Jávea, Spain. October 2000
Montgó is the mountain
overlooking Jávea, which lies between Valencia and Alicante on the piece which
juts out of the east of Spain towards the Balearic Islands of Ibiza, Mallorca
and Menorca. Montgó sits on a plateau called The Plains at some 500ft above sea
level and then rises abruptly to the Peak at 2,470ft/753m, with wonderful
views.
Verena, Mike and Andy,
along with Buster the dog, left the car at the Valley of the Ivies and wound
our way slowly around and up, along the ancient terraces left by the Moors,
cultivated by latter-day Spaniards and abandoned in the early 1900s. We skirted
round the base of Titanic, stopped at the Shepherd's overhang for a drink and
continued up Gordon's Gully.
Another peaceful stop
in a charming little cave gave us good views of the twin peaks of Madonna, and
then up to the high plateau itself.
The walking was not
good. In the words of a local author (me), in his soon-to-be-published book, Walking
the Elephant's Eye, 'the limestone becomes markedly sharper, and closer
together, to the point where a fall would have nasty consequences. Strong-soled
shoes are a must, as is a walking stick, to help you tip-toe from rock to
rock'. The limestone has been weathered and worn; it is like cheese with
multiple holes in and is razor sharp.
We rejoined the main
path, pottered up to the Cross of Saint John, admired the views of Denia and
slowly ambled back down the so-called Ski-run, with its 34 hair-pin bends. Andy
"Sideways" Crabb
©
WDYFO, 2000