4th
March 2016
A hike in the
hills on a sunny day
Jill belongs to a
group who go walking around the area where she lives, and as Friday is a
walking day, I joined in. We met up in a
car park down in Albea – The others are all regulars so after introducing
myself we headed off in a convoy to drive up to the hills. Confrides Castle is also called Benifato
Castle, as well as Alfofra Castle – Each are towns below the castle that lay
claim to naming the castle ! It is a
Moorish Castle, probably built in about 1000 AD. Despite the Spanish taking
control of much of the area in the 13th C, the village of Confrides
(and other nearby villages) remained in Arab hands until the 17th C.
We climbed into the hills to find out what was left of it.
There are some
great walks and scenery in the hills above Benidorm. When we were here several weeks ago Jill took
us up to Guadalest where there is a reservoir as well as a castle and village
built in and around a rocky stronghold.
Today we went much higher into the hills, and were in fact looking down
on Guadalest, which was just a speck in the distance. There was a clear blue sky and it was warm –
But in the shade the wind kept it cool enough that one needed a jacket. We drove up very winding roads until they got too small, and then we parked and started our walk.
The walk itself
was a circular loop right around the castle, and we slowly headed up through
almond orchards (now in blossom) and the ever present Olive groves. It slowly got steeper and more rugged until
we finally reached a col just below the castle itself, where we split up. 7 people opted to not climb up to the castle
as the path was quite rugged and steep, while 10 of us headed on up to the
castle. We had caught glimpses of the castle above us previously, but only as
we got closer on the north side did the best remains of the castle become more
apparent. 
Just below the
main round tower we stopped to let some of the slower people catch up, and
there was the remains of an old archway through which we could see the
Guadalest reservoir and castle down in the distance. Once everyone had caught up, we clambered up
the rocky trail to the top, where we sat in a sizeable flat area and had a
drink and some fruit, while admiring the stunning views over the valleys around
us while also making sure we didn’t get too close to the sheer edges that
dropped off from the sides. How they got the rocks and mortar up here, and not
only built this castle but then lived in it, I just can’t imagine. Amazing.
We then started
down, on the way taking a close look at the much lighter coloured scars where
there had recently been a rock fall – Hmmm – Makes you realize this whole area
is quite unstable. Then it was on down
the hill until we found the cars, while on the way we came across some more
Processionary caterpillars – Interesting but nasty critters whose hairs can
cause a nasty rash on humans and even kill many pets very quickly. And it isn’t
necessary to touch them – they can “fire” their hair some distance, while it
can also be carried on the wind from abandoned nests in the fir trees. One keeps well clear of them.
We drove down out
of the hills and stopped for a beer at a bar in a village, after which a few
people headed home, while the rest of us went to a restaurant on a hillside for
lunch. We tried to sit outside in the
sun but the wind was just too strong and we and the tables nearly blew away. So
we moved inside and had a very pleasant and chatty lunch (with wine) for €12. Not bad.
After that we
headed back down to town and visited Jill’s local garage where I booked Troopie
in for her regular 10,000 km oil change for next Monday, and then we headed
back up to Jill’s place. A very pleasant
walk, not too strenuous but very interesting,, and I thoroughly enjoyed the
walk as well as meeting some of the many English people who live here in the
area on a semi-permanent basis.
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