Lecrin Valley Limpers

This week we had a short walk from Padul, It was short for 2 reasons. The first was that it was the Chite fiesta and we had to get back in time for the Paella, the second reason was I did not expect to get much sleep on the Saturday night and the thought of getting up for a longer walk, when I wanted to stay in bed, was not appealing.   There were 16 of us eager for a walk,  this week it’s Rene’s turn to be the missing mystery person who did not get on the photo. The walk started on the outskirts of Padul, and it was cold, with low cloud swelling around the summit by the cross and it looked like it could rain at anytime. The route starts with a short climb up to a forest which you walk through for a couple of kms. The path then slowly makes its way up the hillside, I know some will say it was quite steep in places but it wouldn't be a proper walk without a bit of climbing. Normally, in June, after 10 am we look  for some shade when we stop for a break...

This week Stuart had left me in charge of leading the walk whilst he took Olwyn out for a well deserved birthday lunch. I had decided on a trek around Venta Fraile which is relatively moderate walk suitable for all. With Stuart away, I was expecting a low turn out with not many entrusting the stand in group leader. Well the hoards kept turning up, so it was left to me to organise the car sharing, I’m sure Stuart must have had long flowing locks of hair before he was faced with this weekly task. Eventually, with everyone in a vehicle, we set off to meet more friends at the second pick up point where we met another two to make the group 26.  Having a large number is always handy as you can afford to lose one or two. The walk starts out with the first stretch along the road which is a lovely gentle way to start out a Sunday morning walk. After a while we climbed up a short steep scree slope to take in our first small diversion to a high point for nice views over Pad...

There wasn’t a walk organised this Sunday because a group of us had just got back from our Benidorm walking holiday. I know Benidorm and walking holiday are words that are not normally associated together but we had a superb time.  We had hired a big house about 20 km outside the resort. Situated in the mountains it was in an ideal position for exploring the area. Most of us were new to the Costa Blanca mountains and were unsure what to expect. We were not disappointed, expectations were exceeded on every front. The walks were always stunning and different. Our chefs produced some amazing meals, we had everything from Thai curry to BBQ salmon and there was always a vegetarian option. The SAT NAV’s took us down some unbelievable roads, many of which we had to reverse out of. We had no wash days when the water supply to the house failed, I have never seen a bar empty so quickly when we walked in. We met Elisa’s mum, dad, and Catalina the Donkey...

To celebrate the start of summer, well at least a day when we didn’t get wet, we went to the Reloj del Sol, the big Sundial above the Alhambra Palace. The drive up to the carpark is a bit rough in places but with care it is passable.  By the time we all arrived for the start of the walk there were 25 of us, all eager to enjoy the day out.  The carpark is the highest point of the walk, so if you want to go anywhere you have to lose some height. This means you have to go up at the end of the walk. For good measure we went as low as you can, down to the rio Darro. One of the advantages of all the rain is that now everything is green, even hills where normally nothing grows are now full of colour. Another advantage is that the rivers are full. When it came to crossing the river we had two choices, we could take a short cut and cross the river on a bridge, or stick with our original route and hope we could wade across the Darro. A democratic vote was taken and o...

This week we had 2 walks arranged, a shorter walk with Hilary from Beznar to Melegis and a longer one with me around Moclin. Stuart’s Moclin walk. This months big end of the month walk started from Olivares, a small pueblo at the bottom of the hill below Moclin. As is usual with our walks I had no intention in staying in the moderately level surroundings of Olivares. Instead our first port of call was the village at the top of the hill, Moclin. To describe this as an easy climb, would be wrong. Whilst the track is a 4X4 route I think most off road  drivers would refuse to go up, especially if they had a nice, new, shiney SUV. A battered old Land Rover might be able to chug it’s way to the top. We arrived in Moclin without one word of dissent, but in need of caffeine. After a democratic vote, and with the motion carried, we went to the bar for coffee.    There was talk about going to the castle but this was not scheduled into the itinerary, and b...

This week we did a local walk from Marchenna to Siletta. The original plan was to get a steep climb over and done with at the start of the walk, but we changed our minds and decided to do it in the opposite direction as this would give us some extensive views of the snow covered tops of the Sierra Nevada. It was a bit misty as we set off  but I remained confident that this would soon burn off as the sun got out. By the time we got to the Ventana the expected extensive views had not materialised, the mist was still obscuring everything. I was starting to think that once again we had been cursed with the red Sahara sand, which seems to appear when we are doing this walk. We stopped for little lunch on the top of Siletta, in an area protected from the blustery southerly wind, another indication that it was dust in the air not just slow to clear mist. I had hoped the the hillside of Siletta would be covered in wild Orchids, in fact I had offered a money back guarant...

The weather forecast for Sunday was good, but, as we were driving along the carretera de cabra road towards the rio Verde I had the feeling that something had gone badly wrong. We were driving in fog and every time we went around a corner it got worse. By the time we reached the bar Meson los Prados visibility was down to about 50 metres. So much for advertising a walk with stunning views. I would have been happy to stop at the bar, have a coffee and go home but the others seemed keen for a walk. We continued the drive and as soon as the road started the descent towards Otiva we entered a different world. The sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the clear blue sky.  With our spirits lifted we followed the path down to the petrified waterfall, after all the rain I was expecting it to be pretty spectacular. It was OK but I have seen more water in the middle of a drought. The cave was a lot better.    We followed the path down to to the next waterfall ...

The weather forecast for Sunday was for rain in the afternoon and temperatures a bit on the low side for April, these days anything above 12 degrees is classed as a hot day. Even so it came as a shock when we came off the motorway at prado Negro to see snow ploughs full of grit lined up at the side of the road, engines running and drivers waiting. It made me wonder if they had seen a different weather forecast to me. My original idea for the walk was to do it clockwise, leaving the visit to the waterfall to the end  But the weather in Prado Negro wasn’t promising, it wasn’t actually raining but you knew it soon would be. So I thought it was better to get in the visit to the falls before the rain came.  The waterfall was spectacular, I have never seen so much water in it, I can’t imagine where it’s all come from.  The weather was starting to deteriorate when we stopped for a mid-morning snack, with the temperature dropping and the rain heading towards us w...

Our Easter Sunday walk was to Pico Lopera, it was only a short walk but we had a tapas at Jan and Martine’s to go to and their grandchildren were joining us on the walk. It was quite cool at the BP garage in Cozvijar at 09.00, somehow you expect it to be a bit higher than 3 degrees in April but we were promised a good day weather wise. To be honest any day when it’s not raining is a good day. By to the time we got to the start of the walk at Maison Los Prados the temperature had risen to the giddy heights of 6 degrees. It was interesting looking around at the choice of clothing people were wearing. It went from full mountain cold weather gear down to shorts and strappy tops. By the time all the cars had arrived there was 24 in the group, it was going to be interesting trying to keep them all together. I think it is about time Floppy is promoted to senior people herder.  The start of the walk passes through farmland and normally there are horses and Jaballi about ...

This week  should have been our big end of the month walk but the weather forecast was for showers and a cold northerly wind. Instead we chose a wind cheating, shower dodging, short walk from Orgiva.  The weather in Beznar was as predicted, we were only a few minutes away from more rain and there was a cool northerly breeze. A breeze has now been reclassified as a wind up to 50 kmph  By the time we got to Orgiva things had improved a little. The temperature was a few degrees higher, the rain looked to be about 30 minutes away and the wind had dissipated.  The walks starts off by heading downhill to the river, we had a couple of streams to cross that we have not seen before and the Rio Guadalfeo/Trevelez/ Cadiar, the river has so many names around here it’s impossible to work out what it is actually called, was in full spate. It started to rain just before we arrived at our usual breakfast stop in Los Augustines. It no longer looked inviting s...

This week there no were firm plans as to where we were going to walk, such is the weather at the moment it’s impossible to commit to anything, The basic plan was that we would meet in Talara and go for a coffee if it was raining. I was most surprised that anyone actually did turn up, the forecast was not good but we were getting desperate after so many cancelled walks. Fortunately it was fine so we set off walking in the direction of Mondujar castle. There are a lot of tracks up there so we could lengthen or shorten the route depending on when it started to rain.  Conditions at the castle were good, well, at least it wasn’t raining and there was even a bit of blue sky, something we haven’t seen for a long time. One of the walk options was to go up to the GR7  Niguelas/ Lanjaron track but it’s a long way down if we got caught in the rain which was surely coming. Instead we followed a track across the valley, we were going to have a look at the secret tunnel...

It’s that time of the year again, when the worst of the winter weather has left us, the temperatures are rising and the whole valley is awash with the first signs of Spring. With the Almond trees in full bloom it was time to do our traditional Almond blossom walk from Saleres. It had to be last weekend, which should have been the big end of the month walk, because we are forecast to get the wettest week I can ever remember. There will be be so much rain our dams will be overflowing, and we will be selling our water to the UK when they get their traditional 2 weeks of dry weather. Then again if things go as usual we will get a couple of damp days.  It was grey overcast day when we met in Saleres, and it was great to see so many people, there were 18 of us when we set off but 2 had to turn back on the first hill as they were overcome with the lingering effects from a cold, which once you have had it seems to last for weeks. Hilary had the right idea, she got Graeham...

I can’t keep track of the weather forecasts at the moment, they change by the hour and it seems like each foreaster is trying to outdo the others in getting it wrong. So for the next few weeks just bring everything from shorts and Bikini tops ( ladies only) to full mountain wet weather gear. Our walk on Sunday was a case in point, at the beginning of the week it was forecasting heavy rain but everyday it got less and less. By Sunday we were walking in sunshine. Our walk was a circular one from Lanjaron. We went down through the park to the castle carpark, and then down to the river. I had seen what I thought was a new path alongside the river, it was only about 100 metres long and then it linked into our normal route. It turned out that there wasn’t a path but a very nice man with a pack horse said we could cross his land and his neighbours.  What the neighbours would think about it I don’t know. Anyway we were soon back on the official path. Over the years the...