9 April 2012 – Tarbena

It may be only spring, but it felt like summer had arrived at last, as you can see from the shorts and shirt sleeves. Despite the long drive, especially for those of us who live on the coast, there was a full house of 12.

 

Tarbena is a lovely, very Spanish, little village in the middle of the mountains over the Col de Rates.   It is only about 8 miles from Parcent, but is a long drive on the narrow and winding old road to Benidorm.

 

We have done two walks from Tarbena in the past, both of them quite short.   So we were keen to try this longer new one which was led by Peter.   It started with a gentle downhill path into the valley.

 

We have never walked this area before, and it was interesting to see so many familiar mountains from an unfamiliar angle.   Its surprising how different they look, and how often we had to ask Peter to confirm which one we were looking at.

 

It was not long before we were going up, and up, and up.   By the time we reached our banana stop we were all well ready for a break.   Jan confirmed that her eyes were sweating, which is a sure sign that it is a hot day.

 

From our banana stop Peter pointed out a small pink house on a distant hill, which he told us was our lunch stop.  What he did not tell us was that there was a deep valley between banana and lunch.

Eventually we did arrive, and the descent and subsequent climb were well worth it for the fantastic views. We even had a nice seating area with plenty of space for all.   Rosemary had brought some tiny Easter Eggs, which she distributed – twice.  

From here it was an easy walk on a very good path where we could look around and enjoy the changing views of the mountains and the coast down to Benidorm.

 

We were surprised to find this half finished view point.   There were piles of rubble and the whole place looked like it had been abandoned half finished.   But it had this lovely hand drawn illustration on tiles with all the surrounding peaks named.  

Another good path took us through a lovely valley to join the familiar track back to Tarbena

The five hour walk was longer than usual, and more ups and downs than usual, and by the time we sighted the village we knew we had walked.   But we really enjoyed it, and no doubt will do it again in the future.   

 

Monday 16 April 2012 – Pedreguer

Not the usual walk to the castle.   Pat will lead one we have not done for a long time, which includes three fonts.   Meet at the usual place at 10am.