Lecrin Valley Limpers

Hi We arrived in La Caleta to be greeted by the wind blowing a hooley. We headed straight for the safety of the bar. It was shut: dark, shuttered, empty. The first mutterings of dissent started to rumble.  Fortunately rescue came, not in the form of a guardian angel, but from the woman next door decked out in her dressing gown, and a man from across the street, both of whom declared the bar to be open. Lights went on, doors were open, shutters raised, and very soon we were enjoying lovely warming coffee and watching the angry sea crashing onto the beach outside. Refreshed, we started our walk. The first bit was nice and easy along the beach, and then we had to navigate our way round a small headland. There is a good wide path but unfortunately, from time to time, the sea was cascading onto the rocks and splashing up onto it. We had to time our crossing to perfection. Thirteen of us managed to get across the short stretch relatively unscathed and dry; unfortunately, one...

This week we had two walks planned, the first was our big, end of the month walk, I know we have another week to go to the end of the month but traditionally we have an easy walk between Christmas and the New year. The second walk was around the Lecrin Valley with Hilary. The big walk started from Molvizar, a pueblo at the bottom of the hill near to Salobrena. It is not an inspiring village as you drive around the edge, but it is quite a pleasant to stagger through after a long walk and a beer. The track starts by going up hill, and this continues by a series of roads, tracks and footpaths for the next 6.6 km. A few people were thinking that next time they would join Hilary on her easy option walk. Near the top we were stopped by a lad on a quad bike who asked us if we had a rope he could borrow as his friends motor bike had broken down. With a promise that he would find our cars in Molvizar and leave it underneath one, John gave him his climbing sling.   On the wa...

Can I start by thanking everyone for the magnificent Silver Boot that was awarded to me on Sunday. It was an honour to accept it, and it will take pride of place on top of my map drawer. Can I also say a great big thank you for the Christmas present, I will buy something extra special with it. If anyone is wanting to take out the walking insurance this year can you please read the notes at the end of the email. On Saturday we had the group Christmas dinner at the WOK in Granada. A lot of food was consumed in what must be one of the best value restaurants in Granada. The weather last week had been pretty good, with a decent amount of sunshine, and temperatures you would expect in December, but the weekend weather was predicted to be poor, with low temperatures and increasing amounts of rain forecast as the week progressed. We had arranged to go down to Guajar Alto and walk back to Guajar Faraguit. Hoping that this valley would protect us from the worst of the weather....

Hi This week we went into Granada. and up to the recreational area of El llano de la Perdiz, behind the Alhambra, for our walk. We could not have chosen a better day to go, the temperature was around zero, the sky was blue and the sierras were covered in snow. We started from the carpark and headed off to the Reloj de Sol, an enormous sun dial that also points to the summits of the mountains surrounding Granada.  Continuing we headed off downhill to the start of a path that runs alongside an old disused acequia. We followed the path into Cenas. The views were outstanding. A lot of snow arrived last week so it looks like the ski season will have got off to a good start. It wasn’t a big walk and we had plenty of time to admire the views. Finding a wall to sit on in Cenas we stopped for a little lunch, with a promise that we would stop again when we had finished all the climbing. After our snack we continued on a gentle climb that took us back towards the carpark. ...

Hi This week we had two walks planned, one the big end of the month walk and a second shorter walk from Restabal. The weather had steadily been heading downhill all week, with a drop in temperature and a significant amount of rain. By Friday the snow had fallen down to the 1000 metre line above Talara. Our big walk was to the top of another Caballo, this one over towards Alhama de Granada, at 1500 metres there was a serious chance of snow on the summit and the forecast was suggesting the temperature would be down to 4 degrees in the Northerly wind. A major rethink was needed, as I did not think I would be able to tempt many of my friends out of their beds for a walk in these conditions. A new plan was devised, one that would take us to Almuñécar on the Costa Tropical. Even the name sounds good when the snow is virtually in your back garden. The benefits were obvious, sun and temperatures around 18 degrees. There were only a couple of slight problems, heavy rain was due ...

Hi We have been having some very strange weather this week with the temperatures up to 25C, and the wind on Saturday made you reluctant to go out doors. The strange thing was it appeared to be coming from all four directions at once, and it was warm. An Englishman  died in Nigúelas when a roof tile fell on him, and a number of people have reported damaged roofs. Our walk was in the Húetor Natural park and we were going to look at the autumn colours. I was afraid that with all the wind not only would there be no leaves on the trees but the trees would have gone as well. The walk started from car park at junction 259, and followed a high level track as it wandered about high above the Rio Darro. After about 3 km we dropped down into the valley and then followed the river, cris crossing the Darro a number of times. Fortunately at this point it is only a narrow stream, so I don’t think we had any wet feet this time.  We did have a few muddy knees when we came to a...

This week with a promise of fine weather we decided to go and have another try at Sierra Manar, after cancelling it last weekend due to low cloud. By 9.00 at the BP in Cozvijar there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, except over the hills we were intending to climb behind Dilar. Why these hills attract the clouds I do not know. A quick poll was taken, and a decision was made to go ahead with the walk as it was the considered opinion that, by the time we started walking, the clouds would have disappeared. Driving through Padul a few minutes later we had to put the headlights on as we were enveloped in fog. I wanted to head for a bar but was persuaded to carry on with the plan. The walk started from the Cunadas urbanization, and by the time we got there the clouds had miraculously disappeared. An abandoned housing estate does not sound a promising start for a walk, but within two minutes of leaving the cars we were on a forest track in the middle of nowhere. At first the walk fo...

Hi I wasn't too confident that this weeks walk would go ahead, as heavy rain was forecast for Sunday morning. In the end the rain passed through the valley around 4 am leaving the morning overcast but at least dry. Our planned destination was the Sierra Manar, the ridge behind Dilar. At 9 am, at the BP garage in Cozvijar, you could see the ridge and it was covered in cloud, well in actual fact you ccouldn't see the ridge because it was covered in cloud. No one appeared willing to spend the day walking in a thick mist, like the last time we were up there, so a new plan was developed. We would drive to Nigúelas where the sun was poking through the clouds and do a circular walk from there. We set off from the carpark in Nigúelas and walked up to the top of the village, and then took the acequia track out of the village. It is now repaired and open again after the recent landslip. At the end we turned down the valley towards Murchas. We passed a couple of other places...

For this weeks adventure we introduced a new game called dodging the bullets. Our walk was to the Windmills of Albuñuelas, not the romanticized Don Quixote ones of La Mancha, but the modern wind turbines we all have to live with. We had discovered this walk earlier in the year but then it was a 25km outing, a bit long for a Sunday stroll, so we have split the walk into two parts, we will do the second part in a few weeks time    The walk started from the ridge above Albuñuelas and set off down into the upper reaches of the barranco de la Luna, this was not our destination and we were soon climbing out and heading for the hills. In the distance we could hear the occasional bang of a rifle going off, it, being November I assumed it was the local hunters out trying to decimate what was left of the local wildlife. The further we walked the closer we got to what now appeared to be a full blown war. I am sure they were using machine guns. In an effort at trying to...

Hi This week we went on a new route for the group, we continued with our theme of great childhood adventures by going on another river walk. We even ventured outside Granada Province. We had had an early 8.30 start from Beznar,  and with a group of 27 we set off for the drive to Nerja where we met up with 4 more. Goodness knows how many cars there were, but it looked like a presidential motorcade sweeping into town. We should have had police motorcycle outriders with us. We were heading for the Rio Chillar for an incredible walk which we discovered last year.  At only 15 km in length it’s not going to be classed as one of the great rivers in Spain, but it must be one of the most spectacular. The walk starts by following a wide river bed with what remains of the river meandering about on it’s final couple of kms down to the sea. Some in the group tried to keep their feet dry by carefully crossing the river, numerous times. It was a pointless exercise, everyone ...

Hi There wasn’t a walk on Sunday, instead we held a big BBQ in Beznar. Normally we have a BBQ in the spring before the fire lighting restrictions come into force, but this year there was not sufficient time to fit one in around all the walks, so we went for an Autumn one instead. We held it at a new venue for us, down by the lake in Beznar. The weather was perfect, sunny with a gentle breeze to keep the temperature down. I had hoped we could have got a bit more shade but someone had beaten us to the best spot. There were more than 40 of us this year for our picnic, and we needed 3 BBQ’s to cope with all the cooking, and then there are all the salads and accompaniments needed for a successful cook out. A very enjoyable afternoon, and a big thank you to our master chefs who cooked all the food. We walked 0.0 km and climbed 00 metres

Hi The plan this week was to do a walk in the Rio Chillar in Nerja. This is a spectacular walk in a deep sided gorge. It’s not a walk to do if there is a risk of thunderstorms or heavy rain. Unfortunately both these conditions were forecast for Sunday, so an alternative plan was drawn up. A short, local, dry river walk, which we could do and get back from before the forecast rain arrived at 1pm. There had been heavy rain and thunderstorms overnight so I was most surprised when there were 25 of us for the walk, which started from the BP garage in Cozvijar. The route follows various tracks, paths and roads as it heads towards Conchar, before finally dropping down through a jungle to the waterfall Salto de agua del arroyo del alcázar. This is a delightful spot and a great place to chill out in the summer. Unfortunately we had only been there a few minutes when it started to rain, not heavily, but enough to warrant waterproofs. Returning by a slightly different path, which...

Hi Do you remember when you were a kid? You could climb trees, swim in rivers, climb rocks, nothing scared you, you were invincible. Well, this week we were all aged 10 again, and we went scrambling. We met in Albunúelas and then drove about 4 km up the Rio Santo valley and parked the cars in the dry river bed. The weather forecast was for rain after 5pm, I hoped they were right with their timings and that we would not find the cars washed away down the river. There was a big storm in Granada on Thursday and cars were floating in the streets.   The walk started by following the forest road, high above the barranco. After a couple of kms another barranco crosses the road and this was were the fun began. Mike had decided to miss out on all the adventures in the barranco, he is finally getting wise to some of my walks. Instead he took a small band of the less intrepid on an alternative route and met us at the top of the waterfall. Our route took us up an incredible v...

This week it was our big end of the month walk and we went to Mulhacen. It was a walk for the tough and the brave, a walk to remember, a walk with no views. We have had a pretty mixed bag of weather this week. The promised rain finally appeared along with some heavy thunderstorms. The forecast for Sunday, whilst not good,  did look like we stood a reasonable chance of remaining dry. As usual for the Mulhacen trip we had an early, 7 am start from Beznar, this gives us enough time for the drive to Capiliera, a quick coffee and sufficient time to get the tickets for the bus. There was 15 of us and I counted up how many actions the ticket issuer had to go through, each ticket needed 11 ticks, stamps, or something written on it. 165 actions to issue 15 tickets. We could have had an extra 30 minutes in bed. The cloud was hanging about at around 2500 metres, somewhat short of the predicted 3800 metres in the forecast, and considerably lower than the 3482 meter summit of Mu...