Most Inspirational Moment
The two trips that we had to use the van to access were the two most inspirational walks of the week.They were different in character but equally exhillarating. The trip to Pico Serrella takes you up into remote secluded wood shrouded valleys and up across mildly exposed beautiful scree slopes to the magnificent lonely ridge of pico Serrella with it's beautiful dry white marble like rock with views to the coast of Costa Blanca and all around to the Mountains of Aitana.Majestic. From the summit one descends via a scree path to the amazing dry gorge valley of Barranc de la canal for a long scenic descent between towering walls of rock on both sides of the valley and a veritable flower garden of mountain flowers,shrubs and trees each wafting up beautiful scents from their many coloured flowers in the glorious sunshine of a hot Spanish May. The final descent to the little village of Beniarda skirts a steep river gorge diving out of the adjoining mountains,with some welcome shade from the evening heat and if you are lucky you may meet the delightful 92 year old owner of the award winning Beniqueis olive oil in the village of Beniarda. The final trek up the Puig de Campana takes you nearer the commercial heart of the costa Blanca though the initial walk in is along the quieter tracks of the foothill valleys on the aitana side.The final hour is steep and scrambly in sections and there are many more people climbing/descending the trail then we had on our other outings.The view from the summit is spectacular all along the Costa Blanca and right down into Benidorm on one side and over to the beautiful long ridge of the Sierra de Aitana and it's deep adjoining valleys on the other side.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Jose Miguel Garcia was our group leader and he was truely excellent.He was very helpful,friendly and encouraging with a hilariuos sense of humour and a quick wit expressed in better English than I have myself. It added greatly to the experience of the trip that he was a local guide who knew the history and stories of the area and was generous in the telling of them and he is definitely the king of sandwich makers and we got to sample his creations as packed lunch every day;MMMarvellous!
Advice for Potential Travellers
You need good fitness and stamina for this week.You need well broken in boots and good socks as the walking is mostly over dry hard rock terrain and tough on the feet.i would also recommend at least a two litre camel pack for your sack. I was drinking at least two litres every day in the heat and almost 3 litres on the Puig de Campana day which was probably the hottest day of our week in May.