22 February – Tormos Isbert Dam

Sunny morning, but cold enough to wear a jacket

We normally do this walk as part of the longer Tormos to Campell walk

But it is also one of our favourite short summer walks

We have done this walk many times, but it is a long time since we did it on our own

There are advantages of walking alone, but it does not make up for the buzz of walking in a group

The other thing we missed was visiting the bar at the end of the walk

But of course all bars in Spain are currently closed, except for take away

The current restrictions are due to be revised at the end of this month

There is some speculation that bars will be allowed to open for outside trade 

But at least we can walk together when we want, so things could be a lot worse

We enjoyed the walk, which is full of memories of happier days

Stats

Time taken – 3 hours

Distance – 9 km

Temperature – 9-15c

19 February – Alt d’Ample (Dead Dog)

 

Sunny and warm for our first hill walk since December

We were concerned to find the path blocked with a chain and this new sign 

I have always understood this popular walk to be a long distance path (yellow and white signs) so we carried on 

We soon had to jump off the path to allow this mountain biker (and his four friends) to pass, obviously they do not regard the track to be private either!

We were ready for a break when we reached our usual “banana stop”

Good weather for walking, but very hazy so not so good for photographs

 

By the time we reached the well we had passed a group of three walkers, and two hill runners

Jan found a heart shaped rock for her large collection, fortunately it was small and easy to carry.

This part of the walk is level and open, with lovely views

We had planned to have our picnic at the hut, but there were already a couple there

So we climbed up to our usual picnic site

Very quiet here and we could watch the steady stream of walkers below, including a family group with young children

We also had  lovely views to the coast

And also of the Jalon Valley below

We rejoined the path for the winding downhill section where you have to watch every step

At one point the track was blocked by a couple of fallen trees, but we managed to get past ok

 A very enjoyable walk, though our aching legs reminded us that we had not done any hill walking for too long 

Stats

Time taken – 5 hours

Distance – 11 km

Total Ascent – 415 metres

Temperature – 9-19c

16 February – Jalon Almond Blossom

Sunny morning for our second almond blossom walk this year

Once more it was very quiet during the first part of the walk

We walked up the road to the col de rates, then did our detour to the pipeline

We met four young girls following a route on their mobile phone there

It started to get busy as we made our way down to the Alcalali ermita

 

It is usually very quiet there, but not today

Another group of four men there, obviously not following the guidelines not to meet anyone outside your household

The picnic tables were well spaced ensuring the required social distance rules

Quite a few people passed as we had our picnic, and all were wearing face masks

It got even busier on the road back to Jalon where we passed Richard and Brenda

The blossom is starting to fade, and it will not be long before we return to our usual very quiet valley

Another very enjoyable walk, but a shame we could not visit a bar at the end as they are all closed.

Stats

Time taken – 3 hours

Distance – 9 km

Temperature – 9-19c

10 February – Almond Blossom

For the past few years we have done this walk twice each year, once with our Monday group and again with the Thursday group.

Last year we had fourteen on the Monday, and fifteen on the Thursday.

So it felt really strange, and just a little sad, to be doing it on our own this year.

 We were fortunate to have a clear and sunny day, which showed the blossom at their best and made for good photographs

We had our banana stop at the font in Parcent, which we had all to ourselves

The current coronavirus restrictions means that we are not allowed to meet with anyone outside our household.

So we were surprised, and disappointed, to pass a walking group of eight leaving Parcent.

Each year more almond trees are removed due to the blight, and this year the more fields of bloom have disappeared.

It is still possible to find lovely views, but the previous wide spread views have largely disappeared

We had our picnic lunch at the Alcalali mirador, which we had all to ourselves.

Being on our own we had more time to admire the views and appreciate what a lovely spot this is

Between Alcalali and Jalon there were a lot of people doing their own blossom walk.   This section is probably the most popular at this time of year

 
It is not required to use face masks when walking in the campo, but everyone we met put them on as we passed.

We left the “crowds” behind when we did our almond blossom extension.   Not only quiet, but also some of the best views of the blossom on the while walk.

It was very different walking on our own, but still very enjoyable and we had a lovely day. 

 Stats

Time taken – 5 hours

Distance – 14 km

Temperature – 14-24c