15 April 2024 – Parcent to Murla

 

We had planned to meet in Parcent and to walk along the pipeline to Alcalali

On Sunday there was a major fire between Tarbena and Parcent

However by the time it had become a major fire it was too late to change the walk

We did consider whether to cancel the walk, but decided to wait and see

This morning it looked quite clear, though the fire was ongoing on the other side of the mountain

There was a smell of burning in Parcent, so we decided to walk to Murla instead of the pipeline to Alcalali

It remained cloudy throughout the walk, though no smell or taste of smoke

And the further we went from Parcent the clearer the air

There has been a lot of work on the river, clearing and laying black plastic sheeting to get rid of the undergrowth and bamboo

Not sure what this was about, perhaps Jan thought she was on the airstrip on Cocoll

We were very impressed at the amount of work which has been done on the abandoned restaurant

It has become a ruin since it was closed in 2008

But it looks like it is being renovated and hopefully will open again as a restaurant in the near future

There were 15 of us today

This included one new member, Gary, on his first walk

And also one guest, Richard, who is a resident and who hopefully will become a member

I was expecting it to be very hot, as the weather forecast was 27c

But the morning was surprisingly pleasant, with a gentle breeze

However it did heat up during the walk back to Parcent

And we could smell, and taste, the smoke as we neared the end of our walk

Perhaps because of this everyone joined us for a drink at the cooperativa

Despite the heat, and the fire, a very enjoyable walk

Temperature – 18 to 26c

Time taken –3 hours

Distance – 9 km

14 April 2024 – Major fire Tarbena to Col de Rates

 

About 3pm we noticed this large, thick column of smoke above Col de Rates

A major fire had started about noon between Tarbena and Col de Rates

It was started by someone who had pruned their trees and then set fire to the resulting waste.

Within an hour the restaurant at Col de Rates had been closed and everyone told to leave

By 6pm there was dense smoke throughout the valley and we could see flames on the Col de Rates

170 people were told to leave their homes, including 50 on Col de Rates and in Parcent

We were surprised that we could see, or hear very little air activity.   Just  one plane and a couple of helicopters who seemed to be watching for signs that the fire was spreading.   None had water containers below them.  But of course there could have been a lot of activity behind the mountain

The blood red sun looked like a very bad omen

At 10pm there were two areas of blazing fire on the Parcent side of Col de Rates.   The planes stopped at  8pm, but there were a lot of blue lights at  the mirador, and a steady stream of vehicles with flashing blue lights making their way up the mountain

This photo appeared on Facebook about 1800.  It was taken above  Denia and shows how thick the smoke from the fire was

This shows the area of the fire, but clearly it moved some distance to the right towards Col de Rates.

8 April 2024 – Jalon to Alcalali Mirador

 

 15 of us on today’s walk

This included a new couple Rob and Mandy

And also Pam’s daughter Kara

It was a comfortable 23c with a light breeze

But cloudy with a thick haze

It was warm enough for everyone to be in shirt sleeves

And most in shorts

We made good time to our banana stop at Alcalali mirador

Where everyone was busy chatting and in no hurry to get going again

It was good to have a slightly smaller than usual group

Which allowed the new members to mix in more easily

The membership has increased considerably since January

We now have 44 members, exactly half resident and half non resident

Fortunately only small number of non residents have visited at the same time

And quite a few residents are unable to walk each week

So we have managed to keep numbers reasonable on each walk

We had our after walk drink at bar Claudia this week

It was less busy than expected and we could all sit together

Nice to see the group mixing so well, despite the new members

Temperature – 18 to 24c

Time taken –3 hours

Distance – 9 km