Walk 3 March 2013 Rio Durcal

By -



The group on the Puente de Lata

The weather forecast for Sunday was not promising, rain and cloud were on the menu, and the temperature was to be on the low side after a cold week. I had planned the walk so we were never too far away from a bar.
Sunday morning dawned dry, the wind had gone, the temperature was a few degrees higher, and there were 12 wanting to go for a walk.
We set off from Durcal, and headed off on a little track that runs along the edge of the Rio Durcal valley. This was going to be an easy walk, no steep ups and down, no nasty surprises.
At the end of the valley we dropped down to the river which we had to cross, normally there is a little bridge or some stepping stones to help you across. This week there was nothing, just a 5 metre wide, icy cold river. I have always felt that a leader should lead from the front. So, to set an example, I was first across, it was the other poor sods I felt sorry for because I had some plastic bags to put over my boots to keep them dry.
Now the problem with the plastic bags is, they are great for the first person who uses them: ie me, but the more they are used the the more they leak and with 12 of us to get across, well, there were going to be some wet feet. Some looked for alternative ways of crossing. John found a log across the river and, like a tightrope walker, managed to get across, it was not for the faint hearted and no one else tried this method. Mike had some flip flops but soon discovered they were not waterproof either. Some resigned themselves to getting their feet wet and removed their boots, rolled their trousers up and waded across. I know this might sound like a cavalier “I am alright Jack” kind of attitude but believe me, deep down I felt a real empathy with everyone.
With everybody safely across, and with their feet dried, I was expecting a knife in the back, but no, everyone was cheerful and we set off again, this time to climb up onto the opposite bank and make our way back to Durcal by way of the iron bridge. With the weather improving all the time it was decided to extend the walk a little and make the most of the sunshine, which, according to the weather forecast, we are not going to see again for at least another week. The extension added another hour to the walk and on our return to Durcal we stopped off at the Flamboyan cafe for drinks and cakes.
We walked 11.6 km and climbed 167 metres.
In the afternoon we all went around to Dave and Julie’s for tapas.

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