24 June 2024 – Parcent to Alcalali

 

This was our last walk before the summer break

There were 13 of us today

Which is pretty good for this time of year

Some members had visitors

Some has gone on holiday themselves

Some just found it too hot

In fact five missed this walk due to the heat

In fact the temperature was slightly lower than last week

It was also cloudy, and with a cool breeze

So it was really quite pleasant walking

And as always it was easier walking in a group

You get distracted by the chatter and company

So don’t notice the heat or distance so much

It was a local holiday today

So I was a little concerned that the Parcent cooperativa might be closed

Fortunately it was open and we could have our usual after walk drink

Someone suggested getting together during the summer break

It was agreed that we would start a WhatsApp group

It would be open to all members to make suggestions

Maureen agreed to set it up

Hopefully it will allow us to meet up for a drink or even a meal.

Temperature – 24 to 27c

Time taken –3 hours

Distance – 9 km

22 June 2024 – Happy Birthday

We had planned a very quiet day for my 80^th Birthday; no fuss just a nice fish and chip meal in Dockers in Jalon.

Stuart has asked us to make sure that we were home at 1030, when he would contact us on Face time so that the grandchildren could sing “happy birthday”.   He rang us on time, but said he had trouble connecting with Jack (his oldest).   We waited in the sitting room, with the front door open as it was so warm, for them to call back.   The three children connected and started to sing “happy birthday”.   This video shows what happened then.

They had driven 1511 from Rothbury to Parcent.  We had no idea that they planned the trip, and they booked a hotel so that they could make sure they would arrive at our house at exactly 1030.   They parked down the road and rang us to set up the call.   When the grandchildren rang, they walked up the road, through the open door and caught us listening to the children sing happy birthday.

They drove down in Michelle’s new car, a very yellow Porche.   This was also a surprise to us.   We had always thought of Michelle as the very level headed half of the marriage.   Stuart has always had a taste for flash cars, but Michelle had usually had something suitable to transport two large dogs and three children.

Apparently she fell in love with this beauty as soon as she saw it, and who could blame her.   Stuart took me, and then Jan, in a short drive around Parcent.    Quite a difference from our 12 year old Seat.

We now see Michelle in a completely different light

The four of us went to Dockers for my birthday meal.   Stuart insisted that we use my car; he didn’t trust the Rastro car park – even in the early evening

We were still coming to terms with the total surprise of their visit, but we all had a lovely meal.

They had booked their hotel to include Sunday night.   This was just in case we had planned something complicated for Saturday night without telling them.  So we had an extra day, and we went to Chino Imperial in Calpe – a firm favourite with all of the family.

We often go there for a family meal when they all visit in August, so the children know it well.   We were fascinated when Stuart contacted them on Facetime to discuss what we were eating and more important what they were missing.

As always we had a lovely meal there, and the staff made a fuss of us as they always do.   Over the years we have recommended The Imperial to most of our walking group, and they must have gained dozens of new customers as a result.  Not a single one has ever had a bad word to say about their visits.

Once more we had used our car to travel to Calpe, so we all returned to Parcent together.   We were all ready for an early night.   They had an early morning start on Monday, and we had an early start for our last Monday Ramblers walk before the summer break.

We had a lovely two days and a second to none special 80^th birthday.  

I am not sure if they realise that Jan will be 80 in September 2028 ..............

17 June 2024 – Jalon to Alcalali Ermita

Not only higher temperatures, but also direct sun today

Fortunately there is quite a bit of shade on this walk

We were approached by a dog without a collar at our first water stop

Pierre tried to give him some water, but the dog was too nervous to come close

 

However he did manage to give him some of his sandwiches

 

These three were not at all nervous, and were very happy to see us approach

It got very hot when we left the shelter of the trees

So we had a water stop each half hour, when we could find shade

 It was quite hard to ignore these two donkeys’

 Who are obviously used to being made a fuss of

The next part of the walk was very exposed

 But fortunately it was not far to our picnic at the Ermita

Plenty of shade and quite pleasant inside the naya

 

There was even a cool breeze sitting on the wall outside

Jan distributed the sweets

And we began the return journey at 12 noon, which was right on time

I expected this to be the hottest and most difficult part of the walk

So we had our regular half hour water stop

And a light breeze cooled us down as we approached Jalon

It’s easy to forget how pretty this part of the walk really is

Our two ducks from last week were waiting in the shade of the bridge

Someone suggested Riu Rau for our after walk drink

I like it because there is always lots of shade and plenty of space to rearrange the tables

But I was not aware that the group had arranged a special treat

With our drinks on the table the waitress brought out a large birthday cake

After a chorus of “happy birthday”

I was presented with a framed photo of Jan and me on a previous walk

Lynn expertly cut the cake into 16 portions

But somehow I ended up with an extra slice

We also each had a mini birthday cake which Barbara has made the night before

Temperature – 25 to 28c

Time taken –3 hours

Distance – 9 km