Famorca 24

27th Dec – Fog

Couldn’t get on our plane because it couldn’t land and it buggered off to Newcastle (it couldn’t land there so it ended up in Dublin). So a night at my parents then back to Teesside to take off at 10:00. Not. As the fog cleared they put us on a bus to Newcastle to not take off there till 20:00. Too late to pick up hire car in Alicante so crappy hotel.

29th Dec

30th Barranco Feri

31st Walk 44

Our house is white one with green at bottom

Summit Nativity
(it’s in the Cicerone Guide so assume someone takes this up every year then brings it back down)

Mallada del Llop 1,341m
(nativity at bottom of summit post)

Return to the village
Limit of 2022 bush fire obvious

New Year’s Day 25

Final summit scramble to Pla de La Casa 1,380m

02 Jan 25 Alcalali

03 Jan Font d’Aixa

All we had time for before dinner at Can Pinet, Tarbena

El Drak (Louis left)
ukc says 5a but is easily 5c

Jenny found a random deck chair with a view

OH AND BY THE WAY I SAW A FUCKING MASSIVE WILD CAT TODAY, IT WAS GINGER WITH A HUGE BUSHY TAIL AND IT LOOKED ME SQUARE IN THE EYES, IT HAD TUFTED EARS LIKE A LYNX

Oh.. turns out to be domesticated:

That is exactly it, I nearly shit myself

04 Jan Arista al Forat de la Forada

5th Jan

06 Jan

Jenny 10km run to Castell de Castells. I farted around at the house cos i have a wittle cough, aw. Then we went to a couple of bars in Castells and got Jan’s life story and the local low-down.

07 Jan Alcalali

08 Jan Poet then beach

Yala 5b start, Machoman 6a+ so bailed up the 3c to get the draws back

We’re still rough, coughing and low energy, felt drained after my efforts on Poet so we went to the sea but windy and chill so i scrambled along the cliff base to look over at Sonnanika (the cliff opposite)

09 Jan Abdet

Really enjoyed these but took wrong line on Lovely Jabali and got a bit wrecked

Processionary moth catapillars – they are tip to tail across the whole picture (zoom and see the irritating hairs that they can fire when threatened) – i stood on them 😬

10 Jan Forada Ridge – nice easy day as we’re still coughing but the wind wasn’t nice

11th Jan Nav fail and summit fever

Ok so always set off from known point and don’t make what you see fit what you expect. 1. First dead end. 2. 2nd dead end. 3. Bailed from summit intention due to fever (well we both still feel a bit crap when we exert ourselves and we’re still coughing)

On the plus side, the wind was fun, we had lunch sat in a nice field high on the mountain, the sun shone, the views were lovely and we went to an off the beaten track Spanish bar for tapas, GF beer and herbero.

12th Jan Cresta del Migdia

Scratchy approach and even scratchier descent and very scratchy in between.

13th Jan Ambolo

14 Jan Montcabre 1,360m

Took it easy today, so went up and down the same way rather than full circuit, still managed 13km and 1,052m ascent. Loads of massive vultures and some bonny goats at the summit who paid attention to Jenny rustling her nut bag 😄. Quatretondeta for cerveza, tapas & café bon bon.

15 Jan Murla

Jenny’s lead: Epiphany, Completer Finisher & For TJ

16 Jan Barranc de Racons (5,000 Mozarabic steps)

Some of the 10,000 Mozarabic steps (yeah there’s 10,000 if you do the full circuit)

Hard to believe there’s the volume of water ever to wear the bed of the barranc like this

Luckily started raining as we were stood next to this rock

Wet cold day from afternoon, cold winter here this year

17 Jan Nowt

Actually snowing high up, we’re at 700m and can see a dusting higher up, we’ve never really had rain before but it’s pissed down for the last 24hrs. So went to bar in the village then to Quatretondeta for paella then watched Outlast.