The first section from Lanjarón to Orgiva is only 7 km according to the book, and I suggested that we could catch the bus back afterwards. This was greeted with derision, and questions on what we were supposed to do for the rest of the day. Even doing a there and back walk would only bring it up to 14 km, less than half of what we have been doing lately and besides, we are not expected home until after dark.
With some careful planning a route was worked that brought the distance up to a respectable 24km.
The first section started at the park in Lanjarón and went down, past the castle, into the steep sided valley of the Rio Lanjarón. When we first discovered this path, in 2010, there were no markers to guide us on the many twists and turns that the path makes on its way down to the river. Last year there was a rickety old bridge to get across the river, this year it appears to have been washed away. With some careful foot work, and judicious use of some stones, we all managed to get across with dry feet. The walk then climbed up the steep sided valley following the newly marked track, this was interesting because last year we had run into a spot of bother when we got to the top. A farmers wife came stomping across the field to tell us that we were on private property, which we weren't, well, we were 1 metre off the unmarked path. This time there was no doubt where the path was, it was well posted and painted, me thinks someone must have complained about her to the medio ambiente. We continued our walk up to the Ermita de la Cruz above Lanjarón where we stopped for refreshments.
This is where we joined the GR142 as it makes its way to Orgiva, The path was well used and easy to follow until we approached Orgiva. The GPS pointed into a hippy community and a parallel universe where the occupants where living on a different planet. Arriving in Orgiva we decided to stop off for a drink and a spot of tapas. I can’t think of another walk we have done that passes a bar at lunch time, so we had to make best use of this unique opportunity. It was so pleasant there that we could easily have spent the whole afternoon just relaxing and enjoying the drink and tapas, but common sense prevailed and we still had 13 km to go.
The way back was not along an established footpath, it was just a series of tracks I had cobbled together, none of which ran directly in the direction we wished to go. The beer sat heavily in our stomachs and, at times, it was an effort to climb what appeared to be a constant procession of hills, but it made an interesting walk back, taking us through countryside that I had always dismissed as scrub land.
We did finally manage to make it back to Lanjarón and another bar, except for Plym and Mark who insisted upon having ice cream. We arrived home as the sun was setting, perfect timing.
It was a good walk and a fine start to our new adventure.
On the walk Graham, Mike, Kees, Plym, Rene, Mark and myself.
Distance on GR142 7 km, total distance 25.4 km, ascent 1085 metres.
With some careful planning a route was worked that brought the distance up to a respectable 24km.
The first section started at the park in Lanjarón and went down, past the castle, into the steep sided valley of the Rio Lanjarón. When we first discovered this path, in 2010, there were no markers to guide us on the many twists and turns that the path makes on its way down to the river. Last year there was a rickety old bridge to get across the river, this year it appears to have been washed away. With some careful foot work, and judicious use of some stones, we all managed to get across with dry feet. The walk then climbed up the steep sided valley following the newly marked track, this was interesting because last year we had run into a spot of bother when we got to the top. A farmers wife came stomping across the field to tell us that we were on private property, which we weren't, well, we were 1 metre off the unmarked path. This time there was no doubt where the path was, it was well posted and painted, me thinks someone must have complained about her to the medio ambiente. We continued our walk up to the Ermita de la Cruz above Lanjarón where we stopped for refreshments.
This is where we joined the GR142 as it makes its way to Orgiva, The path was well used and easy to follow until we approached Orgiva. The GPS pointed into a hippy community and a parallel universe where the occupants where living on a different planet. Arriving in Orgiva we decided to stop off for a drink and a spot of tapas. I can’t think of another walk we have done that passes a bar at lunch time, so we had to make best use of this unique opportunity. It was so pleasant there that we could easily have spent the whole afternoon just relaxing and enjoying the drink and tapas, but common sense prevailed and we still had 13 km to go.
The way back was not along an established footpath, it was just a series of tracks I had cobbled together, none of which ran directly in the direction we wished to go. The beer sat heavily in our stomachs and, at times, it was an effort to climb what appeared to be a constant procession of hills, but it made an interesting walk back, taking us through countryside that I had always dismissed as scrub land.
We did finally manage to make it back to Lanjarón and another bar, except for Plym and Mark who insisted upon having ice cream. We arrived home as the sun was setting, perfect timing.
It was a good walk and a fine start to our new adventure.
On the walk Graham, Mike, Kees, Plym, Rene, Mark and myself.
Distance on GR142 7 km, total distance 25.4 km, ascent 1085 metres.
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