14 February Alcolea - Laujar de Andarax

Lunch near Laujar de Andarax

14 February 2012   Alcolea - Laujar de Andarax

Back on the trail again we returned to where we had left off last week. This involved driving to Alcolea, and then going off road and driving up the barranco we had walked up last week.
From a distance the countryside looks devoid of anything interesting, but when you are down in the canyons, things change, and it is fascinating, following the track as it meanders back and forth.
Parking at last weeks terminus we set off walking following the path for about 1 hour as it made its way towards Alcolea, which we could see in the distance looked vibrant, and cared for, a far cry from Jorairátar which was only a few miles away.
When we arrived in the village there was a market in full swing. I was so busy concentrating on dragging Rene away from the stalls as we made our through the village that we lost Kees. When we returned to look for him he was standing in the middle of the village square sampling the locally made vino. Not sipping it out of a glass, but pouring it down his neck straight out of the bottle. A few weeks back I had promised his wife Marjan that we would try and look after him whilst we were out. I would hate to think what she would have said if we had brought him back drunk, especially when it was before 11 in the morning.
Having checked that he was sober enough to continue the walk we re grouped and made our way out of town and into open countryside. We were headed for Láujar which must be the centre of the Alpujarran wine trade because we were surrounded by fields of vines which were undergoing their annual pruning. Mark had stopped to pick up some cuttings to take home to expand his own vineyard, but, we had not gone far when a local farmer told him that the samples he had nicked were of an inferior quality to his and he would be happy to exchange them for his superior cuttings, he wanted Mark to have the best. It seems the competition as to who produces the best wine even extends to who has the best twigs to pinch.
The track eventually arrives at the main road which you have to follow for about 1 km into Láujar de Andarax. Not wanting to walk by the side of a busy road, well, we had seen at least a couple of cars, I suggested we turn around and head back and then next time we can drive into Láujar.
The way back followed our outbound route and fortunately, by the time we got back to Alcolea the market had gone, so with nothing to distract us we continued our journey back to the car.
We were looking forward to our return to J.B bar in Cadiar, so you can imagine our disappointment when we arrived to find it closed. We ended up in a night club opposite, but it was so dark inside you could not see what you were drinking.
    
On the walk Mike, Kees, Rene, Mark and myself.

Distance on GR142 10.0 km, ascent 647 metres, total distance 20.3 km.
Total on GR142  79.51km , Total walked 124.3 km. Total ascent  6762 metres.

7 February 2012 Jorairátar - Alcolea

J.B bar Cadiar

7 February 2012  Jorairátar -  Alcolea

It has been a few weeks since we hit the GR142 trail, first of all the the weather continued to improve, so much so that the snow had gone from the Sulayr trail allowing us to resume doing a bit of that. Then, Kees went absent, well he went off to Houston to visit his daughter and new grandson and, what with Ray doing penance back in the UK,  Plym off touring the trouble spots of Asia, Rene in charge of entertaining her granddaughter, it as just been Mike and myself left holding the fort, just a couple of Billies with no mates.
The weather has now turned cooler and the snow has returned to the higher slopes. Kees is back from the states, but his new grandson did not put in an appearance, and Rene is back in circulation so we thought it was a good opportunity to go back to Jorairátar and resume the GR142.
Things did not get off to a good start, Rene had forgotten where she had parked her car and tramped all over Albunúelas looking for it, only to find it outside her front door. Fortunately she remembered to ring and so we waited for her to turn up.
We then drove up to Jorairátar, the last time we were there we thought it looked a poor village with very few cars. Our thoughts were confirmed when we were driving up the road to the village. We discovered what looked like tumbleweed, blowing in the wind, the road was covered, no one had been this way for years. We expected a stage coach to appear around a corner at any moment.
In the village there was no obvious signs of a path to Los Montoros.  Up until now I have been able to download the route into my GPS but I can’t find any more published waypoints, from now on we are on our own, destined to wander around the badlands forever. We stopped and asked a local hombre if he knew the route. He looked bewildered, first by the fact we were strangers in his Publeo and second that we wanted to walk to the next village, I don’t think he knew that another village existed.
We eventually found a path leading out of the village going in the right direction and, after joining another path, picked up the route markings again. We followed this path down to the river where all signs of the path and markings disappeared. The last 2 inches on the map showed that the path followed the river, criss- crossing it numerous times for the next 8 km. I don’t know who planned the route but there was no path, we tried both banks and the surrounding fields, forded the river, tried to build bridges, but each time we came to an impass.  
Rene won the prize for the most ingenious crossing when she wedged a log in a rock face and scrambled across. For an Aussie used to the outback it was probably nothing. For Kees, a Dutchman, it was a bridge too far.
We decided to turn around, go back to the car, and drive to where the river crossed the road and attack the route in the opposite direction.
Arriving at the a fore mentioned point we found the signs for the path, but that was all there was, signs but no path. We decided to abandon this section of the walk completely and drive to Darrícal and try our luck from there.
The road to Darrícal was closed for Obras, it looked like it had collapsed into the ravine that it runs alongside of. Checking the map showed that the path was on the road for about 5 km, not having any wish to follow a tarmac road all that way we decided to leave that section out as well. Instead we found the path as it continued along its way to Alcolea. This was more like it, proper signs every 100 metres and a clear path to follow in a steep sided, multi coloured, barranco, proper Indian country. We felt like the magnificent seven, except there was only four of us. After an hour black clouds appeared on the horizon and we decided to beat a retreat back to the car and the safety of the J.B bar in Cadiar. I only said we felt like the magnificent seven, I did not say we were.
We have stopped at the bar a number of times whilst walking up in this area and have always had great tapa and a warm welcome from Jo the landlady.
    
On the walk Mike, Kees, Rene and myself.

Distance on GR142 7.0 km, ascent 544 metres, total distance 14 km.
Total on GR142  69.51km , Total walked 104 km. Total ascent  6115 metres.

5 January 2012 Lobras - Jorairátar

Lunch in Jorairátar

5 January 2012 Lobras - Jorairátar

We returned again this week to the barranco below Lobras for the next section of the walk, this time we were walking to Jorairátar.
The walk crosses the river using the road bridge and then immediately goes down into the barranco, then out again, up the hillside. This is where we came unstuck. We could see the red and white painted signs heading off up hill, the problem was the river had carved the embankment away making it impossible to climb out.
Retracing our steps we found a way through a tumbled down house and then we were back on the path. It was a good job it was abandoned, it would have been a bugger walking through the kitchen and out through their lounge window.
The hardest bit of the walk then followed as the path went straight up the hillside. It would not normally have been a problem but, coming straight at the beginning of the walk, with frost on the ground, and before we had  warmed up, quite a bit of cursing went on.
Once we were at the top the path turned into a delightful ridge walk with extensive views over the Sierra Nevada. At the end of the ridge the path joins the Cadier road which you have to follow for about 1 km before you turn off on a drivable track towards Jorairátar. Unfortunately they have used builders rubble as the bed for the road, so the impression one gets of the area is not good, which is a pity as it would be a pleasant section with a little forethought.
Leaving the builders rubbish behind the track opens out into a very wide river bed, the banks of which must be 50 metres high. This was once a Glacial lake and the banks are made of all the sediment that was brought down with the Glaciers. The area is directly opposite Guadix, on the other side of the Sierra Nevada, and the landscape is very similar.
On our midweek walks the conversion usually turns to solving the worlds ills, or untangling the unexplainable like “why do acequia flow uphill?” This week we did not have the distraction of any women with us. So it was an opportunity for Mike to open up to us about something that has been troubling him a while. In private, when he is on the Internet, he is known has Michelle. As you can imagine we were all a bit gobsmacked at this news, but we thought the best way to deal with it was to take the piss out of him. This kept us entertained all the way to Jorairátar, where upon he removed his shoes to reveal he was wearing odd Yellow and Pink socks, I kid you not. He walked by himself at the rear on the way back.       
After a couple of Kms following the river bed the path climbs out of the valley and continues its journey through Almond plantations which were showing the early signs of new buds. The path continues on towards Jorairátar, this was a delightful route except for the final km. Once again they had chosen the most picturesque section to tip all their household rubbish into a steep sided ravine, what a shame.
Jorairátar is a poor little village with two churches, one falling down and the other just managing to remain upright. We stopped here for lunch in the sun, it was 25 degrees and Mike even discovered a snake making its way down the street. Remember this is early January. After lunch we set off back to the car. Our route back was the same as the outward journey except for a short cut we used  to miss a steep section out. Passing through the Almond plantation again, we noticed that some of the trees that were in Bud a few hours earlier now had flowers on. What a good winter we are having.    
We stopped off in Torvizcón once again for refreshment, we have tried three bars now and this by the bridge was the best.
Footnote
To avoid litigation will you please note that any characters named in this blog bear no resemblance to any person alive or dead, and any exploits that these fictitious characters get up to are a figment of my imagination.
I hope that clears things up and saves Mike from any embarrassment.

On the walk Mike, Kees, Ray and myself.

Distance on GR142 12.51 km, ascent 886 metres, total distance 24.9 km.
Total on GR142  62.51km , Total walked 90 km. Total ascent  5571 metres.

27 December Nieles to Lobras

Stopping for refreshment in Torzvicón

27 December 2011  Nieles- Lobras

We needed a short walk this week so that Kees could get to the Dentist, we can’t have him smiling at his new grandson with his teeth missing. This section of the walk just fitted the bill, with an estimated total distance of around 16 km and not a lot of climbing, he would be sat in the Dentist’s chair in plenty of time.
We were going to do the walk in the reverse direction, starting from near Lobras, this way we would get most of the climbing done in the morning.
The walk starts by following a stream in a deep sided barranco, and even though we did not start walking until 9 am, the sun could not reach down into the bottom of it. There was frost on the ground and we were glad of the hats and gloves. The path crosses the stream too many times to count and it was a good job there was not much water in it, else we would have been looking at seriously wet feet. After a couple of K’s we came across the GR7 crossing our path. Both routes were heading for Lobras ,the GR7 taking the direct approach whilst our path meandered up a hillside that was suffering from serious erosion, necessitating in us having to take a short detour.
The path passes through Lobras and then follows a track through Olive growing country, making its way towards Nieles. At one point we missed a turning but were quickly put back on track by two 8 year old Brits, busy playing in the fields. Nieles is a small village on a hillside, unfortunately not the same hill that we were on. The only way to reach it was to follow the path down into the barranco and climb out again. We had planned the walk as a there and back one but in the village there was a map showing that we could take an alternative way back via Tímar, a small village above Lobras. I was a bit hesitant about the route because it wasn’t on our maps or in the GPS. A local woman assured us that if we followed the road for 15 minutes we would come to it, hum! in a straight line it was 4 km. We walked about 10 minutes and then decided to turn around.
When we got home I rechecked all the maps, none of them showed the road we were on, which if we had continued to follow  would have taken us to Tímar in just over an hour.
After stopping for lunch in Nieles we retraced our steps as far as Lobras and then followed the road back down to the car.
We stopped off in Torvizcón for refreshment and the group photo, something went wrong here, my image failed to appear. We were home in plenty of time for Kees to get his new teeth.

On the walk Mike, Kees, Ray and myself.

Distance on GR142 8.4 km, ascent 751 metres, total distance 16.7 km.
Total on GR142 50km , Total walked 86.5 km. Total ascent  4685 metres.

Section 3 Busquister to Nieles

6 December 2011

We returned to walking the GR142 this week after a couple of weeks off due to holidays. The next section of the route was from Busquista to Nieles. There are no buses linking the villages up on this section so we had to do a there and back walk.
We parked the car some 2.5 km outside of Busquister, where the path crosses the road, and started by walking back to Busquister, which was at the other side of the valley, and a near 200 metre vertical drop down one side to the Rio Trevelez and a climb out again up to the village. The climb up into the village was the reason for doing the walk this way round, I did not fancy the steep climb after another hard days walk. Better to get it over with whilst we were still fresh.
We went back to bar were we had stopped last time but, instead of beer, this time it was for hot chocolate, it was still cold in the shade. We were now back at the point where we had finished off on the 17 of November.
Setting off again we retraced our steps back down into the gorge, you will notice I did mention retrace our steps, it was like a whole new walk for Plym who claimed she had never been on the path before. Arriving back at the car, now hot and sweaty after the climb, we were able to shed the warm clothing we had needed when we had set off . Mike, who has taken to carrying a thermometer on the walk, was saying the the temperature had risen to 16 degrees, perfect for walking. The route now follows the road towards Castáras for about 500 metres before picking up another track heading straight down hill to the charming village of Notáez. So isolated, it has only one foreigner living there, an Irish man called Eddey. The walk was like being on a big dipper as the path now headed back up the hillside to the village of Castáras where we stopped for lunch. The next village along the route is Nieles, unfortunately there is no footpath so you have to walk by the side of the road, only 2 cars passed us, so it was not really a problem. We came across an unusual sight in this corner of of Spain of an old chimney winding its way up the hillside, further investigation revealed that they used to mine Corderoite here and from this mineral they were able to extract Mercury.
Arriving in Nieles it was like stepping back into history, with the very narrow streets and  small village house with the animal sheds underneath. It was time to turn around and head back to the car, we kept to the road most of the way to save us having to climb up and down the hillside.
We stopped off in Torvizcon on the way back for a look at Santa Claus and a beer, he must have been having harsh words with his Elf, because he was not in a jovial mood. So we did not wish him Merry Christmas.
A very good walk as far as Castáras, a shame about the road section afterwards.



On the walk Graham, Mike, Kees, Plym, Ray and myself.

Distance on GR142 11.77 km, ascent 1116 metres, total distance 20.8 km.
Total on GR142 41.57, Total walked 69.8 km. Total ascent  3577 metres.

Section 2 Orgiva -Busquister

15 November 2011
With the weather forecast predicting a clear but cool day we decided once again to forgo the heights of Sulayr and continue our walk along the lower GR142.
The second 24 km section runs from Orgiva to Busquister and we intended to catch the bus back. The best way to walk when you are relying on the bus for part of the journey is to catch it out and walk back, and then you are not worrying about arriving at the bus stop in time. Graham would have none of this, as it would be a down hill walk, not something mountain men and women do.
With an early 8 am start from Orgiva we set off through the town, we had only gone a few hundred metres before Graham slipped on a piece of paper and ended up on his back. Fortunately nothing was broken, and he was picked up and dusted down and off we set again. The path was along a quiet road for 6 km, running up the fertile valley of the Rio Tevelez. It was amazing to see plants still flowering that have long since died back for winter up in Lecrin. Eventually the path leaves the road, with no sign posts we missed the turning at first as it looked like access to someones garden. It was the usual thing, where there is a turning or junction there is no sign, on straight sections where a blind man on a dark night could find the path there are posts and markers every 10 metres.
This is another area we have never explored, but it was isolated and stunning with the deep valleys and snow covered mountains. It had rained the night before and we could look down into the fast flowing Rio Trevelez, I hoped there would be a bridge across it as I did not fancy wading across. The bridge, when we eventually got down to the river, was a narrow metal foot bridge. I did not think anything of it, and was surprised to find Mike at the other side with his knees trembling, seemingly it had taken nerves of steel to walk across it. The drop into the river was 1.5 metres!
My nightmare came two minutes later when a gun toting farmer jumped out from behind a treeI I was just about to put my black belt self defence training into practice with a flying kick and vicious assault to his body when I realised it was a scarecrow. Scarecrows don’t normally scare me, but out of the corner of my eye, I swear I saw him raise his gun and point it to towards me.  
The hard part of the walk was looming, there was no way out of the valley except up. This was the 686 metre climb we had all been looking forward to, it was going to test our fitness level. Fortunately it was well graded, a 11 degree inclined path that we completed with just one water stop along the way. The fitness level of the group is amazing compared to 12 months ago.
At the top we had reached the point of no return and so we stopped to admire the views back down the valley and to take a well earned break. It was now shorter to continue along the path to Busquister than return to Orgiva, and we also had plenty of time to catch the bus.
Parts of this next section we have done on our Sunday walks, but it such a spectacular valley that it is no hardship to repeat it again, and besides you pass the fizzy water fountain in Ferreirola along the way, just one sip and you can feel the benefits. As you approach Busquister, and just when you think you have completed all the climbing for the day, there before you is the steepest section of the walk up into the village. With just enough strength left we staggered into the nearest bar for beer and tapas. We had plenty of time to stroll up to the bus stop for the 4.15 bus.
Mike amused us all by standing in the middle of the road trying to stop every coach that passed by. He was desperate not to miss it because he was going on holiday in the morning and did not fancy spending the night in the Alpujarras.
Plym was desperate to find a gift shop to get a birthday present for her dear old mum, she had had 60 years to find something, she also was flying out in the morning. At 4 pm in the afternoon there was not a lot open in Busquister.
Rene was desperate to earn the €1.84 bus fare, she had stuffed a pair of socks in her pocket instead of her purse.  
It had been another great walk full of surprises.
Can I say a great big thank you to you all for the fantastic relief map, it’s a great present and a mine of information. I can already see new routes that need exploring, can someone please slow the world down so we have enough time to do everything.  

On the walk Graham, Mike, Kees, Plym, Rene, Mark, Ray and myself.

Distance on GR142 22.8 km, ascent 1376 metres, total distance 23.6 km.
Total on GR142 29.8,
Total walked 49 km. Total ascent  2461 metres.

Section 1 Lanjarón to Orgiva

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.