30 March 2023 – Alcalali to Parcent

Despite a forecast of high temperatures, it was quite chilly as we started the walk

I was relieved to find that the river levels were low

Last time we did this walk we had to do a half hour detour because we could not cross the river

During one of our water stops we spotted rock climbers, first time on this walk

The sun soon appeared, making the wooded section a joy to walk through

I didn’t recognise the main river crossing, it has been cleared and the bamboo removed.   There is also now a vehicle ford.

But unfortunately no foot ford making the crossing more difficult that before

It was Barry and Linda’s last walk of this visit, but they are back again in three weeks

By midday it was very hot, so the shade of the town font was very welcome

After a short banana stop we set off on the return journey

We has a short break for Jan to distribute the boiled sweets

Masses of poppies and spring flowers made this part of the walk particularly attractive

The wider path also made it more of a “social walk”

Our final stop was the Ermita de Sant Joan

Where the shaded porch of the church was particularly welcome

Then the final 15 minute walk to the village

Most of it downhill and very pleasant

Except for the final unwelcome steep climb to the square

We opted for the shaded bar Porche table by the church

And a very welcome, very cold beer

Temperature – 15-25c

Time taken – 3 hours

Distance – 9 km   

27 March 2023 – Green Horse

A good turnout of 18 for my favourite walk

It was nice to have Helen walking with the group again

It is quite a steep climb right from the village

But we had frequent water and viewing stops

It took us about an hour to reach the top

Where we had a 15 minute banana stop

And plenty of time to admire the fantastic views

Plus, of course, the traditional group photo

This was followed by a short scramble onto the main ridge

Where we again has frequent water, view and photo stops

I took 81 photos and it was hard to select the best 20 for the blog

And I then had to add a few taken by other members of the group

It took three hours to reach our usual picnic stop

With, once again, great views

This was followed by a steep descent into the tree line

Which was a lovely contrast on this sunny day

We all opted for the extension to the rustic La Venta Del Collao restaurant

It was closed today

But we used their scenic picnic area

We now faced a 90 minute walk back to Benimaurell

Which was a pleasure on such a lovely day

The path required concentration being a little eroded and overgrown

Once more we had a couple of stops to admire the views to the sea

A cold drink in the village completed a lovely day’s walk

Temperature – 11-20c

Time taken – 6.5 hours

Distance – 9 km

Total Ascent – 370 metres

23 March 2023 – Lliber Zoo

This is the 17^th Thursday walk since we started the Thursday group in October 2022

I had some doubts when I started the group

Not least how popular it would be

Three hour walks might be something which folk would prefer to do on their own

However it has proved popular from the start, and we currently have 26 members

Not everyone is available to walk each week

Ten are non residents and only available a few months each year

Despite this we have managed an average of 12 on each walk

This is really good news, because our ideal walk is 12-16

We have also had better than expected member retention

We have restricted total numbers on each walk to 16

Last week we had a reserve list of five

We have a core membership of eight, who walk most weeks

And this week we had four non resident members

This included Barry and Linda, who spend a few weeks here every couple of months.

Plus Robin and Sandra who we had not seen since before the covid restrictions

We are very pleased that in such a short time we have managed to create such a loyal and friendly group

It is in the nature of things that members will come and go

But it is nice that so many return when they can

 It has been a very good start and we hope we will continue to enjoy many more wonderful walks with such good friends

Temperature – 14-24c

Time taken – 3 hours

Distance – 9 km