Monday, December 7, 2009

7 Dec 2009 - Lliber

We do two walks from Lliber, but this is my favourite. Its called Font l'Axia, or something very similar. A much more difficult climb than the other, but well worth it for the views and the valley walk back.

The walk starts in the village of Lliber, which is about 10 miles from Parcent. We parked in the central car park, which was quite busy due to today being a religious fiesta day. Its a tiny village, so we were soon out in "the campo". The path is not very clearly marked, so Pat did very well not to lose it.

One of the nice things about the Monday Club is that there is always someone to help anyone who needs it over the more difficult parts. This time Peter and Barry were providing the helping hands.

Once we started climbing it was not long before the jackets came off, though not the jumpers yet.

This is very typical of the walking in this area. The pace is not too fast, but quite steady. There is quite a climb to do, even though it is a quite gradual assent.

The first "proper stop". By now most are in shirt sleeves as the the combination of the climb and the sun has warmed us all up. Still quite a bit to climb, but a good spot for a group photograph.

The ever changing scenery looking towards the Jalon valley and the mountains beyond.

Almost there, though there was a false summit which was the cause of some "mumbling in the ranks". If people are able to complain it is a good indication that the pace is not too fast!

When we reached the top we had this wonderful view of Montgo and the coast . This is looking towards Pedreguer and Denia.

A short stop at the top, and another opportunity for one more group photograph....

....and then its back downhill again. The path down was considerably worse than the really good one coming up.

This narrow cleft in the rock is called something like "fat man's pass", or more likely "slim man's pass", because it is so narrow.

Throughout the decent there are excellent views of the coast. Though a bright and sunny day, it was quite misty and not very good for long distance shots.

Again Pat's call "can we have a man at the front" was answered - this time by Bob and (of course) Barry.

As we neared the valley bottom the path improved. It was still necessary to watch where you put your feet, but the track was much wider and more distinct. The paths had been marked recently on this side of the mountain, so following the path was pretty easy.

This reservoir was an ideal place to have our picnic lunch. The sun was now high and very warm and pleasant. Its quite easy to forget that it is mid December, it feels just like a warm spring day in UK.

This lovely clearing, which could easily be Scotland, was our lunch view

No picnic site or tables, but we are well used to making the best of what is available. This time is was the low wall. Fairly easy to get down, but some had problems getting up again!

After lunch it was a nice level walk along the valley back to Lliber. It was lovely to be able to step out and not have to take care where we put our feet down. However it was close to here that Jan fell off the path when she spent too much time looking at the view. Fortunately no damage done.

It doesn't take much to excite our interest, such as this plastic snow man in the garden of a house we passed. It gets very windy at this time of year and his arms were secured to the ground with chains to prevent him blowing away.

The latter part of the walk was along a dry river bed. Unusually the path was closed by the owner to prevent walkers using it. The river bed was not difficult, and was a contrast to the rest of the walk.
Just before we got back to Lliber, we passed this herd of bulls. They were not fenced in and seemed to be spread out over quite a big area.

As ever we finished the walk in the bar in Lliber village square. This was a longer than usual walk, but no one wanted to miss the end of walk drink

Ann has a well deserved reputation for enjoying a brandy at the end of the walk, which makes everyone else very jealous. Especially Jan, who was sitting next to her and could smell it!