Walk Sunday 3 January 2016 Conchar

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We started the New Year with a spectacular day out, we went to the Conchar wine fiesta. Never have so many got so drunk, so quickly.
 We had a late, 10 am meet in Cozvijar and then drove to the start of the walk from the Mirador above Conchar. The weather forecast was not very good, with a bit of rain forecast for the afternoon and, when we set off, low cloud was hanging around the hill tops.
 The walk starts by following a track along the rim of the Rio Durcal valley. This was a new route for me and the group, it has only recently been waymarked but between us we have walked the various constituent paths that now make up a very interesting circular walk.  
 We had not gone far before Tim and Helga caught up with us, they had joined the group a few weeks back but this was their first walk with us. I have no idea what they thought of us by the end of the walk.
 There was a steep descent down to the river and a then fallen log bridge to cross the river. I wasn’t sure how strong it was, so we sent Fernando across to test it, after jumping up and down a bit he pronounced it safe to cross. Dave was keen to test the medicinal hot springs, and to check out the story that it can cure baldness. As we had only just made the story up I am not sure if it worked.
 Mike knew the next section of the path as it followed the river up towards Durcal. I was quite surprised that he was promoting this section, because there were numerous drops and even a section with a chain to hang on to. He later explained he had been following a young lady the day he discovered it and she had distracted him. We have discovered a cure for vertigo. I will take a skirt to wear next time I plan on taking him on a walk with drops.
 We crossed the river again and started our return to Conchar, there was a short section of path alongside an acequia that none of us had done before, but the path was well waymarked and we were soon back on to known paths. After a steep climb up to the Atalaya we stopped for our lunch break. The weather looked to be deteriorating with the cloud creeping down the hillsides so we didn’t stay long. Crossing the Conchar road some of the group decided to take the short way back to the cars whilst the rest of us headed down a barranco towards the pueblo, and the reason why I suspect we had a big turnout. With the fiesta in full swing and the weather closing in we decided to shorten the walk and head straight for the party.
 What a delight that turned out to be, you buy a cup for 3€ and then you can have it refilled with mosto as often as you want. The village was packed, with revellers out for a laugh and some fun. There was food, live bands and dancing, some of it around a pole. We all got drunk, at these prices it seemed a shame not to.
 I had planned to write this email Sunday night, but my computer was playing up. Somehow what I was typing on the keyboard was not the same as what was appearing on the screen, in the end I gave it up and went to bed early.  
We had a great day out and there are already requests to repeat this walk next year.
We walked 10.7 km, climbed 434 metres and drank a great deal of wine.
There was no tapas this week

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