20 September 2021 – Alcalali to Parcent Circular Walk

10 of us on today’s walk

First time we have started from Alcalali, but parking at “chickenshacks” in Parcent is now very difficult due to fly tipping

We seem to have found a new “cat lady”

19c at the start of the walk, summer must be coming to an end

Mind it did rise during the walk, and was the same as last week by the end

We had our banana stop at the font in Parcent

But to get there we walked through the village

This gave me an opportunity to show the group the large parking area

Not many non-residents know it is there, and it is not the easiest place to find or direct others to

But we may have to use it in future if the chicken shacks are closed for good.

We were not prepared for the steep climb up to Alcalali village square

But the much needed cold drink made it worthwhile

Confirmation for Barry that not only did we not get lost this week, we also finished on time.  In fact the church bells were ringing midday as we reached the car

Stats

Time taken – 3 hours

Distance – 11 km

Temperature – 19c to 26c

13 September 2021 – Parcent Circular Walk

16 of us on today’s walk

This is probably as many as we would want on any walk

It was cloudy today and more comfortable than last week

We had two new members walking with us today

They were a Dutch couple called Marlies and Franc

Paul and Chris also joined us for the first time since the summer break

 David asked me about our wargame, and I bored him with too much information during our banana break.

Gary and Tina are still in “holiday mode” and we are very impressed at how many restaurants and bars they visit each week.

Despite the recent new members everyone seems to be getting on really well and the banter was very good

There has been a lot of work done on the river banks at this part of the walk, including a new system of tracks

I was a little concerned, but fortunately had my satnav to help me find the right direction

With such a large group we will need a back marker on the longer and more complicated walks

We had frequent water stops because of the heat, and you can see that everyone seemed to be enjoying the walk

The only time it was quiet was when we crossed the field with the bee hives

Not surprising the three rivers we crossed were completely dry

We have now done this walk half a dozen times, and I am more confident even in the difficult parts

Consequently I was chatting too much, and not paying attention to where we were going

Until we reached a road and I realised I had missed a turn

Everyone was most amused, and particularly Barry

It was nice for everyone to be able to sit together in the Parcent cooperativa

Walking back to the car we passed this very friendly little fellow.  I am not sure whether he is a boar, but he was certainly not “wild”.   More like a friendly little puppy,.

Stats

Time taken – 3 hours

Distance – 9 km

Temperature – 21c to 26c 

6 September 2021 – Jalon Circular Walk

A very good turnout of 14 for our first walk after the summer break

It was so nice to see so many old, and one new, friends after such a long break.

It’s always nice to welcome a new member, and this week was Jeanie

It was also nice to see David and Sandra on their first visit to Spain since Covid lockdown in March 2020

And of course Barry and Linda are always welcome when they are in Spain

I injured my back during the week, and feared I might have to miss today’s walk

But thanks to a few day’s rest, and a couple of painkillers I was able to walk

In fact I hardly noticed it during the walk

Though I might do tomorrow

It was a pleasant 20c when we met in Jalon for the start of the walk

But had risen to 30c before we reached the bar at the end

Though we hardly noticed with all the chat and banter going on

However the cold drink in Claudia’s bar at the end was particularly welcome

Stats

Time taken – 3.5 hours

Distance – 10 km

Temperature – 20c to 30c

Our Covid Experience – So Far

 

12 March 2020 – last pre covid walk

I was asked to write an article for the Vall del Pop September Newsletter.   Obviously nothing much has been happening with our walking group since the last newsletter in June.  So I decided to do a short summary of the group during the covid crisis.   This has prompted me to do something similar here on the blog.  

It’s been a funny old 18 months since the joys of covid 19 and lockdowns was introduced in March 2020.   Lucky we did not know then that the temporary measures introduced to deal with the emergency would last almost two years.

As individuals we managed pretty well, all things considered.  However it was a disaster for the group.   Our last pre covid walk was on 12 March 2020.  There were 15 of us on that walk.   We had a membership of 34, but managed to keep most  walks to a maximum of 16.   it was a lovely sunny Thursday morning as we walked from Castells.   Covid 19 was something that was happening in China and Italy.   The next day Valencia declared a state of emergency and our world changed.

2 June 2020 – first walk after lockdown

For almost three months we were under house arrest here in Spain, only allowed to leave the house for medical or urgent food shopping.   Not until June were we allowed to leave the house together, and then must remain within 1km.   What a joy on 2 June 2020 to be able to walk freely in the valley once again.  We would spend the rest of the month doing recce for our planned September summer walks.

3 September 2020 – first group walk after lockdown

It would be another three months before we could meet as a group once again, and then we would have to wear face masks even in the campo.   There were ten of us on that walk, the maximum allowed to meet together.   Despite this it was lovely to meet up with old friends and to enjoy walking as a group again.

28 December 2020 – last walk before Christmas

For the next three months we met each week, and life seemed to be getting back to normal, even if we did have to wear face masks in towns and villages.   However we had lost almost all of our pre covid membership.   About half lived in the UK, and none had returned to Spain for visits.  The other half simply did not want to meet to walk.   But we did recruit a lot of new members, and most walks had the maximum of ten allowed.   It was cold and grey for the last walk before Christmas, but still great to be able to get out and about.

29 March 2021 – first walk after lockdown

On Sunday 3 January 2021 all groups were banned and we had to cancel our planned first walk of the year.   This lockdown was not as bad as the first one.   We were allowed to exercise freely, but only with family members.   In late march the restrictions were relaxed and we were allowed to meet with another couple, limited to a maximum of four.

12 April 2021 - first Monday Group walk since lockdown

In April numbers allowed to meet were increased to six, and we organised our first Monday Ramblers walk since December.   It was not difficult to restrict numbers on each walk, there were rarely more than four wanting to walk.   It was disappointing that none of our pre covid group wanted to walk again.   I am sure that they all have good reasons, not least that many still consider it dangerous to meet with non family members.  But it is a shame just the same.   Fortunately we had managed to recruit new members before Christmas, and enough of them wanted to walk to make it worthwhile to keep the group going.

17 May 2021 - numbers increased to ten

In May groups were increased to ten and it felt like we were finally getting back to normal.   This is a good size and suits us well.   It is enough to feel like a group, but small enough for everyone to mix freely.   By now all of the new members had settled in and it felt like a group again. 

All of the pre covid members we had lost has belong to the Thursday Explorers, so we did not try to restart that again.   There were four of the previous group who would have liked to walk, but did not want to do the shorter Monday walks.   However we felt we had to concentrate on building up the Monday group first

 28 June 2021 – last walk before summer break

There were twelve on our last walk before the summer break.   This included Barry and Linda, the only UK residents to walk with us since the original lockdown.   They have visited Spain a couple of times since lockdown, and have walked with us each time.   Everyone seemed to enjoy the walk, and all confirmed that they would be walking again in September.

So we have survived covid 19 restrictions, at least so far.   We are now planning what to do in the future.   We hope to do our usual three hour summer walks in September.   It is usually still quite warm, but manageable, in September.  We meet at 0900 for a gentle three hour valley walk and aim to get to the bar by midday and before the hottest part of the day.  

We have no idea how many members will want to walk in September.   It is not unusual to lose some members after the long summer break.    We want to restrict each group to no more than 12.   Those members we have met during the summer break indicate that they want to do the summer walks.   I am hoping for a good response from my U3A newsletter article, so hopefully we will be OK. 

In the longer term we plan to reduce our group walks to one a week.   Most existing members already walk on Monday, so we will suspend the Thursday Explorers.   However we still prefer the longer Thursday walks to the shorter Monday ones.   So we will offer a wider range of walks on Monday.   No doubt we will lose some of those members who only want to do morning walks.   But hopefully we will be able to build up the membership again soon.

We are really pleased that we are approaching the end of the hot July and August weather.   It has seemed longer than usual because we have not had our usual family visits this year.   We have not been back to the UK since December 2019, and the family have not been out here since August 2019.   We are hoping to get back to the UK for Christmas this year.   But no firm plans at present as restrictions seem to change day by day.

Hopefully we will be back to walking as normal soon, with the first walk planned for Monday 6 September 2021.