Sunday, 22 November 2015

19 November 2015 – Bolulla Castle


We had a good turnout of nine for David and Rosemary’s last walk before they return to the UK for Christmas.   We were particularly pleased that Sylvia and Ken (from our Monday Group) joined us today.
We had our first water stop opposite this rock formation, and there was some discussion about what different sections looked like.   Everyone could see the “man of the motor cycle”.   But the elephant and the rabbit were not so easy to spot.  But it was a good excuse for a break from walking
When we reached the end of the valley Ken and Jan could not resist adding to the cairn, and in doing so destroyed it
The rest of the group appeared fascinated by this exhibition, and particularly Kens attempt to rebuild the cairn
This was followed by the short, but steep, climb up to the meadow at the top
After walking through the narrow valley it was nice to be out in the open again
We had our banana stop on a convenient dry stone wall, with excellent views to the coast
Then it was downhill for the next hour on a rocky path which did not allow the luxury of admiring the impressive views
We arrived at the foot of Bolulla Castle half an hour early for our picnic.   So there was some discussion about whether we should climb up to the castle or not.  Having done so once or twice in the past, neither Jan nor I were tempted to do so.


Mike had not climbed up to the castle before, and wanted to do so.  He was joined by our own A Team consisting of David, Peter and Ken.   Leaving their haversacks with us they set off for the castle.
Our more relaxed B Team settled down to an extended lunch break without any apparent sense of guilt at not tackling the climb to the castle
The climb to the castle is about half an hour, and our energetic A Team managed it in less than that
They were rewarded with the satisfaction of getting there, and a photo to prove that they did indeed reach the top
The B Team turned their backs on the climbers and enjoyed their picnic and the views
The return journey, which included a water stop, was uneventful.   It was also longer than I had anticipated.   I always consider this a shorter than normal walk, but today it took us 5 ½ hours.   The combined elevation was 390 metres for the whole group, and 509 metres for the A Team.

Thursday 26 November 2015
Next week will be The Aerials from Benimeli.  

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