17 Oct 2009 - Tarbena Circular

Its almost two years since we last did this walk. It starts in the mountain village of Tarbena. David is not checking the route, he is explaining it to Jan and Rosemary.

Tarbena is lovely, very Spanish, mountain village about half an hours drive from Parcent. The whole drive is through beautiful scenery but on a very narrow and winding road. David drove today, so for a change I could sit back and enjoy the lovely scenery.

David doing his “great explorer” pose. We were quite surprised to find that there were other walkers, though not as many as last week on Bernia. This was another walk with easy access, as it starts from a village.

You don’t have to walk very far from Tarbena to be right in the mountains. Within half an hour we had reached a spot with spectacular views towards the distant mountain range.

Apart from leisure walkers we also saw some local hunters. We first heard them, as their dogs had bells on. At first we thought it must be a goat herder, but when we saw them in the distance we could see that it was dogs. We later passed the two hunters on the way back to Tarbena, but they were as gruff as ones we had met before. I think they resent people walking in their mountains in the same way that fishermen resent walkers along river footpaths.

Jan, David and Rosemary. David has led this walk before for the Monday Club group, but it was almost two years ago. Jan and I were so impressed with the walk that we suggested that it was about time the Monday Club did it again, but David thought it might be a little short. The group has been tackling more difficult walks over the past year or so, and he felt this might not be challenging enough. But its such a lovely area that it would be a shame not to put it on again for the group.

We came across this field of flowers, and I could tell that the sun was in the wrong place. So I was not sure how this photo would look. But actually I quite like it.

This was one of those walks where you are spoilt for lovely scenic photos

Our lunch stop involved another short climb. But it was obviously a popular spot, because the track was well marked with cairns.

It was such a pleasant spot that we had an extended lunch break. Unlike last week on Bernia when the cloud came down during our lunch break, today was sunny and warm and we could have easily spent all afternoon there. Just as well we didn’t, for just as were leaving a group of young Spanish walkers arrived.

Yet another spectacular view of the surrounding mountain range

David went dangerously close to a steep fall to get a photo of us, and was told off by Rosemary. Not that he seems particularly bothered!

Almost at the end of the walk. Jan, David and Rosemary look back over the route we had walked.

Jan and Rosemary deep in conversation walking down the path to Tarbena.

A typical narrow street in Tarbna – obviously not designed for cars. And strange how you don't notice the urgent need of a new coat of paint on some of the houses when you are walking around there.

The café where we had a drink commerates the Spanish Civil War. The walls are decorated by period newspapers and posters. We all agreed that when we return with the Monday Club we will take advantage of the menu del dia which is only 10 euro.

12 Oct 2009 - Tormos to Campell

This is a very local walk for us, as Tormos is just a few miles from Parcent. Despite that we were the last to arrive at the car park, and were surprised to find so many cars. There were 19 for this popular walk, one of the largest groups I have know for the Monday Club.

The walk starts through the village of Tormos and then out into the campo, with lovely views of Cavell Verde on the right and the walls of the leper hospital at Fontilles on the right.

We did not stop at Isbert Dam, but started to climb up to the railway line which was laid to build the dam.
Then it was through the rail tunnel, quite long but tall and wide, and you can see the exit after just a short time in total darkness.

The tunnel exit and a relieved Ann who does not like the tunnel, but was prepared to face it in order to enjoy the rest of the walk.

Now we have gained a little height there are lovely views Montgo and the coast at Denia

Quite a steep climb to Fontilles home of the leper hospital which is still operational and trains doctors and nurses from all over the world.

Another climb through the woods to the picturesque music room and a well deserved rest

The walk continues through more woods, and this is one of my favourite parts of the walk

This is probably as near as any of our local walks get to a walk in the woods back in UK. The trees are rather different, but the impression similar. Its lovely walking through the woods on a warm sunny day along a dappled path.

As we pass through the woods there are views of the Campell on the opposite side of the valley.

Lunch was at this lovely little church. It was quite hot, and our group scattered to find some shade. But I insisted on a group photo with the church as a background. This one is unusual as Jan took it, and there I am included in the group (front left)

This is the view from the church - not bad for a picnic lunch stop. And just look at that blue sky. And we can expect this sort of weather most days now right through the winter and spring.

10 Oct 2009 - Bernia Fort

David and Rosemary invited us to a walk to Bernia Fort which they had arranged for his sister Diane and two friends. The friends were not regular walkers, and this would be a shorter walk than we would normally do.

We were very lucky with the weather, which was sunny and warm - but not too too warm. This weekend is a Spanish holiday, and it was soon obvious that we were not alone in liking the Bernia for walking.

There is a lot of space to park around the start of this particular walk. Because of that, and because it is a relatively easy walk on a good path, it is very popular with local Spanish families as well as our walking groups. So e were not too surprised to find a lot of cars, in fact it was quite difficult to find a space near the start.

We were soon off up the winding path. At first there was not much sign of other walkers, as they were probably doing one of the many more difficult walks which also start from the car park. But it was not long before other walkers stated to catch up and overtake us.

The path soon became quite busy, and we could see other walkers both ahead and behind. For those of you who walk in such popular areas as the Lake District this will not be unusual. But around Bernia is is almost unknown. Usually when we walk in this area it would unusual to see more than one other group. Today we found ourselves in the sort of walking chain you often find in the more popular walking areas in UK during the summer months.

We were not particularly worried about the larger number than usual walkers, and when you look at the photographs you can see why it is so popular. And the slower than normal pace gave us the opportunity to look around and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

As we neared the Fort we found that the path was quite badly eroded. This is also very unusual on our normal walks, and highlights just how popular this walk is. It was also a first to find that parts of the path were diverted to allow for repairs. Its not unusual to walk for a whole day and never see a single sign post, so this was very unusual.

As we neared the Fort we were greeted by the low cloud. Again this is not unusual. Unfortunately it spoiled the spectacular views you normally get to Benidorm and the sea. We have seen it many times, and find the clouds and mist to be quite atmospheric. But its a shame if this is your only visit not to be able to get full value from the views.

The Fort is not at the top of Bernia, but is is high enough to give lovely views around the whole area. And as it is so easy to get to it does have a lot of visitors. We were sad to see that the plaques which explain what you are looking at had been vandalised. They were put there about two years ago, and were very useful. Instead of a collection of ruins, you had a drawing and explanation of what it looked like when it was used. Outside of some of the larger cities it is very unusual to find this type of mindless destruction, and it was very sad to find it today.

The Fort covers quite a large area, and there is enough of it still standing to be able to imagine what it must have looked like when in use. It is about 300 years old, and had a garrison of about 50 men plus pack animals.

All of the forts in this area were built in the most inaccessible areas, and this was no exception. It certainly dominates the whole area.

Pretty well every blog shows a photo of the group eating, and this is no exception. It is often the only opportunity to get them all together, and not posing for the camera.

We had quite a long lunch, and only left when a large Spanish family group arrived. Not that we minded the company, but I expect that they would like to have it to themselves for short while, until the next group arrived.

A very enjoyable walk to an interesting spot we had only previously visited as a lunch stop during a much longer walk.

5 Oct 2009 - Advocat to Calpe

Lovely day for our first Monday Club walk of the season. It’s hard to believe that last week, which was meant to be the first walk, had to be cancelled because of heavy rain.

We met at Advocat bay and walked to Calpe, a walk of about 8 miles. Shorter than our normal walks, but it was meant to be an easy walk to “break us in” after the summer break. In fact it turned out to be quite a challenging walk due to a very warm day and a lot of “ups and downs”.

The walk was along the coast, with lovely views of Calpe Rock for most of the journey.

Part of the walk was along a good coastal path, but some was clambering over rocks.

Photo 5

Our first short break, just long enough for a much needed “water break

The path has been greatly improved since we last did it about two years ago. The local council have provided nice little seating and picnic areas with attractive views.

Calpe was the half way point, and we had a short break in the welcome shade. It was surprisingly warm, and we were very pleased to find a nice shady wall to sit on. However being a shorter than normal walk it was too early for lunch, so we had a “banana break”.

We don’t normally have a proper café to stop during a walk, but this one is the exception. A short distance from Calpe there is a water sports centre with a café offering one of the nicest views of Calpe. It was too tempting for our group, who insisted on a short break to have a cold drink.

A few miles on we came to the Tourist Information office, with its shaded picnic area. Again we do not often have a proper shaded picnic area for lunch, and we made the best of it.

Being our first walk we were all a little stiff after our lunch break, but we were soon back into our stride for the short walk back to the cars

We were all very impressed by this lovely “cairn” on the beach

It’s traditional for passing walkers to add a stone to any cairn they pass. And David did so with this one – which promptly collapsed

The harder he tried, the more it fell apart, and of course everyone did their best to help him – not!

The last stretch of the walk is a steep climb, followed by a flat walk through the woods. Lovely spot, especially with the cool wind off the sea.

Great to see everyone again, great to have such a lovely walk to get us back into our stride.

3 Oct 2009 - Lunch in Calpe

David and Rosemary are two friends who live in UK, but have a holiday home here in Spain and spend a few months here each year. Like us they enjoy walking, and always walk with the Monday Club when there are here.

They have just arrived for a short holiday, and we arranged to meet in Calpe to have lunch together. We met at one end of the sea front and walked to the town at the other end. It’s a very pleasant walk and takes about 30 to 45 minutes.

After an exceptionally hot summer, we have had a couple of weeks of torrential rain. This is a very green part of the Costa Blanca, so you have to expect some rain. But this was very much from one extreme to the other. So we were delighted to find that today was warm and sunny, with a pleasant cool breeze on the sea front. Actually David and Rosemary thought it was very hot, but they have spent all summer in the UK.

We broke our walk at the yacht club. David and Rosemary have a boat in UK, so this seemed appropriate. We just like sitting and looking at the boats come and go. It’s not as grand as it sounds, and is very reasonably priced. For less than 5 euros you can have two cups of coffee and two rounds of tostada while you watch the boating world go by. And they also supply a daily English newspaper.

We spent a very enjoyable hour sitting in the sun and bringing each other up to date on what we had done, or in our case not done, since we had last seen each other in June.

Calpe is also the home of a busy fishing fleet. Just opposite the port they lay their nets out to dry, and the seagulls come to feed on the scraps of fish left in the nets.

We then walked along the sea front to the town, and to our favorite Chinese restaurant. For those who worry about the exchange rate and think that eating out in Spain has become expensive let me tell you about our menu del dia. For less than 5 euro each we got a starter, a large choice of main meal, a coffee and a brandy, plus half a bottle of wine, water or a beer. A large meal for four for 20 euro, including the tip!