14 February 2011 - Benissa

Margret found this new walk in the local English language weekly paper.  

The official name of the walk is Roca de la Salve, but to me it will always be the Benissa cemetery walk, because that is where we met.   It is a circular walk of 13 kilometers, including two pretty steep climbs.

13 of us, including Jan,  met at the cemetery car park.  It was a bright sunny morning, but with a bitterly cold wind.   It was the first time Jan had walked with the group since she fell and injured herself four weeks ago.

The walk follows an old path which runs alongside the toll road.   In face it crosses under the road at two places.   The first is unremarkable, but the second has this excellent example of pop art.

It is not long before we come to the first climb.   By now we were warming up, and off came the jackets in preparation for the climb.   It was not too long, but it was very steep.

The climb was followed by a gentle path through the woods, with views towards Montgo and the coast.

It was a good hour before Margret let us sit down for a “banana stop”

But she did choose a lovely spot for it amongst the almond trees which are in full bloom this week.  

Within a week or so they will have lost their blossoms and the show will be over for another year.

 Jan and Wendy made the best of the opportunity to sit and have a break.   As the old saying goes “never walk if you can stand, never stand if you can sit”, or something like that!

It was just a short to walk to the second climb of the day.   Soldates is one of those climbs that are best tackled at your own pace.  It is a long climb, and very steep in parts.   Some, though not many, like to rush at it.   Some like to tackle it at a slow pace, but keep going to the top.  Many do what they can, and rest when they can’t.   There are no medals for being first, and everyone is pleased to finally reach the top.

Though bright and sunny, the wind was too cold to remain at the top for very long.    So just time for a quick photograph and then down the other side.

This was the worse part of the walk for Jan, as she was being careful not to jar her shoulder.   So we let everyone else go on, and we brought up the rear.   Everything was fine, and much easier than she had feared.

 At the bottom we stopped for lunch at an old finca.   I was very happy to let Jan get our picnic lunch ready.   After our climb and decent we were all quite warm, and it was sheltered by the finca.

The remainder of the walk was along the valley on very good paths, with views of Bernia and El Cau in the distance.

 Any opportunity for a photo is always welcome

Especially such a good subject as this youngster.

Next Week

An old favourite, Col de Rates, but from a new starting point.    Meet at the car park in Alcalali on the junction of the Pedreguer and Jalon roads at 10am