New Year on the Costa Blanca

On the Sierra de Toix ridge, Calpe rock in the background

The year started off very socially, dinner at Jane’s on the 1st, followed by dinner at Sue’s on the 2nd. Both were thoroughly enjoyable and very different. Entertainment was provided at Sue’s however in the form of her three well behaved rescue dogs and Davie the cockatiel, also a rescue who has pulled most of his own feathers out which doesn’t make him the most attractive bird, but he was a little star. He spent ‘drinks’ with Brian talking and talking, in ‘bird’ before going to his cage while we ate, coming out again after when I discovered just the right spot to tickle the back of his neck.

Jackie finds just the right spot to tickle little Davie, Sue's cockatiel

Elizabeth and Richard directing Patricio's tree cutting

More wood has been collected and chopped and more painting done. This Saturday Patricio, the tree man, did come. He spent all day shinning up and down trees, chopping off bits as directed by Elizabeth. Once he’d started and moved onto his second tree, we could sweep in and gather the offcuts. I spent two and a half days shredding the unusual bits with the wood chipper while Brian and father cut off bits that were too big and cut them up for seasoning to burn on the fire next year. We all worked very hard, I’m covered in bruises and have sore, scratched wrists from pushing stuff into the chipper. We all ache, and have all earned our wine at the end of the day.

Brian cuts the branches into firewood sizes and deposits smaller stuff for Jackie to shred 

This is a Pine Processionary Caterpillar nest that was one of four cut down when the pine trees were lopped by Patricio in Richard and Elizabeth's garden. You can just see the caterpillars inside the web and they were wriggling when this photo was taken. They are nasty little things and contact with them with bare skin can cause a range of reactions in adults from a bad skin rash to an allergic reaction, particularly in asthmatic suffers, are particularly bad for children and have been known to be fatal to cats and dogs

This was taken on our walk up and over the Sierra de Toix mountain and this is just by the climbing area we have frequented, where we enjoy this view while climbing. The hill on the left on the horizon is the Sierra Gelada that separates Altea from Benidorm. The mountain in from is at the head of the Mascarat Gorge and stretching off to the right is the Bernia Ridge. On the right is the mount with the remains of Calpe castle standing on top that used to guard the access to Altea along the gorge. It is, in our opinion, a magnificent view

Brian on the Toix ridge alongside a paraglider

We had a good day off mid week when we went out for a walk along the ridge to the Coll de Rates. Brian had said it was a 5 hour walk so I’d set a good pace, we then realised it was only a book time of 4, which we did in 3. To round it off we drove back through the col, lots of up and wiggling followed, not surprisingly, by lots of down and wiggling. We had seen a mobile home on the road as we’d been eating lunch on the summit, but were very glad we weren’t in Ted. This was not shared by the ridiculous number of cyclists who have obviously trained hard for this route and seem to enjoy what to me looks like shear torture.

Again we’ve eaten and drunk, and had a thoroughly good week. We’ve pottered with Jane and done lots of jobs. Tomorrow however we are heading south. Is this the right time? Well it’s rained today so hopefully won’t tomorrow!

On our way up to Calpe castle, that little point on the hill there

And here's a couple of panoramas from the top. This is a similar view to the one from the top of Sierra de Toix of Mascarat and the Bernia Ridge...

And this is a panorama the other way of Sierra de Toix mountain we had just done, Calpe rock looking small in the middle and Sierra Olta on the left, a mountain we climbed on a previous visit. We've now climbed most of the peaks around here and it's very satisfying to look and know we've been on the highest point of all of them 

Another day, another walk and this was one Brian did on his own up on the Sierra Bernia. It was a sunny, quite hot day, I'd forgotten a hat, could feel the sun burning so improvised with the long sleeved top I'd removed. Hints of Lawrence of Arabia??

She didn't mention the meal we went out for with Dagmar and Michael, two friends R&E (and now us) have known for years. LtoR: Michael, Richard, Dagmar, Jane, Elizabeth & jackie...

I took the first photo and then the waitresses rushed around to say they'd take one, so here it is. Unfortunately the camera focused on me and all those in the background are a bit blurred. Trust me to spoil a good photo!

We have had some of the most amazing sunsets here. Often we're on the balcony but this one was through the lounge window. It's not a bad location here is it!

This is our walk over Rates peak, or as it's now called Penya Talai (or Pena with the little squiggle over the 'n' so it's pronounced 'ny'). We started over by the green dot, top right and walked along two gorges (barancas) clockwise and then ascended the peak before going down across the Coll de Rates and the back along to the car. The Coll de Rates is drivable (we drove back that way) along a spectacular mountain road, the CV-715 (you can see just a bit of it on this view). The Coll is the highest point on the road and has a hugely long ascent and then descent and is very popular with cyclists wanting to really push themselves. Being a local holiday (Three Kings Day, 6th January - my son's birthday), there were plenty of cyclist about

Walking along one of the barancas, Rates Peak up on the right

On our way up Penya Talai

A brief stop near the summit to take in the views over the Jalon valley

And here we are on the summit

We're on our way down and below is the road snaking round the Coll de Rates. Ahead is the peak of Sierra del Carrascal that has road access. I wanted to walk up there, Jackie didn't. She won! 

At the Coll de Rates

And here we are back at Elizabeth's car we'd borrowed for the day. We went off road to park it - don't tell her!