A quick snack under the tree
The weather forecast was for sun and cloud with temperatures around 12 degrees, so good conditions for us again this week.
We had another 8 a.m. start for the drive over to Alhama, stopping off in Arenas del Rey to leave Ray’s car, our finishing point for this week.
We have a new recruit on the walk this week, another Stuart who is in training for a 100km, 24 hour walk in May 2013. Hopefully we can get him a bit further than last Sundays walk, when he was down and out after 2 km.
The walk starts from Alhama by going back down into the gorge “tajos de Alhama” we walked in last time. It was like going into a freezer, the lower we went the colder it got, and it was not long before the hats and gloves were on, but not to worry, it was still early, the day would warm up.
There had been a suggestion, at the start of the walk, that we should stop for coffee. I had a better idea, I knew a nice little bar about 2 km along our path. Arriving at the El Ventorro bar I was dismayed to find it in darkness. Kees was bitterly disappointed and rattled the door until the landlord opened up. He said we could come in and get warm and he would make us some coffee in a few minutes when the power came back on. He had the largest roaring wood fire I have ever seen and we stood around it, in the pitch darkness, until the electricity was restored and the coffee was served.
Setting off again, refreshed, I was surprised that the promised rise in temperature and the clearing skies had not materialised. Fortunately the route was on a good forest track, and it enabled us crack on at a good pace which helped to maintain a reasonable body temperature.
There has obviously been some major rerouting of the path recently, unfortunately it is not always obvious which direction the path is supposed to take. We have 2 guides, a GPS trail, and footpath signs to follow, but at times none of them would tell us where we were supposed to go. We even asked a local farmer who was pruning his trees and, whilst he tried to be helpful, he seemed unaware that there was a “Gran Recorrido” path passing his door.
With the weather closing in and turning to a light drizzle we stopped for lunch sheltering under a tree, it was a very quick snack as we were losing body heat rapidly and we were all eager to move on.
Kees deserves a special mention here, for once he offered salvation, not the usual confusion. The guide that appears to be the most accurate is one we downloaded from the internet. We all have a copy in the hope someone might know where we were supposed to be going. My copy was missing a crucial section, yes I had left it at home, but Kees had his with him. He saved the day and was awarded a brownie point. Please note these are awarded for outstanding merit and are not to be traded for bars of chocolate.
We set off again in what the guide describes as an area with spectacular far ranging views, but which I can only describe as grey. The mist had descended and visibility was down to about 25 metres. I was just starting to worry we had missed a turning, we had been going north uphill for 4 km and our destination was somewhere below and to the east of us, when out of the mist a marker appeared. Heading rapidly downhill we were soon out of the mist and we were able to take another lunch break at a very convenient picnic spot, and, because I had discovered it, I got to sit on one of the four seats.
From here it was an easy 30 minutes walk to the bar in Arenas del Rey for refreshments and a warm fire. All that was required now was for Ray to drive Dave and myself back to Alhama for the cars.
Whilst the conditions were far from good I think everyone enjoyed themselves, it brought back memories of walking in the UK.
On the walk Kees, Mike, Rene, Ray, Dave, Little Stuart and Old Stuart.
Distance walked on the route today 23.6 km Total distance on route 45 km
Distance walked today 23.6 km Total distance walked 45
Height climbed today 596 metres Total height climbed 1189 metres
Distance driven today 126 km Total distance driven 286 km
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