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Sunday, 25 March 2012
NEW LOCAL GEOCACHE - Cova del Diví
When the Moors (after 800 years of occupation) were finally banished from Spain in 1609, many of them believed that their expulsion was only a temporary measure and that they would soon be allowed to return. Because of this, and also because of the speed at which they were forced to leave, this meant that they had very little time to get themselves organized. As a consequence some of the wealthier Moors decided it would be safer and easier to hide their valuable possessions, which they would then be able to retrieve on their return, but as history tells us, this anticipated return never happened.
Over 150 years later, in the 1770s, a local Sella man and farm labourer went to the market in Alicante to sell his cherries. While taking refreshment at an inn, he overheard a conversation between two Moors who had just arrived from Algeria. They were studying and trying to make sense of a crude and ancient map. The Sella man however recognised the landscape drawn on the map straight away, it being of the area of his home town of Sella and in particular, the location of a cave situated in the Divino Mountain. The cave could be identified by the position of the sun's rays at 8 in the morning. The Sella man said nothing to the two Moors and hurried home. With his mule, he headed out to the location described on the map which, being a local, he knew very well - The Divino Cave. There, after a long search, he found it, a large wooden chest, the corner of which was just visible, as it lay hidden in the depths of the cave. The chest contained precious metals and stones of unimaginable value and the life of this humble farm labourer and more significantly those of his his children and grandchildren were changed forever.
So, the question today is, if you set out on a 21st Century treasure hunt, will you find a geocache, or just maybe you'll find some real treasure that was left behind all those years ago?
For more information at geocaching.com CLICK HERE
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Monday, 19 March 2012
Saturday, 17 March 2012
Puig Campana - Roldans Notch (El Tall de Roldán)
For as long as I care to remember whenever I have looked up at the Puig Campana mountain my focus has always been drawn to the notch and I have always said to myself, one day I'm going to stand in that bugger - well today was the day!
Terry Gifford and I left Sella at 08:30 this morning. Because we had pretty much no knowledge of the route, we had decided to carry a full climbing rack - just in case! This meant that we were both carrying packs that weighed in just short of 10Kg, which when you are just about to board a Ryanair flight feels heavy enough, let alone when you are about to do a total ascent of 1327m (4354ft)!
Map of the Route
Height Profile
We had perfect weather for our little excursion - blue sky and sunshine. We came up from the North side, parking just below the refuge. We then went up to the coll and then dropped back down into the gully for about 200m before starting our scramble (grade 2) up to the notch, which we reached 3 hours after leaving the car. We spent about half an hour in the notch which is an amazing place to be, it's sides towering about 200ft above you and stunning views towards the coast and then with a quick spin of the head equally stunning views inland. We returned by the same route which took about 2 and a half hours.
We don't know anyone else who has been into the notch but would be interested to hear from you if you have.
We don't know anyone else who has been into the notch but would be interested to hear from you if you have.
Me celebrating in the notch with a tot of brandy!
Terry feeling victorious!
Everest Conquered - Sort Of!
As you may know I have been monitoring my total 'total ascents' since the begining of the year (see: Total Ascent 2012) I am pleased to tell you that yesterday, 17 March 2012 at 10:03:21AM whilst walking on the Puig Campana this figure reached 29,035ft - the same height as Mount Everest!
Thursday, 15 March 2012
Geocache - Cova de L'Aigua
Eric, Leonard and I had a great walk today, up onto the Peña de sella then down to the Cova de L'Aigua (water cave) where we found the geocache. We then returned to the top of the Peña and continued with our circular walk. Oh, and Leonard is Mr. Leonard Cohen - he wasn't actually with us, but accompanied us via my iPod!
Saturday, 25 February 2012
Thursday, 23 February 2012
Sella - Val d'Arc - Divino - Peña de Sella - Cova de Agua - Sella
Map of Route
Height Profile
I
came across a couple of things last week that I thought were quite interesting,
the first is a Spanish word used to describe a hard challenging walk or track -
senderoextrem (sendero being a path or a track). The second was a local route
that I was not previously aware of - to the summit of the Divino mountain, but
starting in the Val d'Arc at the base of the mountain, as opposed to the top of
the Tagarina valley where we normally start from. So, I had a little chat with
my walking companion Eric, and after a bit of discussion we decided to try and
combine these two new learnings!
So,
our day started at 07:00 before the sun had even got out of bed. We walked out
of Sella heading off down the Val d'Arc, past the climbers refuge and at 08:00
we arrived at the point where we turned left off the main track and onto
unfamiliar territory and a narrow path that, in theory, would lead us up the
mountain to its summit which stood some 570m (1870 ft) above us. As we started
our ascent I was pleasantly surprised by how reasonably defined the path
actually was (I had expected nothing). On a few occasions it did seem to
disappear, but we may have actually wandered off it, before finding it again a
bit higher up. I'm not sure if it is a man path or a pig path, probably a
combination of the two. It was not long before we came across a short run of
scree that we had to ascend, but not too long or too difficult. Once we were
approximately three quarters of the way up the mountain, the vegetation gave
way to rock slabs that anyone who has walked on the Peña de Sella will be
familiar with, and this meant the going got slightly easier. It was now just a
question of enjoying the views, keep moving up and eventually and quite suddenly
both the summit and familiar territory came into view - 10 minutes later we
were on the top. As I sat looking at the view, Eric in meantime was looking at
a herd of deer that were traversing the mountain below us, fortunately he did
not give chase! Our ascent from the bottom of the valley to the top of the
mountain had taken just under one and a half hours.
We
now descended via the normal route to the Font de Alemany where we took on more
water before heading up onto the Peña de Sella. Once on the Peña, as we were
heading up to the first of the three ascents, Eric decided to take a slightly
different route, not unusual behaviour on his part, and I continued, expecting
to meet him at the top. Once on this first summit I waited, and called out to
Eric, and waited, and whistled and waited. I then started to retrace my steps,
calling and whistling but still no sign. I did a full circle, descending and
re-ascending, but alas nothing. I then repeated this circuit again continually
calling out to my companion (the gauge on my concernometer gradually getting
higher and higher). On my third sweep I finally spotted some movement below,
not however my companion, but at least a possible explanation - more deer
traversing the mountain. My suspicions were that he had either seen them or
picked up on their scent and gone off in pursuit, which meant that he could now
be absolutely anywhere, but hopefully not down a ravine. I continued my circuit
ending up back at my high point which gave me good views far into the distance,
but still no sign of my little white companion. So, my plan now was to return
to the font, thinking that after a 'chase' he may of returned there in search
of water. I was hoping the Spanish farmer who I had bid good morning to as he
tended his land just above the font on our way up was still there. As I
approached, I saw him talking with two other locals (both of whom I knew) so I
went over and made enquiries as to whether they had seen my dog? One of them
immediately asked if it was a small white one - 'yes, yes, white and brown' my
excited response, relief swept through me as he told me that he had seen Eric
down at the font. I thanked them and quickly continued on my way. As I went
round the next bend, who should be coming up in the opposite direction, my not
so faithful little friend! He was looking slightly sheepish, but apart from
that quite pleased with himself - I gave him a bit of a talking to, explaining
the risks of splitting up with no defined plan in place when high in the
mountains, my words were hard, but my tone was soft, I was so relieved to have
found him and that he was alright. So, bearing in mind that this unexpected
extension to the days walk had added nearly 2 hours we now had a choice,
abandon it and phone for a lift, or to continue? I knew that I had to walk back
up onto the Peña to get a signal on my phone so that gave me a few minutes to
make my decision. It was a perfect day, clear blue sky, the temperature was
around 20 degrees C. and in spite of the 2 hour 'dog hunt' the time was still
only 12:30 so, taking all that into account plus the fact that I don't like to
give up on an idea the decision was to continue.
We
made good time traversing the Peña and the only decision left to make was
whether to make our decent via a route we know well directly behind Sella, or
to continue with our original plan and descend via The Water Cave (Cova de
Agua), where the path has almost no definition, its a route that I don't know
well and one I knew would fall into the senderoextrem category!
The
descent to the cave went well, aided by red paint marks which lead the way and
fixed ropes in a few places, we arrived much quicker than expected. From the
cave there are no red paint marks to assist and it's not so much a question of
finding the safest route down, but more a question of finding the least
dangerous route down! However, we took our time and although on occasions I had
to assist Eric down some of the steeper sections, we eventually reached the
landmark that we had been aiming for, a lonely pine tree from where a path
leads you through the forrest to the road and back to Sella.
We
both slept very well that night!
Conclusions
- there are various routes from Sella up onto the Peña de Sella/Divino (5 that
I know of) all of them are challenging (some more than others) but reward you
with incredible views and a great sense of achievement. As far as routes back
down again, while it it possible to descend all of them, there are only 2 that
I would recommend. The first is get someone to meet you in the Tagarina valley
and come back down in a car! or if that's not possible or like me you would
consider that to be 'cheating' then the PRV 198 & 199 route directly behind
Sella that goes past the phone mast, is in my opinion the most defined, and
easiest route (that does NOT mean easy!)
MHS Feb 2012
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Monday, 20 February 2012
Almond Blossom Looking Good!
Anyone visiting Sella this week has timed it just right - the almond blossom around Sella is now at its best!
Sunday, 19 February 2012
Colera/Ruta de Agua Route
Met up with a couple of chums this morning while out walking the Colera/Ruta de Agua Route.
Saturday, 18 February 2012
New Geocache On Divino
Took Mabel for a bit of a walk this morning to one of my favourite places, the Divino Mountain. While we were there we sniffed out a new geocache that has bee hidden up there and then we posed for some photos on the tippy, tippy top! Eric
Friday, 17 February 2012
Following Atticus
Just finished reading Tom Ryans Book - Following Atticus. All about a man, a dog (miniature schnauzer), 48 mountains and their journey. Really enjoyed it, well done Tom & Atticus. (BIG 'wuff' from eric!)
Thursday, 16 February 2012
Bar Paco Closed
Bar Paco will be closed from Thursday 16th February (today) until Thursday 23rd Febrary 2012.
Wednesday, 15 February 2012
Mountain 'Barking Mad!'
Was out walking today with MHS & Steve G and could not believe my eyes. We were coming down a fairly steep decent from Col de Bandaleros, and what do we meet? you could have knocked me down with a bone! 3 guys coming up with mountain bikes!
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
Monday, 6 February 2012
Saturday, 21 January 2012
Ruta de Agua - New Digital Walking Guide
Do you own a smartphone - iPhone or Android?
The why not try using it as your walking guide? The local Sella walk 'The Ruta de Agua - SL CV 112' is now available at EveryTrail.com complete with map, route, photos, video and POI - with lots of info.
To see the travel guide of the future
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