We sought tranquil landscapes, cute villages, a normal double bed and a rest bite from the wind. A walk to some remote villages and back sounded idyllic.
Day one
The last proper walk had been a bit of an adventure, the Sierra de Bernia ridge had tested our endurance. Although we had recovered, it was still at the back of our minds. We could do with a nice tranquil trek. We had planned a two day walk. The tourist office had kindly arranged a night at a hostel some 15 km away, all we had to do was get there.
We start on the outskirts of Morella next to an aqueduct, once through we continue north and soon come upon other remnants of this relic of human ingenuity.
It is amazing to think of all the hours of toil that went into producing such a structure, which is now in ruins. At least there is a memory of it, albeit a distant one.
Morella is soon in the distance, as is Dora. The wind has died down a little, so we trust she will have a peaceful two days without us.
It is sad to leave her behind us, but more importantly all our belongings. It is a leap of faith that they will all be there when we get back. We put those thoughts behind us and head into the countryside. It is warm, the path is good, and we have two full days walking ahead of us.
It is difficult to believe that people manage to scrape a living here amongst the barren landscape. Occasionally we come close to a cultivated field, ploughed and ready for the spring.
But mainly it is a lot of rocks, a lot of shrubs and the odd tree. A tough life out here, even for the weeds. I have always loved the sense of achievement you get when walking away from something. Morella, soon, so far in the distance, a mere spec.
The pack looks big, but in reality we are just carrying the bare essentials, these included a few clothes, lunch and the emergency stuff; first aid kit, emergency blankets, torches, compass, whistle and water.
Now the only evidence of human interference, wind turbines rotating on a more gentle breeze. Yesterday might have been too ferocious for them.
And amongst them, up against the thermals, lots of raptors. They were never close enough to determine what they were, perhaps vultures. They were having fun in the still brisk wind.
The valley, really a small gorge dropped and we descend into our first village.
As we enter, some long farm buildings. Did they house chickens? No pigs, they are happy to see us, bored of their surroundings. We leave their squeals behind.
The village is sleepy. I imagine Chiva de Morella is always sleepy. Not sure they can be bothered with festivities here!
Or was it dead?
We don’t see a soul, well you wouldn’t would you, they don’t exist. We didn’t see a person either!
Nice tower, nicer sky. Blue, blue and scurrying clouds.
Who knows how these villages will survive. They are on the continued verge of collapse, held together with render and duct tape. It is amazing that yesterdays winds haven’t blown them away, they look so fragile.
We just pass through, nobody notices. We head on through similar landscape.
And before long we get to our second village Ortelis. Can this one be as dead as the last. It looks like it. Even the tumbleweed cannot be bothered.
In the main square we find the town hall, I do like the arch behind arches. A woman walks by, scaring the living daylights out of Susana. This was a ghost town, not for the living. She ambles on, happy that she caused Susana to scream.
Even Ortells is soon behind us. We are now following a river. The walk is less tranquil as there is a road on the other side of the valley, with a surprising amount of traffic.
The landscapes continue to impress, maybe tomorrow we can scale that crest before we return to Dora.
The river leads to our destination, Forcall. Our rest point for the night. We are keen to see what the village has to offer.
It is not quite as dead as the last two. Nearly, but not quite. We eventually find our hostal. No one is at home. We find the bell, and eventually someone comes to open up. ‘I won’t be opening the restaurant for you’ he says, ‘you can try one of the bars’. We do, the croquettes, patatas bravas and revuelto de champiñones are really good and everything comes to €20 euros including two glasses of wine, she left the bottle!
The hostal is clean, has a TV, a hot shower and Wi-Fi, we don’t need anything else. We sleep sound. We are starting to leave reviews on TripAdvisor.
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21 kms in five hours
Day two
We wake early. The restaurant is open. We grab some coffee before heading off.
A few people are already up in the village.
We pop into the bread shop for some fresh pan for lunch, and then start to look for some signs.
We had a different route planned for our return back to Dora. We had chosen a slightly shorter route which looked more remote and challenging, but before this we want to transverse that large lump of rock we passed as we entered the village yesterday.
The sun is just heading around its crest, it promises to be a fine day.
We had aimed to go around the left before crossing the ridge. That is the way we thought the route went. We climb to just below the cliffs, but the paths are really sticky, with thick clay that quickly cakes our shoes. It is really heavy going. At the top below the cliffs we head right, not left to go around the back of the ridge. We are bored with the extra luggage of the clay.
We retrace the same steps we made yesterday, head back to the village, but this time turning left across some large stepping stones across the river, and head towards a chapel perched on a ledge overlooking the village.
The views back towards the village are rewarding. It is already warming up, when the sun emerges between the clouds.
We were traversing around that hill a few minutes ago. Now for the next hill and ridge.
We look up. The cliffs above are quite intimidating. We cannot see a route through them.
Will we be turning left or right? The map is not that clear.
The surroundings are stunning. It is still quite blustery up here, and we are now out of the suns warming rays. We want to get through these rocks to some heat.
As we approach it is still not clear which way the path will take. It looks more and more interesting.
The geology is stunning.
At last the route becomes clear. Just what we like, an interesting route which includes a bit of scrambling. Our gloves are on and hands are ready. We grab good positive handholds and pull up.
Before long we are on a large flat platform, more stunning views.
The path now continues eastwards, back in the general direction of Morella. The path is high on the ridge, but still with some cliffs directly above us. We head through trees, with the occasional glimpse back into the valley below.
We are glad we chose this route, with its excellent views. The route below follows the noisy road and is in the shadow of the valley. We made the right choice.
The path continues kilometre after kilometre as we gradually reduce the distance between us and Morella.
The valley is far below us.
The changing landscape and nature of the path, keeps the route interesting.
And there are still the occasional dramatics, as we traverse under some dramatic cliffs.
This bit looks a little tricky. Neither of us like scree, especially when it is high, exposed and steep.
We carefully cross, A fixed chain helps. We are glad that bit is behind us.
It looks worse from the photos!
Morella gets closer and closer. We look so close now, but the route is misleading, there is still a long way to go.
Wow, we hadn’t expected that. We are on the north side now, and a dusting of snow covers the path, and we haven’t got our crampons. It doesn’t get any thicker and the crampons are not necessary. The snow on the ground makes us realise how cold it is, then it begins to sleet and snow a bit.
It is beautiful up here. The hills in the distance have more than a dusting.
We are turning the corner now, as we head under this large overhang
The summit of the ridge, before we eventually find an easy descent route down off the escarpment, but the day is not over, we just forget to take more photos. I think we are tired and a bit cold.
The path continues across a series of ridges which run parallel to Morella. We do not seem to be getting any closer. Eventually we reach a GR route, which drops down into the valley, crosses a river before heading back to the south side of Morella. We climb up to the the town walls and follow them, taking shelter from the wind. We eventually reach Dora, a long and satisfying trek.
The return journey from Forcall to Morella took 4 and a half hours and was 19.7 kms long
The complete circuit over two days.
GDR
