11 October 2024 – Monday Ramblers Monthly Meal

 Our second lunch was at the Pensionista in Jalon

There were 27 of us, a few more than last month

Gary has taken on the role of organising these meals

He does so by means of a WhatsApp on which all members are included

Two weeks before the meal he posts the location and time of the next meal

Those who want to attend then have one week to reply

He then books the meal and confirms who is attending

I don’t have a smart phone, so we use Jan’s phone

This means that I am not always up to date on what is happening

This can cause a problem if we have a new member

Or indeed if an existing member ignored my email telling everyone about the WhatsApp group

Two new members, Lorraine and Adrian, wanted to join this meal

But when Gary contacted the bar they did not want to increase the numbers

This quite surprised me, I would have thought that they would welcome more customers

But apparently not

We will have to stick to restaurants that cater for larger groups in future

Of course that will only be a problem if numbers remain the same, or increase.

7 October 2024 – Jalon to Alcalali Ermita

24 walking today

Robin and Sandra were the only non residents

There are 28 current resident members

Fortunately not all of them want to walk at the same time

The numbers have particularly increased since we started our summer walks in June

Fortunately most walk every week, so all know each other and get on well together

So we have increased our preferred maximum from 16 to 20 on each walk

We almost cancelled today’s walk because the forecast was 31c

However it was also forecast to be cloudy and moderate humidity

So we decided to do the planned walk, but in reverse

This meant we would do any steep sections at the start of the walk

It also meant that it would be easier walking on the return journey

We were pleasantly surprised to find it was not as hot as expected

Most of the group sat outside at the picnic tables at the Ermita

Very pleased with this photo, though the focused foreground was luck rather than skill

Fortunately Jan remembered to distribute the sweeties this week

We had a water stop every half hour

And fortunately there was quite a lot of shade, particularly before our picnic stop

More exposed on the walk back to Jalon

And of course the later it got the warmer it got

Though these three don’t seem to be too bothered

Despite the heat we made very good time

And we were in the bar by 1215

Everyone enjoyed the walk and the cold drink at the end even more so

Temperature – 25-29c

Time Taken – 3 hours

Distance – 9.5 km

30 September 2024 – Lliber River Walk

Lovely morning for what should be the last of this year’s summer walks

It was chilly enough for some to wear jumpers at the start of the walk

There were 23 of us today

This included Deb and Phil, who last walked about a year ago

And Robin and Sandra who last walked in April

As always it is lovely to see our UK based friends again

On the other hand it was Barry and Linda’s last walk this visit

Fortunately they plan to return in a month or so

Once again there were many more than our ideal maximum of 16 walking

The membership has grown gradually and most residents walk every week

Most of the non residents have walked with us for some time, and also walk every week when they are here

So it would be really hard to refuse any of them a walk when they are available

In previous years the membership numbers have varied throughout the year

And no doubt it will be the same this year

But in the meantime it is lovely to be able to walk with so many friends

When everyone knows each other there is no problem with cliques or groups within the group

And with valley walks not much danger of anyone getting separated and lost

However I do still need a “back marker” so that I can check as necessary

We warned the bar before we started that there would be a large group at 1200

Fortunately there was plenty of space

Though it is a shame that we cannot all sit together at one long table

The bar has a strict no moving tables, because they are on blocks due to the steep slope of the square.

Temperature – 16 to 25c

Time taken –3 hours

Distance – 9 km