited liquid, we needed summer mode, shorts and plenty of water. There was no option, we were reduced to knocking on the doors of the few cortijos that are scattered about on the hillside. Finally we found someone at home and obtained the necessary supplies of water.
The route then meandered along the ridge, this is a well constructed path, I have no idea as to why it was built, but it must be one of the best paths around. The views are superb in all directions  
From our lofty position, high above Molvijar, we could see where we had gone wrong on the way up from the cars and a new shorter, easier route back was planned.
It was a hard walk but very enjoyable, and the beer tasted even better than normal when we arrived at the bar.

We walked 18.5 km and climbed 936 metres.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Walk Sunday 2 December 2018 Sierra Manar

By -
Image
This week we went walking in the Sierra Manar, the range of hills behind Dilar.  The walk had been postponed from a few weeks back when it was raining every day, it’s not a walk to do when the ground is wet and muddy. The weather forecast for this Sunday was for sunshine and temperatures of 21 degrees, perfect walking conditions.  The walk starts from the Ermita Nueva and heads up a gentle slope through Olive trees.  After 1 km the path follows the tree line on what at first looks like a level track. It soon becomes apparent that it’s not level at all, but a series of switchbacks with steep ups and downs.  There were only 9 in the group, and we all walked together, chatting and enjoying the warm sunshine. Nobody thought to check that we all turned onto a path into the forest. It was only when we emerged on the other side we noticed our group had dropped to 7, Elsa and Martine were missing.  At first, we weren't worried, we thought they would soon rejoin us. After
Read more

Walk Sunday 4 November 2018 Nerja

By -
Image
This week with snow on the Sierras we decided to go down to Nerja for our walk, at least it would be warm down there. I left home in long trousers, fleece and a jacket. One hour later, at the start of the walk from the caves, I was down to shorts and a T-shirt, don’t worry I had not thrown caution to the wind, they were all in my rucksack along with another 2 coats.  The route was a circular one setting off from the caves and the idea was that we could do an easy and a harder walk, with the easy walkers walking with us for the first half of the route and then making their way back along a 4X4 track, whilst the harder walk went up a hill. Trying to keep track as to who, and how many there were in the group was impossible, even Einstein would have had trouble keeping up with all the comings and goings. For the first 1km, the track follows a 4X4 road to the picnic site, it then drops down into a superb barranco which fortunately, even after all the rain, was still dry. Th
Read more

Walk 18 November 2018 Talara

By -
Image
The walk this Sunday was a local one from Talara. The weather forecast was not promising. It wasn’t a matter of if it rained, it was at what time would it start and how heavy.  We met at the crossroads in Talara and the fallback wet weather option was coffee in Antonio’s where we could reminisce about walking in dry sunny weather. It would only be a short discussion as dry weather was sadly lacking in 2018. It was decided to skip the coffee, it wasn’t raining yet, and we had a walk to do. The route was designed with 12 options to shorten it when the rain started, it also went close by a number of Limper homes where we could seek refuge if necessary.  The walk passed through Chite where we picked up a couple of stragglers and then headed off down to the dam. This is a wonderful path as it winds its way down the hillside in and out of the Agave plants, Fortunately, I had brought my machete with me, as a number needed trimming. I had to be careful this week, my care
Read more