Alcoy to Bocairent – A Brilliant Day

I felt terrible last night. I felt like I couldn’t move my arms and just felt ill. It cleared up but I had a fitful night and the dreams weren’t mine. Like I’d got someone else’s head on my body. Weird. In the morning I felt crap too and was bunged up and sneezing. I’ve not been ill on my previous walks and didn’t want to be now. Then it occurred to me that I wasn’t drinking a lot of water. I knocked a litre down, had some breakfast and set off. The morning was clear and freezing so I had my hat on. I felt better after a while and made a point of drinking at each spring I came across. 

Alcoy looked good in the morning sun.

Hi G.

I’ve got a GPS, only a basic Garmin Etrex 20 but I downloaded a GPX of the GR7 track and it was brilliant and essential today with poor waysigning. That’s brilliant jargon int it? It looked good signage when I eventually joined the GR7 but it peaked early.

Straightaway I was into the type of country I’d come here for.

The track followed the gorge floor for a couple of kilometres before cutting up the valley side, giving welcome relief from the sub-zero temperatures down below. 

The track climbed another 8 kilometres and part way up it was blocked by fallen trees. Lots of em. I had to climb up the banking and climb over wherever I could. The foliage was dense and spiky. Not great when you’re in shorts commando (too much information) and a t shirt, but no hat by this time as it was very warm in the sun.

The mountain is over 4000 feet and it was a reight slog. At the top the views were well worth it. Stunning. 

The air was good to breathe and the water from the springs was sweeter than any I can recall. Not cold either as it filters through the mountain core.

The route cuts round the top of the mountain, Serra Mariola, and heads west and undulatingly downhill. But it disappears and then miraculously reappears two hundred metres to the left or right and you end up pushing through gorse and other shrubs to get back to it. You only know it’s there because of a trusty GPS, that I’ve christened Gav. Without Gav I’d still be up there.

The sun was now full on and it was really beautiful out there.

But time was moving on and the track descended into forest where the views disappeared.

I saw one other walker all day in 9 hours and 30 kilometres. A Spanish bloke coming the other way and we shook hands and wished each other a good trail ‘Buen Camino’. As the sun slowly descended the frost began to expand its territory.

Still warm in the sun I quickened my pace but I knew it would be almost dark before I made it to Bocairent. Down in the valleys it was a British late spring afternoon out of the shade and you could feel growth starting.

I came on a deserted old church with the oldest tree outside that I’ve ever seen. There were stone ramparts either side to support this ancient oak.

The sun was sinking down when I first spotted Bocairent and started to drop down a steep mountain track towards it. 

It’s a pretty town. With ancient narrow streets. 

The local premiership team, Valencia, are on tv. I think I’ll watch it – the atmosphere here in a local cafe where I’ve topped up with tapas is pretty good. Night night my darlings.