I would usually be writing this article in my house in Casas Nuevas, looking across the blossom of the almond trees towards the Sierra Espuña. Instead I am 11,075 km away (as the crow flies) in Puerto Madryn, Northern Patagonia, Argentina looking out on the South Atlantic Ocean. It’s definitely not walking weather. It’s southern hemisphere summer and tomorrow will be 35°C. It also means I haven’t done any of the WARM walks, so I will be relying on our group members who have posted on Facebook.
It has been a pretty lean month with cancellations due to weather, illness and important appointments. The weather seems to be improving as is the Achilles tendon of one of our walk leaders. In fact there were no SWARM walks and WARM managed two, both starting in different parts of Cehegin.
On an entirely different note, the minds of some of our members are turning to slightly different challenges. One person is thinking about the camino from Orihuela to Caravaca de la Cruz in Murcia (118km). Someone else is thinking about another; the Camino Ingles from Ferrol to Santiago de Compostela; definitely not in Murcia. Meanwhile Chris, my husband and I are doing the Camino Ingles (118km too) and we start walking on 25th April and should arrive in Santiago on his 70th birthday. Wish us luck. Buen camino.
Back to the walks. The 25th February was the day Patricio and Daishin led a walk along the northern slope to the summit of Peña Rubia. It started and finished on the Via Verde. We use a scale for walks and this one was Effort 4, Agility 3, Vertigo 3. 5 is the hardest. You can see from the photos that the effort was worth it. Patricio does like to get people to really stretch their legs.
On 11th March the team of Allen, Sue and Jane came to the rescue again, filling a gap in the programme. In contrast this was, on paper, a more gentle walk, but as the temperatures hit 26°C, the shade of the pine trees was very welcome. Our members back in the UK were very envious, as many of them had woken up to snow. This walk was originally our first of the season back in September, but had to be quickly rerouted due to heavy rain. This walking season has had us walking in some crazy conditions.
The season is drawing to a close with April’s walks highlighted below. For people who do the WARM walks, there are some challenging and interesting and new walks to finish the programme, including Monte Arabi up near Yecla. A visit to a winery could be on the cards. I’m not allowed to advertise, but discovered a very nice wine recently. The organic Monastrell is very tasty and we discovered it at a SWARM walk earlier in the season.
April Walks
WARM
Saturday 1st La Facarola
Saturday 8th Salmerón
Saturday 15th El Valle
Saturday 22nd Rio Chicamo
Saturday 29th Monte Arabi
SWARM
Wednesday 19th Bullas
Wednesday 26th Cehegín
If you would like details of our walks please email warm2005@gmail.com