Another summer begins

It has been a pretty busy month  since my last post. Paul’s recovery from his Vuelta Espuna day is finally complete and any pain issues he had have vanished enough for him to talk of entering next years event! We finished the season with some cracking summits of both Pedro Lopez and Alhama de Moron as well as a lovely walk below el Bosque.
With the walking season over for VistaVerdeTrails in Spain, we have decamped to the UK so Paul can avoid the 40+ temps we had throughout out July and August last year. We hope to get in some walking as we visit the South Downs, Derbyshire and Devon/Cornwall so we will keep you posted on our exploits.
When we return we have a few new routes to try and are working on setting up a walking club for those of you that live in Spain or who visit regularly……….so watch this space, visit our website www.visivetdetrails.com or check out our face book page as more details will appear there as we develop the club.
For those of you who are not lucky enough to live in our beautiful part of the world, you can still come and experience a little of the walking Spain and in particularly the Sierra Espuna and surrounding areas has to offer by booking your VistaVerdeTrails walking holiday. We offer various options to suit all budgets from Self Catering to 4*, full board, accommodation for more details go to www.vistaverdetrails.com/?Accommodation .
Whilst we are away, sadly we will miss lots of the summer fiestas, but for those of you in Spain or those visiting, remember to check out www.simplynetworking.es for your what’s on guide to the region of Murcia. It provides great information about what’s going on, how to get there and what time it all starts (but remember, this is Spain and just because they say it starts at 9pm doesn’t always mean it will ;0)
I’ll leave it there for now and look forward to the Birling gap, Seven Sisters and the South Downs our first stops in the South East of England!

Vuelta de Sierra Espuna 2010

I just don’t know where the days/ weeks/ months go. It’s been ages since my last post, yet it seems like just the other day.
Since the last time I wrote Paul has indeed completed the 2nd years event “Vuelta de Espuña“.  This event is organised by the Totana walking club. The inaugural event was last year, but after it’s two successful outings, looks set to become a fixture in their walking calendar.
This years route was some 60 km (approx. 36 miles) and had a cumulative drop of some 4400 vertical meters.122 participants started the walk. Not only was this a demanding distance over some hilly terrain, the participants were also required to maintain a minimum rate required by the organizers of 4.5 km / hr.
It all started when the alarm went off at 4am (I thought the Spanish only did that hour when partying into the early hours) Paul & I (in sympathy) got up and Paul made his way to the pick up point for 5am. From here a coach took the participants to the start point at Casas Nuevas .
At about 7am, they were off. It was billed as a walk not a race, the only rule being you couldn’t overtake the lead guide. However there were 5 of them undertaking a stage each and most of the participants were in light weight gear with only bum bags (so I think they were seeing who could go fastest!)
Before long it became clear that this was going to be tough…..Paul had met up with the only other English participants somewhere near the start and they stayed together until the finish line laughing, joking and generally jollying each other along. The weather, which had looked like being hot, although some cloud was forecast, turned out to be a real mixed bag with mist, sun, with highs in the mid 20’s and a hail & thunderstorm in the afternoon. So something for everyone!
The first participant crossed the finishing line at the Sanataurio Santa Eulalia in 8 hrs and 50 minutes! At very healthy 7km an hour. The first woman was in 5th and Paul and his walking partners finished some time later but still a very creditable 13hrs.
The whole event was brilliantly organized & executed by the club, their partners and the 42 volunteers on the day. There were regular food and drink stations and a lunch stop with a choice of beer or wine with your food (how very Spanish). So congratulations to all of them!
After arriving home I of course waited on Paul hand and foot whilst he nursed his aching muscles, swearing never again. The next day he rested  only undertaking light tasks, but by the Monday it was back to normal, blisters or no blisters and he seems to have come through the whole thing with no visible scares. This is despite really not doing enough training specifically for the event (not something we would recommend!) Paul is of course pretty fit, and does walk regularly up to 25km a day due to the nature of our business, but for next year a full training programme will need to be devised…………but I thought he said never again, well they all say that don’t they 8-)
So maybe you too should start your training plan for next years event…….normally it’s on the first weekend in May. For more information contact us at vistaverdetrails.com
On this very athletic theme, my Cousin Jo also completed the London Marathon - so Well done to her anad all the other participants in this iconic event.
Hasta luego

Vuelta a Sierra Espuna is only one week away

I told you some time ago about the I Vuelta a Sierra Espuna, a 60ish Km walk around the regional park here in Murcia. This One day event starts at 05.00 with a coach trip to Casas Nuevas and then the participants are under there own steam until the arrive at the Monesterio Santa Eulalia later that same evening. Well Paul has volunteered to have a go! And with only one week to the big day he’s hard in training ;0) So good luck to all the entrants, I’ll keep you posted on how they get on and hopefully Paul will take some piccys.
Whilst I’m on the subject of good lucks, My cousin JO, is running the London marathon this weekend, so good luck to her.
Back in the Espuna, sadly the weather has been a little temperamental, but my Spanish neighbour has told me that damp cool winter = HOT HOT HOT summer so any time now the temperatures will be on the up. Of course that’s not all good news as it means we are fast approaching the end of our walking season………but not for a month or so, so there’s still time (now the ash cloud has lifted somewhat) to get out here and see some of the highlights, and there are many) that the Sierra Espuna has to offer. Take a look at our website to find out more www.vistaverdetrails.com
We are now into fiesta season here in Spain, this weekend sees the start of Los Mayos in Alhama de Murcia, a week long celebration, quickly followed by  the fiesta in Caravaca de la Cruz, who are celebrating their ano santa this year being one of the Holy cities. The fiesta which takes place every year includes the running of the wine horses and the moors and Christians parade and lasts for a week.
So as you can see lots to look forward too when we’re not walking. Until next time adios ;0)

Easter in Totana

Easter is a big deal here in Spain. The Spanish definitely take the celebrations seriously. With parades starting on Palm Sunday and continuing daily (sometimes twice or more) until Easter Sunday it’s another good excuse to take the week off work…..and why not?
We went to a few of the local parades, they were all very well attended by the towns inhabitants. Fortunately the weather which has been poor for Easter for the last two years was marvellous this year….and that coming after the wettest February/March for 30 years.
The parade I was most surprised at I have to say is the silent parade. Held here on Wednesday night between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, it has a very solemn feeling to it, but not sad, if you get my meaning. The parade on Palm Sunday (which I’d not been to before) felt very jolly and there was dancing and merriment from the participants.
Easter Sunday was very different to last years I thought, not as big ? But very well attended by the town afterwards there were fireworks (or should I say bangers) let off in the brand new square before the parade went round the block one last time. Lovely to see all ages participating from 0 to well a lot more than 0 shall we say. Definitely worth coming to see next year if you were looking for something different from chocky eggs and hot cross buns! To take a look at part of this years parade, have a look at my you tube link…. Easter Sunday in Totana, Spain
So a week on we are nearly back to normal (whatever that is in Spain) It’s been great to see a few more BBQ’s taking place in the Sierra Espuna to now that the weather has really stabalised. The Haze is clearing gradually making the views off the top of the highest peaks stretch further in to the distance. Soon be able to see the sea ;0)
If your interested in excellent value walking holidays take a look at our website www.vistaverdetrails.com

Climbing in the Sierra Espuna

We've got some great walking in the the last two weeks. This week whilst out walking we saw some climbers on the wall's of Leiva the park is said to be one of Spains best kept rock climbing secrets. Not sure Climbing is for me....to much weight to lift with my puny arms :0) but I have to say standing below and looking at the tiny figure half way up this HUGE rock wall I have to admire their commitment to there sport! It would have been nice to sit a while and watch them reach the top...I say that, but 4 hours later when coming down the other side of the valley we could still hear them (not see) on the rock. I found a you tube video of the same are and you can see from this just how awsome the rock is....we were on the track you can see on the valley floor when we first saw them.  Rock climbing on the walls of Leiva
Fiesta time is back again, it was "fathers day" here in Spain last week. This is a huge fiesta and begins the next round of "bank" holidays which will be pretty constant now until summer. One person in the town we live is having a particularly great holiday season having just scooped €15,000,000 on the once lottery....lucky peeps ;0) Not checked my Euro millions yet, so i still live in hope!
This week we're hoping the better weather holds out as we've got plenty of walking planned and quite a bit of high level so clear would be good to get the views!
Until next time Hasta Luego!

Spring has sprung???

Well, the last month has had pretty much everything in terms of the weather….rain, snow, heat, wind, sun, cloud. I must say when we moved to Spain 3 years ago we didn’t expect to see more snow than we’d seen in England for the last 20 years! And I was a little shocked when a blanket of snow was covering the ground when I got up one morning this week!! Still at least here you know it won’t last for more than a week or so and in the case of this weeks snow, it was gone before I’d had my second cup of tea….the sun was shining and in the sun it was very pleasant.
Despite the intermittent weather, we have managed to get in some great walking. We have been searching out some new routes, always fun with Spanish maps….oh for OS maps! As well as the new, we took in some old faithfuls including the summit of Morron de Alhama, a high route in the Espuna, great for far reaching views. The camino Albuznel a forest track wending its way into the Espuna with  rock formations and dramatic buttresses that appear as you make your way around the hillside. To mention just a couple.
We have seen some great wildlife (and some not so great…caterpillars!) out there including the first snake of the year!
Paul is gearing up for his May 1st trail around the Espuna…….is he training enough???? Well only time will tell. I don’t think he’s doing as much as my cousin who is currently training for the London Marathon - Good luck Jo!
Well with the weather hopefully improving now and Semana Santa (Easter) just round the corner things are certainly getting busier and the Spanish are venturing out more…..it’ll be summer and we’ll be complaining it’s too hot before you know it.
To find out more about walking in Murcia, Spain have a look at our website www.vistaverdetrails.com

Haunted or not???

Whilst looking around You tube I came across this video taken of the Sanatorio de tuberculocis, which is located in the Sierra Espuna Regional Park in Murcia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLzsizsowGw&feature=related
Is it haunted.......why not come and see for yourself?
for more information on walking holidays in and around the Sierra Espuna visit www.vistaverdetrails.com
Enjoy!

Best of both worlds!

We’ve had the best of both worlds lately. Some lovely warm sunny days with endless blue sky, but on the very top of the Sierra Espuna, snow! And plenty of it. The down side of this is some additional “road walking” to get to the start of some routes, but think of the calories burnt hey!? The weekends can get quite busy when there is snow as many Spaniards come up with family to get a chance to show the kids the snow.
This weekend the hills were also busy (in the Spanish - Sierra Espuna terms anyway) we actually saw other walkers! We also came across a  chap who accompanied by his two dogs had been down hill skiing - not sure I would have taken my ski’s out there! Far to many rocks. He said he had had a fabulous day, so I guess if you know where to go and don’t mind the walk back up.
Back below the snowline, we almost managed to touch some Muflon (Atlas mountain sheep) before they realised we were behind them and saw my first red squirrel!
Paul is training - just about - for the round Espuna trail in May. Sure he’ll be ready. Me? Well we’ll have to wait and see about that.
A new restaurant has recently opened (in the place of a previous one). Arroceria Gines, it’s situated on the road to Aledo, a fabulous position, overlooking Totana, high up with fabulous views reaching as far as the Mazzaron coast on a clear day. There is a huge outdoor terrace for those balmy nights and the speciality as the name suggests is Rice (paella) all cooked over wood. We look forward to that!

May 1st 2010 - I Vuelta A Sierra Espuna

Walking in Spain…….how about this for an event…..62.5km, 1992m drop/gain.
A circular route around the Sierra Espuna Regional park. It’s the second time the event has taken place. It’s not a competitive event (other than getting round) in fact the only rule seems to be you must not overtake the leader. Starts at 05:30 and finishes between 16:00 & 21:00 - not quite the 3 peaks or Snowdon seven, maybe harder than the London Marathon(?) a challenge anyway!
Paul is up for it!! I’m thinking about it, what about you!? It’s on the 1st May 2010 so there’s still time to train……I think I may need to draw up a training plan!

The captain's House - Sierra de Carrascoy

We’ve had some pretty unsettled weather the last week or so………….nowhere near as unsettled as the UK and sadly, for me, no snow! Well nothing worth writing about and as we have no skiing holiday planned for this year I guess the skis won’t be coming out this season……….although, there’s always  Peru/ New Zealand for summer skiing…looks fabulous!
Today here in my corner of Spain the sky is blue and the temperature a tad higher than it has been at a pleasant 15c. There are some strong winds from time to time, but all in all not bad.
Yesterday we made the most of the weather and headed for the Sierra de Carrascoy, another Regional park in Murcia, just a stones throw from us. We have not ventured over there too much……so much to do in the Sierra Espuna, but we thought we’d give it a go and wow what a start.
We took a circular route of approximately 12km with a minimum height loss/gain (well Christmas isn’t that far behind us!).
The highlights were the Spanish Air Force plane practicing “loop the loops” in the flat lands as we parked the car (Paul was glad not to be near him in his Microlight!), the well at the Captain’s house - not sure why it’s called that, need to find out more - The date inside the well is 1892 it’s still functioning and I’d say in reasonable condition, although I didn’t taste the water!!! We stopped for lunch at Casa Ros. In it’s day this looks like it would have been a huge house, clearly owned by a family of substance. The sun came out and we were able to enjoy a pleasant picnic. On the stroll down back towards the flat lands surrounding Fuente Alamo, we noticed what looked like mine workings. On closer inspection it turned out to be a collection of caves. The entrance to the main cavern was huge, probably 10m high and there were many smaller cave entrances coming off the main one, some had light the other side, some not. We had our dogs with us so did not venture in too far, but who knows, maybe next time!
We then continued down the valley, stopping briefly to chat with a local farmer crop spraying and finally made it back to the car some 4hrs later……very pleasant it was too.

A Happy & Prosperous 2010 to all

Happy new year to all our guests, friends and family, well I thought |I’d wait before posting as we have been having the Spanish Christmas…dia de los Reyes (3 kings) here this week and then in Totana we have another Fiesta day on the 7th Jan. This is when they take the patron Saint of the town 7km back up the hill to her home in the Monesterio de Santa Eulalia. Please see earlier posts for the descent!
So where to start…..well December, here in Spain it is nowhere near as commercial as it is in the UK although that is changing slowly…sadly! In-fact a measure of how unimportant some see the Christmas spending habits is that for almost a week at the beginning of the month of December many of the shops and businesses close to celebrate National Day, 6th December and La Dia de la Immaculada, 8th December (it‘s not worth going back to work they figure as the week has been broken by the holiday!).
On the 8th is when the patron Saint of Totana was brought down from the Monastery to be placed in the main church until her return in January.
Christmas - the 25th December - this was pretty quiet here, the Spanish have a meal traditionally on the 24th some will have present from Papa Noel on the 25th, but most will wait until the 6th January.
Ourselves, we had Turkey….didn’t go for a swim in the pool this year (it was freezing last year). We ventured into the town in the morning and had a look at the Belen (nativity scene) which help feel a little more Christmassy. Then we took the dogs for a nice long walk around by the Bastida, before that more traditional English  past-time “watching the telly”!
On the 28th Totana had a cake fest, the battle for the largest Roscon de Reyes, a most unusual tradition, but fun - they bake this huge long cake and hidden inside are toys donated by the local businesses which symbalise the baby Jesus figure historically hidden in the cake which brought luck to the finder throughout the year. Until a couple of years ago Totana held the world record for length appearing in the Guiness book of records. Again, the whole town it seems, comes out to have a piece of cake and hot chocolate there are now also raffle tickets in parts of the cake and prizes if you get a ticket. All through the evening  Carols were played and it was a lovely way to spend an evening.
New year we decided to go to my sisters house on the coast as we could walk into the town and partake of a few beers and the NY atmosphere.
We decided to venture out at about 10pm, well every bar we past was closed…..What? Closed what’s going on….the place was deserted. We ended up in and Irish bar (not very Spanish, but enjoyable) had a couple of beers and headed for the town square. Although it was quiet when we arrived, it soon started to fill up. Free drinks were being handed out along with party packs. By midnight it was packed, people had their grapes (12 to be eaten on the strokes of midnight are meant to bring good luck for the next year) No one seemed drunk and it was very much a family occasion, we watched a few of the fireworks go off and then we made our way back to the house.
Monday the fourth when the UK is all getting back to normal, well as normal as you can with a foot of snow, we here in Spain are gearing up for the 3 kings, there are parades and the whole place has a carnival atmosphere.  On the night of the 5th most towns have a parade and thousands of sweets are thrown out to children in the crowd. In Totana it looked like presents were being thrown as well! Again the whole town seemed to be in attendance and a real party atmosphere was to be seen.

On the 6th we ventured to Aledo a small medieval town perched on a rocky outcrop below the Sierra Espuna. Here there was to be a reenactment of the arrival of the 3 kings. It was bitterly cold, but that didn’t stop the villagers gathering for hot chocolate (and maybe something a little stronger) and some traditional cake prior to the kings arrival….at about 10:30 they arrived camels an all!!! The enactment which is said to date back to the 17th Centaury then played out on the streets of Aledo, followed by 300 or so. It reached it’s climax in front of the town hall, where Herod and his roman soldiers conversed with the kings. Quite a spectical!
Today, 7th we were supposed to be following the St Eulalia back to the Monesterio (Santa Eulalia), but have awoken to persistent and heavy rain, knowing the Spanish, who don’t even like to go to work in the rain! They will not be walking today, so we will have to find out when that will be rescheduled for. The forecast is better for tomorrow so maybe (as they will all have a Puente day - bridging day, well it’s not worth going back to work for just one day is it?) she will go up tomorrow!
And that as they say is it for another year….Monday will be back to normal….well until the next fiesta, which if memory serves is in another town near by..Alhama de Murcia in mid January.
We hope the snow currently covering the UK is not causing you all too much disruption. I’m a bit jealous really, we had snow here this time last year….you see it’s not all sun and sangria..and it was lovely, it’s getting colder this week, so you never know. The difference here is it generally lasts a week, maybe two and then it’s back to blue sky and sunshine and definitely nicer temperatures than the UK. All good news for the walks we have planned for 2010. We have some new routes ready as well as some of the classics we enjoyed during 2009.
It’s been a very busy year and there’s no reason 2010 shouldn’t be even better, as I hope you can see from my blog there’s plenty of great walking as well as some very enjoyable Spanish traditions to partake of whilst your enjoying your stay, so why not take a look at our website and see for yourselves what you could be doing of a vista verde trails guided walking holiday. Visit us at www.vistaverdetrails.com

Wishing you all a happy and prosperous 2010!

Roscon de Reyes 28th December 2009 - Totana Murcia

Totana's battle of the Roscon De Reyes