Pedro la Torre, Alora - Saturday 27th may 2017

Back in November last year this particular route was 'tested' by the Thursday group and they came back with very good reports, so it was placed onto the Saturday schedule and was finally walked this weekend. A large part of the route is along river beds which normally are dry, as was the case when the Thursday group did it. However a week after they walked the route heavy rains came and the river became a torrent, and quite surprisingly the final stretch of the route still had water flowing, albeit quite shallow, but still required careful crossing to avoid wet feet.

The walk starts in the shadow of the huge viaduct that carriers the AVE train line a very modern feature that is in stark contrast to the millennium years old landscape. The river bed winds at a noticeable incline through the valley that it has forged over the millennium and is now a main access route for the many fincas that are dotted around the hillsides. The banks of the riverbed are lined with Oleander which are currently in flower and form a colourful avenue. After a while of walking along the river we leave it and start the walk across the hills on the access tracks to the many properties that are scattered, the first of which is the finca that the route is named after, Pedro la Torre.

The track takes a steady incline out of the valley and into the hills, passing through Olive ans Almond plantations and several plantations of grape vines are visible on the southern facing slopes. From these track the views are magnificent across the Guadalhorce valley to the mountains around El Chorro and El Torcal beyond.

A welcome break is taken in the shade of the Almond trees at the highest point of the walk, where we were able to take in refreshments and the incredible all-round views.
Our route then starts our steady downward route back the the river, but first we cross two important man-made features, the first of which is the AVE train line which was completed only a few years ago and carries the high speed train from Malaga to Madrid. The second feature is the Acequia or Irrigation canal that carries water from the area know as 'the Lakes' to be distributed into the smaller canals and then pipes, feeding the many fields and plantations with the water so much needed.

We then cross the main road and follow a dry stream bed that feeds into the main river and when we reach the river we find that there is still a stream of water flowing. Some large stones were dropped into the water to form stepping stones and everyone was able to cross with dry feet. This river bed was followed to the end of the route and we had to cross the water stream some 15 or so times. During the final stages of the route we came to an ancient stone built bridge that we had to pass under and a little further on we passed under the massive modern concrete structure of the viaduct that carries the railway. A poignant contrast of the past and the future.



Our journeys end was only a few more metres along the riverbed, now totally dry, and in the welcome shade of the Eucalyptus trees.

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Torrecillo - May 2017

Six intrepid souls from the Thursday Rebels group decided to tackle the 1919 mtre high peak of Torrecillo, which is the highest peak in the Malaga region. Unfortunately my health no longer allows me to tackle this type of hike, and the excursion was lead by John Milborrow, and here is his report.

Well that is one tick off the bucket list. Topped out Torrecilla the highest peak in the Malaga province.

After driving to Area Recreativa De Quejigales you start with a short walk up a service road then you turn into La Canada del Cuerno a very scenic ravine which was full of spring flowers and start climbing zig zagging through a forest of Spanish pines (Pinosapo) for 3 kms gaining 400 meters to above the tree line, that took about 1 hour 30 mins. The next 3.5 kms this took 1 hour 20 mins and is a bit more gentle up and down passing many gnarly very ancient Gall Oaks,
Dolines (caves) a restored Snow well and a shrine to the Virgin of the Snows. Then you are confronted by the final accent of the mountain 800 meters elevation in 800 meters, this took about an hour. Route finding is difficult on a 45 degree slope but the views from the top are fantastic, on a clear day you can see the Sierra Nevada’s (Granada) the African coast, Gibraltar and as far as the eye can see inland.

Time for lunch and lots of photos then it’s back the way we came, I was glad I had a walking pole on the gravelly scramble down, at the bottom there is the Fuente de los Pilones very handy for a refreshing splash. On the way back we noticed many other paths including the one from Yunquera which we may try if we do this all over again. Eventually we all got back to the cars, with no injuries yippee, but all feeling pretty tired after a tough walk of over 15 kms taking more than 7 hours including breaks but it was definitely worth the effort. 

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Refugio de Juanar 'Walking for Wellness'

The weather today was almost perfect for this walk to a most picturesque area in the mountains above Marbella.
The route to the start of the walk is also a delight as the road winds it's way on the valley side for 5km until it reached the entrance to the Refugio and the Parado Hotel, where apparently Franco used to stay on his visits to this area.
From where the cars are parked we take the track that winds it's way through the wood until we reach the path that takes us to the first of the miradors (viewing point) that overlooks the Pueblo Blanco of Ojen. After lingering awhile to take in the wonderful views we then continue through the pine woods and back to the main track which we take to the second mirador. This mirador is the one that overlooks Marbella and has a view to the North African coastline and Atlas Mountains. There should be the imposing sight of a lifesize bronze sculpture of an Iberian Stag on a rock above the mirador, but apparently some mindless idiots removed it and tossed it down the bank. It is now in a workshop in Marbella being repaired.
We took a break for refreshments and to admire the views and then headed back along the track that we had come on until we reached the path that eventually takes one to the top of La Concha. We leave that particular path and head into the pine woods that make up the banks of the Arroyo de Juanar. We follow this, occasionally crossing the arroyo which fortunately was dry, until we arrive back at the start point.
A very pleasant route with plenty to see, and a good turnout of 25 for the walk.

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Sponsored Half Marathon Hike - Saturday 06th may 2017

This would be the second year of doing a longer hike and raising money for charity, and was originally planned for the last Saturday in April (as last year) but the weather forecast got progressively worse as the wee went on. The decision had to be made on the Friday to cancel, and it was the right decision as it rain for most of the night and on the Saturday, also the route was in cloud, not only would it have been uncomfortable but downright dangerous. The hike was rescheduled for the following Saturday and the forecast was for fine dry and warm weather, which turned out to be spot on.

The unfortunate consequence of having to change the date was that people already had other arrangements and in fact we lost 9 walkers due to the change. Last year was our first attempt and we saw where improvements could be made and this year we ended up with 19 walkers against the 15 the previous year. Last year we managed to raise €2400 for S.O.S. Animals and I really wanted to equal or better that figure this year. Instead of donating to only one charity I decided to spread it over 4 animal charities and hopefully hit more peoples interest.

The four charities selected were;

S.O.S Animals

A.I.D. Animals in Distress

ARCH Andalucian Rescue Charity for Horses

CHAIN Charity for Animals In Need

The route for the hike was to be almost the same as last year except that it would follow the marked route out of the Barranco Blanco valley instead of the very steep concrete road that we took last year. This made the incline a lot easier but added a couple of kilometres onto the total making it 22 km. The downside to this year, was that due to my health I would not be able to take part in the actual Hike.

The hikers met at the starting point, outside of the Sports Ground in Los Llanos, Coin and there to see them off, apart from myself, were some volunteers from S.O.S. Charity along with Rupert a gorgeous German Shepherd that needs a hip replacement and the money donated to this particular charity was to be used toward this operation which was €1000.

The hikers set off lead by Mr John Milborrow, who had the experienced back marker of Alan Kenah, who happened to be over on holiday and joined the hike.

In difference to last year we had a picnic organised to take place after the hike and two of our group members , Chris Milborrow and June Staton had offered to act as ‘caterers, and organised the food and drink and the other helpers. The hike took around 6 hours, and went without incident, and a good amount of supports turned to greet the hikers at the finish and to take part in the picnic. In addition to the food and drink sales there were a number of items donated for the raffle, the first prize of which was a Coffee and Walnut Cake made by John Staton and this was won by one of the hikers, Jay, who said that he only bought a raffle ticket to win the cake, and he did.

A supporter of A.I.D. donated an hand painted coat rack decorated with dogs, and this was auctioned off and raised €15 and a 7.5 litre bottle of Red Wine in a presentation box was donated by Keith Train and this was auctioned and raised €75.

All in all I was very pleased with how the day had gone, but of course there are always improvements to be made and tweaks to be had for next year.

I stated that my aim was to at least equal last year’s figure but preferably to better it and as it happens the final figure from this years Sponsored Hike for Charity was fantastic. All down to the effort of the hikers, the generosity of their sponsors, the hard work of the ‘caterers’ and the incredibly generous donations made by many kind and charitable people.

The Total Raised was      €3700

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Barranco Blanco Mirador - Walking for Wellness

Today was another outing for the walking for Wellness group and this time is was to the wonderful Mirador above Barranco Blanco outside of Coin.

The route starts from the parking area near the old studios where they used to record the soap Eldorado, these have no been turned over as a Paintballing Venue. We then take the track that lead to the road into the Finca la Fuenta area, which offers us magnificent views over the Guadalhorce valley and beyond.
After we cross the road we join the track that takes us to the Mirador and also the Fire Lookout post.
At the Mirador we break for refreshments and to admire the views across to the Sierra de Mijas and down to the coast.
We return along the same route, a round trip of about 7.4 kms.
We had a good turnout for todays walk and the weather was near perfect with light cloud and a gentle breeze.

Sponsored Half Marathon Hike - Saturday 06th may 2017

This was our second year to stage this event and raise some money for local charities, and this year I decided to split the donations between four, being S.O.S Animals, A.I.D Animals in Distress, ARCH Andalucian Horse rescue Charity and CHAIN Charity for Animals in Need.

I started planning this some weeks ago in an effort to raise as much money for these charities as possible and hopefully beat last year’s total of €2400.

Originally the hike was planned for Saturday 29^th April 2017, but that weekend was a complete washout, we had constant rain for almost three days, including all day on the Saturday. It would have been very dangerous to have attempted this hike in those conditions, so I had to cancel it for that weekend and re-schedule for the following Saturday. The one good thing to come out of that was that it gave everyone an additional week to get sponsorship.

The route for this year was only slightly different to last year in so far as it kept to the marked track up the first incline instead of taking the very steep road that we took last year, although it added an extra 2 kms onto last year’s distance it made life a little easier for the participants.

Because we had to postpone for a week it meant that 9 of the planned hikers were unable to undertake the challenge because they either had made other plans or had gone back to the UK. This was a bit of a worry initially but as it happens very little in the way of donations was lost thanks to the generosity of the sponsors.

Not only did we have the Hike planned but also a picnic afterwards along with a raffle and a small auction.

The hikers 19 hikers that were undertaking the route met up at the Los Llanos Sports Ground and were greeted by a couple of helpers from S.O.S Animals with Rupert, the lovely German Shepherd dog that needs a hip replacement and they will be putting their part of the money raised towards the cost of the operation which estimated at €1000.

The weather, in contrast to the previous week, was almost perfect, blue skies and sunshine but with a slight breeze.

The route took the group across the flat heathland and then into the woods until reaching the road that lead into the Barranco Blanco valley. This road winds through the woods and then into the open and drops into the valley until it crosses the Rio Alaminos with its waterfalls and ponds. From here the route starts to climb, snaking its way up to the fire track and passing through the newly growing flora and fauna that was so devastated just over three years ago in the massive fire that started in this area and swept all the way down to Marbella.

Once this incline is completed it’s then onto the fire track that winds its way around the side of the Cerro Negro. There was evidence of the recent heavy rainfall in the amount of land slips onto the track and the fact that many of the streams that last year were dry were now flowing strongly.

This part of the route is reasonably flat walking for about 10 kms and has the magnificent views over to the Sierra de Mijas and beyond as well as the views into the valley.

This section is followed by a section of rougher track that follows along the edge of the Dolomite quarry and gets progressively rougher as it approaches where the rain has washed away a lot of the surface exposing the rocks beneath. It then becomes a bit of a scramble over these rocks onto a narrow path that leads to the better surfaced service track above. Once onto this track it’s an easier walk downhill to the bottom where it emerges opposite the Cuidad del Airsoft, the Paintball venue that was once the studios where the defunked soap Eldorado was filmed.

The group then walk triumphantly along the kilometre long straight track that takes them to the finish at the Sports ground and a massive round of applause from all those who came to support them.

Many people turned up to congratulate the walkers and to take part in the picnic all of which was raising money for the charities. During the picnic we raffled the Cake that John Staton had made along with prizes that had been donated by S.O.S., A.I.D., and ARCH. John had been selling raffle tickets for some weeks and it had become a bit of a mantra now whenever we saw him. A huge bottle of wine was auctioned as was a beautiful hand painted coat rack. Also over the past few weeks John had been selling delicious free range eggs from his hens to the walkers on the weekly rambles and he donated the money from this to the overall fund.

A huge THANK YOU must go out to all those who did the hike and the ladies that did the catering, along with all those who contributed in any way whether by helping on the day or contributing raffle prizes.

Also thanks to John Milborrow for leading the hike as I am no longer able to undertake these type of walks.

And a special thanks to Alan Kennah who was over here for a weeks holiday and joined the walk and took on his old role as 'Tail End Charlie'.

Here is a provisional breakdown (rounded) of where the money came from, we will not know the exact figure for a few days as it is still coming in and some is coming from the Justgiving page that was set up by Laura Walklett which takes 10 days to transfer and depends upon the exchange rate at the time.

Sponsorship from the walkers                €2940

Profit from Food & Drink sales.              €130

Raffle for Cake and other prizes            €250

Auction of Coat rack                              €15

Auction of Bottle of Wine                       €75

Sale of eggs from John                         €100

Provisional amount raised              €3510

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