Stage 5 - Catalonia (1) El Boixar to Montserrat

With its own language and cultural tradition Catalonia is a particularly distinct part of Spain. Its capital, Barcelona, is Spain's biggest city and the province is one of the richest parts of Spain and Europe. As well as nationalist, Catalonia has a radical political tradition and was a bastion of opposition against Franco. Barcelona host one of the world's most famous football clubs and the rivalry with Real Madrid is a symbol Catalonia’s independent tradition.

Catalonia also signals a change of direction for the E4 route. Having followed the route of the GR7 all the way from Andalucía the route of the E4 suddenly gets complicated as it crosses through Catalonia. Instead of carrying on with the GR7 (which heads directly north to the Pyrenees) the E4 heads down to the coast via the GR8, along the coast via the GR92 to Tarragona, before heading north again to Montserrat (GR172) and then along the GR4 to the Pyrenees. It actually arrives at the Pyrenees at a point quite close to where you would have crossed the border on the GR7. At first sight the move away from the GR7 doesn't seem to make a lot of sense but when you look closer at where you walk and what you see than it all adds up.

To compensate for the additional complexity of the route the Federacio d'Entitats Excursionistes de Catalunya (FEEC) has a brilliant website which identifies all the major walking routes and gives you stage distances, estimated walk times, and altitude gained and lost.

I've broken the Catalonia stage of my E4 walk into two parts, Fredes to Montserrat and Montserrat to the Spanish border (Puigarda).

For Day 1 there two choices.  I could be strict about the E4 itinerary and go via Fredes along the GR7 until I hit the GR8 and then head to Ulldecona (at least 40 kms).  Alternatively I could go direct from El Boixar to Ulldecona via La Pobla de Benifassa.  The alternative is a lot shorter but not the E4.   Either way the route takes me out the mountains and onto the coastal plain.  Ulldecona looks like a nice town (has a castle) with lots of accommodation.

From Ulldecona all the way through to Tarragona you walk along a stretch of the GR 92 coastal footpath which runs for 583 kms along the entire coastline of Catalonia. The particular stretch to Tarragona is known as the Costa Dorada.

Day 2 is a gentle 25km 6 hour walk to Amposta. Amposta is quite a large town on the River Elbra and finding accommodation should be easy. It is quite close to the Ebro Delta Nature Reserve which is considered to be one of the most important wetlands on the Mediterranean.

Day 3 is a 32 km walk to L'Ametlla de Mer via L'Ampolla de Mer. The walk looks like a classic coastal walk along fairly low multicoloured cliffs interspersed which beaches. L'Amettla de Mer looks picturesque with a fishing port and lots of places to stay.

Day 4 is another gentle 6 hour 22 kms walk along the coast to L’Hospitalet de L’Infant. L’Hospitalet de L’Infant is a “small scenic town” with lots of accommodation.

After two gentle days it might make sense to crack on a bit especially as Tarragona looks a good place for a stop-over. For Day 5 I want to do 42 kms although there are lots of options for shortening the walk including Cambrils after 15 kms and Salou after another 10.

Tarragona looks great. It has a population of 150,000, Roman ruins with UNESCO world heritage site status, a Cathedral and a large Roman aqueduct. It will be the largest place I have been to so far on the walk (could get my haircut- major planning concern).

Ampitheatre in Tarragona

After Tarragona, and for one night only, accommodation suddenly gets a bit sparse. Day 6 could involve a 21 kms walk (now on the GR172) to Nulles or a longer 37 kms walk to Santa Creus. FEEC estimate that making it to Santa Creus will take over 9 hours so it may be necessary to stop at Nulles. Nulles is a small village but with a famous art nouveau vinery.

Santa Creus looks like a destination worth waiting an extra day for. It plays host to the Royal Monastry of Santa Maria de Santa Creus regarded as a jewel in the crown of Catalan Medieval art.

Santa Creus

Day 8 involves a climb up over the Coll de la Rimbalda and a descent down to the small town of Sant Joan de Mediona where it looks like there is some accommodation. The walk is 33 kms long and will take around 8 hours.

Day 9 involves either a short 17 kms walk to Piera or a longer 35 kms walk to Monestir de Montserrat. Piera looks like a nice place but I will probably press onto Montserrat.

Montserrat is perhaps the highlight of the Catalonia walk. The famous black Madonna has made its monastery a pilgrimage focal point for centuries and a whole series of long distance paths converge on this point. The monastery itself was reconstructed in the last century after being destroyed by the French but looks impressive and has an amazing location with views over the coastal plain. This is an important destination for Catalans and international visitors and there is plenty of accommodation.

Montserrat

So the first part of the Catalan walk involves around 260 kms in 9 days – looks fantastic.

Stage 4 Valencia (2) - Walking through Castellon

Dead or alive?

Castellon is the most northerly of the three Valencia provinces (with Valencia and Alicante to the south).  Castellon of course is famous for El Cid the 11th Century warrior and the subject of the Charlton Heston epic.  Very disappointed to discover that El Cid died peacefully and that his corpse was not stuck to a horse to secure victory in his final battle.

The walk through Castellon is about 220 kms, through mountainous countryside like the most of Valencia, but frankly looks a lot more interesting.  Perhaps it's because of the history but most of the towns visited are special including several medieval fortress towns with spectacular settings.  The distances are also very manageable and accommodation looks good.  Stage 4 takes 7 days which makes it ideal for anyone wanting a week's holiday.

Day 1 is a 23 km walk from Bejís (the end of the last stage) to Mas de Noguera.  Mas de Noguera is an eco-tourism co-operative and looks like a different sort of place to stay.

Day 2 is another relatively short walk to Montanejos through the small town of Montan.  Although short the walk looks good with mountains reaching over 1,400 metres.  Montanejos is a spa town and there might be scope for personal physical restoration if required!

Villahermosa del Rio by Millifer07

Day 3 is another interesting 30 km walk to Villahermosa del Rio via the small town of San Vicente de Piedrahita.  Lots of points of interest along the route, including the church of Emita de San Bartohome, before arriving at the pretty hill-top town.

Sanctuary of Sant Joan

Day 4 is a 20 km walk to the small but historic town of Vistabella del Maestrazgo.  The town has a castle and the Sanctuary of Sant Joan de Penagolosa (one of the provinces most important buildings) and sits at the foot of "Pico del Penagolosa" which at 1,814 metres is the region's highest mountain.

After two relatively short days it might make sense to push on a bit but there are options. I could do a short day (19 km) and stay at Culla, a slightly longer day and stay at Benasal, or a long day and stay at Ares de Maestre (39 km).  All three places look nice but the current plan is to do the long walk.

Ares de Maestre

Ares de Maestre looks like another amazing place.  It is built at the foot of Mola d'Ares on which sits the ruins of a once impregnable castle which had a particular role in the conquest of Valencia by James 1st.  The town/village is small but it looks like there are places to stay.

Day 6 is a 25 km walk via Castellon Castellfort to Morella.  Morella occupies a strategic position between the plains of the river Ebro to the north west and the coastal plains of Castellon/Valencia.  El Cid is credited with rebuilding the castle and was a general on the winning side in the battle of Morella. Morella isn't a big place but looks special, the highlight of the walk.  Lots of accommodation and could be a place to spend an extra day if I need a break.

Morella

Day 7, the last full day in Castellon takes you via Vallibona to El Boixar.   There is definitely some accommodation in El Boixar  (another small hill top town) which would make the walk 31 kms.  The walk takes you through the Natural Park of La Tinença de Benifassá.

So 7 days, around 220 kms, some wonderful countryside and really interesting places to stay.  Looks great.

Stage 4 – Valencia (1) - Walking through Alicante and Valencia

The autonomous community of Valencia (autonomous community in Spain is the next level down from the nation state) runs up the central eastern seaboard with 518 kms of coastline.  The autonomous community, in turn, is made up of three provinces, Alicante, Valencia and Castellon (there is also a very important city, Valencia, which is different to both the province and the community). 

GR7 through Valencia

Valencia is essentially mountainous with a thin coastal plain.  The mountains, although not as high as those in Andalusia, are part of same range.  The route of the GR7/E4 runs south to north in the mountains, above the coastal plain and paralleling the coast line for about 600 kms.  

My Stage 4 takes 16 days and passes through the provinces of Alicante and Valencia.  I have used an itinerary from a web site http://www.racodelom.es/ which helpfully plots the route and gives the distances and times involved in getting from place to place.  The route travels through what looks like sparsely populated attractive countryside.  There are none of the larger historic towns which characterised the walk through Andalusia and Murcia.  

The end of the walk through Murcia and the start of the walk in Valencia (in the province of Alicante) will be at Pinoso.  Pinoso is a small town (7,000 pop) about 40 minutes from the Alicante airport.  It has a growing ex-pat population as the coast in Alicante is so highly developed.  Should be places to stay.

Day 1 involves a 28 km walk to Elda which should take just over 6 hours via Encebras, Casa del Senor, and Madara, all small villages. The route looks like a fairly easy trail through an agricultural landscape.  Elda is a significant town with a population of 55,000.  It does not however have a very good web profile – but it is the second most important place in Spain for shoes.    Lots of places to stay.

Day 2 is a 22 km walk to Castalla.  North, north-east of Elda the scenery and points of interest seem to improve, more castles and bigger mountains.  Castalla itself is a small town (pop 7,000), an 11^th C walled castle and some accommodation.  

Day 3 is a 29 km walk to Alcoi.  It looks like a nice walk taking your through the Parque Natural del Carrascal de la Font Roja.  Alcoi is a large industrial town and the route doesn’t actually go into it.  There should be plenty of places to stay.

Day 4 is another 29 km walk to the town of Bocairent again taking you through a park (Parque Natural de la Sierra Mariola).  Bocairent is small but with bed and breakfast accommodation.

Parque Natural de la Sierra Mariola

Day 5 involves a 26 km walk to Vallada (just off the GR7 – Vallada.es).  Accommodation is now starting to get more difficult and I’m not sure if the accommodation referenced on the town’s web site is for overnight stays.

From here until Cortes de Pallas it’s really difficult to find places to stay and consequently finalise the stop-overs.  The route takes you over a large mountainous plateau known as the Caroig Massif (lots of cave paintings) and while I think there is accommodation (sometimes on campsites with huts) pinning it down is not straightforward.

Day 6 looks like a 29 km walk to Benali which I think is actually a farmstead with some holiday lets and possibly overnight accommodation.  If that works Day 7 is then a 25 km walk to somewhere near Collado de Caroche.  There is definitely accommodation in the area, including a campsite which should have huts, but again it’s difficult to tell whether this includes overnight accommodation.

Cortes de Pallas

Day 8 is then a 30 km walk to Cortes de Pallas which definitely does has accommodation.  The walking is more of the same limestone countryside with dramatic gorges and dry valleys.  The whole area is important for power generation with reservoirs, hydro and nuclear power generation facilities.

Day 9 involves a 30 km walk to Pocicico Valentin via Venta Gaeta.  This looks like an amazing walk with a longer option at the end if you want to stay in a refugio.  The hostel “Casa del Rio Mijares” looks excellent and so I don’t think I’ll extend the walk.

Accommodation looks difficult for day 10.  There might be some at El Rebollar, which would then involve an 18 km walk.  If not it might be necessary to catch a bus to Requena, where accommodation is plentiful, and return to El Rebollar next day.  Alternatively there might be some accommodation further along the trail (although haven’t found it yet).

Accommodation at the end of a 30 km Day 11 is also uncertain.  There are a number of small villages in the right place (Villar de los Olmos and Villar de Tejas) but none are advertising accommodation.  Directly on the route is Refugio las Lomos but I suspect this is a literally unmanned refuge.

Assuming I stay somewhere near the Refugio las Lomos than the next day is a 30 kms walk to Benageber where there definitely is accommodation.

Day 13 involves a 17 km walk to Chelva which, with a population of 2,000 people, is a metropolis by recent standards.  There is accommodation and Chelva looks like an attractive town.

Day 14 is a 28 km walk to Andilla via the village of Alcotas.  Small village but with some accommodation

Day 15, the final day in the province of Valencia involves a 23 km walk to Bejis.  Although there is no reference to accommodation on the village website I’m optimistic! 

I packed my bag and in I put......(2)

Moore's law states that the power of computing doubles every two years (to be pedantic, the number of transistors that can be placed on an integrated circuit board doubles every two years).  That's all very well, and I for one wouldn't dream of arguing with it, but it's also true that, despite Moore's law, computers or other clever computer related devices never quite give you what you want.

There might be another law, almost a counterpoint to Moore's law (sod's law?) that could state that what you want is always two years away from being available.

This is not quite as contrary as it sounds. What we can have is constantly moving forward (that's Moore's law) but unfortunately what we have now then redefines what we could have and what we want.  The counterpoint to Moore's law is perhaps another way of saying "tomorrow never comes".

So what has this got to do what what I put in my bag.  Well tomorrow there is clearly going to be some whizzo bang device that meets all the requirements I can conceive of today.  This whizzo bang device would clearly be able to:

• take pictures and video;
• allow me to update my blog as I travel along the E4 (sorry must have a keyboard);
• help me navigate (big decision needed on whether to go total or partial GPS);
• let me phone home (ET on the E4);
• play music.

At the moment this could be 4 or 5 devices all with different battery /recharger/cable combinations - a total in my bag nightmare.  I need some serious advice on this.

My thanks to anonymous for his/her (suspect his) comments on my first packed my bag blog.  Really helpful advice.  Interesting views on how long the boots will last - perhaps I could get a sweepstake going on this one.

Update from Nepal

I'm starting to find out more about the great work done by the Britain Nepal Medical Trust.  Examples of the projects the team in Nepal are working on are now starting to come through and they are really interesting.

BNMT’s Child Rehabilitation Project

Supported by the European Union

The overall objective of this project is to contribute to the socio-economic rehabilitation and reintegration of children and their families, youths and women affected by the armed conflict in Nepal.

Children affected by armed conflict attending the bridging course

This project, that runs for 48 months (June 2009 to May 2013), has already picked up momentum with the successful completion of a bridging course for “dropped out” students in order to reintegrate them into formal education.

Only 51 percent of children from the lowest income-quintile attend primary education, compared with 87 percent from the richest income-quintile (The World Bank). Students from disadvantaged groups such as dalits (lowest Hindu caste) and janajatis (indigenous groups) attending schools are rare and enrolment and continuation in school of these DAG communities’ children is rarer. The recent conflict in Nepal has had serious effects on the enrolments of school age children and many of them experience trauma and mental illness.

This initiative adopts an innovative and holistic approach as it takes into consideration all the factors that contribute to creating an enabling environment for the reintegration of children and their families.

The families of the conflict affected children are provided with income generation opportunities to ensure continuity of the formal education of their children. Owing to the conflict many of the women have been widowed or their husbands have migrated to India and the Gulf countries to find work. The mantel of continuing the hand to mouth existence lies on the widows. The income generation opportunities provided by the project enables them to save money to send the children to school. At the same time the School Management Committee (SMC) is sensitized and oriented on quality education and monitoring of the system. This generates a sense of ownership by the SMC and thus facilitates the creation of an enabling environment for the reintegration of the “dropped out” children into formal education system. The teachers and health providers are also given training on mental illness so they can deal with the children appropriately in the schools and at health centres.

The project will reach out to a total of 738 drop-out children (381 girls and 357 boys) during the course of the project.

Nordalpine Weitwanderweg 01 - Test Run

The Nordalpine Weitwanderweg 01 looks like the toughest part of the walk and getting there early enough is a key consideration to the planning of the whole walk. To get an idea of what it's going to be like I'm doing a test run in July (with Christine, my wife). We are going to walk east for eight days starting at Bregenz in the middle of July.

The NordaplinWeitwanderweg 01 was opened in 1975 and is the first Austrian high trail through the eastern Alps. In the highest Alpine stretches it gets close to 3000 metres so the weather needs to be good for it to be safe. The Lechtal Alps, which are at the eastern end, the bit we will nearly complete in 6 days, is the toughest part of the walk. Christine and I have walked the Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermat and the Alta Via 1 in the Dolomites so I'm hoping we can cope with this.

The plan is to stay in huttes. Although we have had lunch in the Austrian huttes when we have walked there before we have never stayed in them. We have stayed in the equivalent in France and Italy and while the food was always good the accommodation can be interesting to say the least. In one French Hut it was a three layered bunk system with three people (mixed company) in each layer - very cosy but not much sleep. Funny thing is we have now sleep in some pretty extreme conditions, particularly in Nepal and Kazakhstan (in a tent on a glacier at 5,200 metres) but somehow you feel the discomfort more in Europe.

Getting there involves a flight to Zurich, from London, and a train to Bregenz. Bregenz is on the shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee in German) and the borders of Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Liechtenstien. It looks like a really nice place and we should have plenty of time to relax and have a nice meal before we disappear into the mountains the next day.

The daily walks are based on the schedule from the Austrian Alpine Club checked against the map. There is a guide book but it's in German. The Austrian Alpine Club website also has a hutte finder which describes the huttes and usually gives an estimate of the time needed to walk to the next hutte. Aligning the proposed schedule with the walking times is a bit of a challenge and I guess we'll need to flex the plan a bit when we actually get there.

Where to start is the first challenge. The first suggested stop is Freschenhaus which looks like a long way from Bregenz. Rather than waste time walking through Bregenz and then Dornbirn it looks like the best thing is to join the 01 at Dornbirn. On that basis the walk to Freschenhaus is about 8 hours long with a climb of 1,500 metres. The penultimate part of the walk involves climbing over Hoher Freschen at 2004 metres. A good first days walk!

Hoher Freschen

The next day involves a relatively flat and, on the map, not particularly long walk to the ski resort Damuls. Will be lots of places to stay so can work out where a bit nearer the time. Damuls is approximately 400 metres below Freschenhaus.

Day three involves a climb up to Biberacher Hutte. It doesn't look a very long walk, nor does it involve an enormous amount of climbing, but it does look exposed. In particular it involves a climb to 2013 metres over the Hochshere followed by what looks like a brilliant walk along the Hochshereweg. The Biberacher Hutte looks nice, has separate bedrooms as well as dormitaries. Guess what we'll ask for for!

The next day's walk involves what is supposed to be a 16 km walk to Goppinger Hutte. The walk starts with a drop of about 350 metres down the Furggeleweg and then up to a pass at the side of the Hochlichtspitze and then onto Goppinger Hutte. I guess if you get there early you then have the option of retracing your steps slightly and climbing the Hochlichtspitze which at 2600 metres is 350 metres higher than the hutte. Again the hutte looks nice with separate bedrooms. If you got there really early you could always try and get to the next hutte.

View from Hochlichtspitze

Day 5 is a short 4 hour walk to the Ravensburger Hutte which is supposed to be 4 hours from Goppinger.   You could try and do the next days walking as well as it's only  another six hours to Stuttgarter Hutte which is the next day's walk. It is however a bit confusing in E4 terms because after Ravensburger there is an 01 variant, with the route referenced in Austrian Alpine schedule taking you to Stuttgarter on the variant and the E4 on the main 01 route taking you the long way round. To make matters worse the Austrian Kompass maps don't align and the bit with the Ravensburger is on tiny bit of third map which I haven't bought yet! Sounds ominous and sounds like a good reason to do a short walk on Day 5

Day 7 looks like a lovely contour walk travelling 2500 kms above valley and looking down on St Anton.  The last overnight stop in a hutte is at Kaiserjochaus.

The last day involves a walk down to Flirsch, probably with lunch on the way at the Ansbacher Hutte.  The last night will be in a Hotel in Flirsch then a train on Sunday back to Zurich.

The Britain - Nepal Medical Trust

One of the objectives of the E4 Long Distance Walk is to raise money for charity. I discussed some of the issues in working out which charity in an earlier blog and, after some really helpful discussions with The Britain Nepal Medical Trust (BNMT) I have made progress. Current thinking is that, working with the BNMT over the next few months, we can develop a proposition which supports their objectives and is as interesting as possible to the people I’m trying to engage with on the walk.

So why Nepal and why the BNMT?

Nepal with 8 of world’s 10 highest mountains is an incredibly beautiful country and is a very special place for trekkers. My wife and I have been there twice (Annapurna and Everest) and we are going again in November to Kanchenjunga on our biggest trek so far.

You can argue that the history of modern trekking started in Nepal. In 1965 Colonel Jimmy Roberts, a former Gurkha Officer and Military Attaché at the British Embassy in Kathmandu, had the then revolutionary idea of providing trekkers with tents and Sherpas, to guide and cook, establishing a model which is still used. This opened up Nepal and the Himalaya to a wider community with many British companies, which now offer destinations worldwide, starting businesses in Nepal. Despite the growth of alternatives Nepalese treks feature high in any top ten list and the trek to Everest base camp is the trekker’s equivalent of a medieval pilgrimage. Sir Christian Bonington is one Patron of BNMT and Colonel James Stuart is another – maintaining a Gurkha link. A late founder patron of BNMT, Colonel Charles Wylie, was logistics officer to Lord Hunt’s successful ascent of Everest.

Nepal is also a very poor country and one of the least developed in the world. It suffered a 12 year civil war which ended in 2006 after 13,000 people had lost their lives. The monarchy has been replaced by a republic but peace is fragile. As well as the legacy of war the country has only embryonic governance and welfare structures, a particularly complex ethnic history and a very underdeveloped infrastructure. Many of its people though are lively entrepreneurs and show true resilience in adversity.

BNMT started in Nepal in 1966 when a team of British nurses and doctors approached the Nepalese government with an offer to help. It was established as a UK registered charity a year later. Initially concentrating on the control of tuberculosis (over 1 million BCG vaccinations provided by 1976) it has developed a broader based capacity building programme for improved health, transforming itself from a British to a Nepalese managed operation in the process.

Its current objectives sound familiar to those of us who have worked in UK local government, namely:

· To empower people at the community level by ensuring access to information and access and control over local resources and through increased assertiveness improve participation in decision making.
· To strengthen governmental and non-governmental health service providers at district, regional and national levels.
· To improve the livelihoods of disadvantaged people.

While the context is completely different to the UK there is a shared belief that empowering people locally secures good governance and good public services. The charity’s Board is UK based with British and Nepalese trustees.Company administration is from Tonbridge, Kent. BNMT is now a Nepalese managed operation with Nepalese Co-Directors and around 30 staff working on programmes “in country”. Compared to the UK, relatively small amounts of money go a long way in Nepal; the overheads to the charity are minimal and the impact of any funds raised can be very significant.

In discussions with Dr Ian Baker, a BNMT trustee, we have agreed that any sponsorship and other donations I receive for the E4 walk will raise money for the charity’s work. The projects in Nepal which are supported by funds I raise will be described on this blog and on the E4longdistancewalk.com website (once I’ve set it up), hopefully with some direct inputs from the staff in Nepal.