Restaurants cost whatever they charge for menu del dia, which varies, usually around 8-10 euros. Walks are 5 euros. You donīt have to come for the meal but most people very much like to socialise after a walk over a delicious meal! On some walks it may be a picnic ie bring your own, just read what it says for each walk/outing.
You do have to book your place in advance. Click on the email link to book your places on any walk, giving your full names and Spanish contact phone numbers in case of last minute changes. Donīt forget to state which walk youīd like to come on: natureespunatrails@gmail.com Then wait to get your confirmation by email. You canīt just turn up without receiving confirmation.
Extra date: Wednesday 2nd December - Lake in the Moonscapes of Gebas - Meet El Berro car park at 10.30 a.m.
Somewhere
amongst the Moonscapes of Gebas, which you get a good view of by
driving up the winding road from Alhama to El Berro on the 'scenic
route', there is a lake! It can be very difficult to find if you don't
know how, but come on this walk and you'll be led straight to the edge
of it! As ever another easy NEST walk, which is what NEST is known for, easy walks that don't last over 3 hours, without having to emulate a goat scrambling along death-defying ledges or steep perilous climbs! This particular walk is all along tarmac apart from the last bit as we walk to the water's edge of the lake which is rubbly with an easy slope. After meeting in El Berro, we'll car share to the start point of theh walk and again to the restaurant in the mountains, before going back again to the El Berro car park to get into our respective cars, in the spirit of ecofriendly transport! (Which in fact is a requirement in Sierra Espuna, mentioned in the Spanish guide books!)
After the walk we'll drive on again to our favourite mountain restaurant tucked away in Sierra Espuna where you can sometimes see wild boar if you're lucky. What a combination - arid dazzling white moonscapes and a lake followed by the green pine-clad mountains of Sierra Espuna with a chance to see some boar, not to mention the delicious meal which is a bargain at 4 courses including drinks and coffee for 9 euros! It's a menu del dia with several different choices of starter, main course and dessert.. starting with a mixed salad and bread, finishing with coffee.. accompanied by red wine, beer or water.. The walk itself is 5 euros. If you'd like to come, please book and remember to supply a Spanish contact phone number in case of changes and make sure you get confirmation back before thinking you're booked in. Unfortunately you can't just turn up as restaurants have limited places, and sometimes there is even limited car parking space at the start points of walks which is not always the El Berro Car park. So please don't cause embarrassment by just turning up, please book first. Places ARE limited and popular.
Wednesday 30th December 2009 - Aerial Views over Alhama - Meet El Berro Car Park 10.30 am
This is one of the easiest walks imaginable, under two hours, and with the reward of a fantastic stop point, from which we can not only admire incredible views over Alhama but perch ourselves chatting for a while with any refreshments we may have brought with us. There is also a spot nearby from where people set off paragliding but we'll leave that to the experts! Then we'll continue back to our cars and drive back up into the mountains to NEST's favourite restaurant tucked away amongst the pine trees in the most scenic of spots in Sierra Espuna, where there's always the chance we might see some wildlife, especially wild boar near the restaurant. If you fancy a break away from the Christmas hype and festivities, in an extremely non-taxing way, come and join us for this end of year stroll together! Sporty walkers will be disappointed if they come along expecting any kind of strenuous hike - this is purely a fun, short, easy, social walk designed to get us out admiring views 'sightseeing' and meeting up together as friends followed by a lovely menu del dia in the mountains! If there is time before lunch it may also be possible to have a look round the Visitors' Centre in Sierra Espuna for anyone that would like to. Walk is 5 euros. The optional restaurant is 9 euros for the delicious menu del dia with bread & salad and a choice of starters, main courses & dessert plus coffee and either red wine, beer, or water included.
Thursday 28th January - Walk inside the Chalky White Moonscapes in Gebas - Meet El Berro Car Park 10.30 a.m. This is another very easy walk, though with a few easy slopes - as long as you don't rush it on the slopes or you might get puffed, and NEST is NOT about rushing and puffing! (Please bear in mind that if you're a fast walker, it's polite to stop and wait for slower walkers and not rush ahead!) We walk along rubbly dazzling white chalky tracks within the actual 'moonscapes'. On this walk we are actually walking within the white Moonscapes along wide tracks rather than along tarmac. We reach a beautiful panoramic viewpoint from where we can see a large lake in the panoramic distance, that we sometimes walk to from a totally different route. It's a great place to stop and have a chat and a break admiring the scenery, with any refreshments we may have brought, before going back to our cars and then driving into the pine-clad mountains to NEST's favourite 'wild boar restaurant' with the chance of spotting these elusive and hugely entertaining creatures. If
there is time before lunch it may also be possible to have a look
round the Visitors' Centre in Sierra Espuna for anyone that would like
to. Just look at the videos on this website to see the wild boar on film and see what you might have in store one day! It's never guaranteed but when it happens and you see them at such close range, it's magic! The walk is 5 euros and the optional restaurant is 9 euros for a menu del dia which includes
bread & salad, choice of starters & main courses, dessert, coffee and either red wine, beer, or water included. Most people couldn't be dragged away at this point, it's very good food!
Watch out for our Almond Blossom walk in February with a grand finale in a special Mula restaurant also renowned for the standard of their menu de dia! Plus a horticultural and sightseeing trip to Elche Parque by train coming up!
IF YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE A WALK OF YOUR OWN PLEASE EMAIL natureespunatrails@gmail.com and of course if you contribute a walk of your own, you neednīt ever pay the 5 euros any time that walk is ever done with NEST, as youīre contributing in kind with your time and effort! If you want to fundraise for charity by contributing a walk and leading it, get in touch. Lyn and Peter Ewers very kindly fundraised for a local charity dear to their hearts leading the Las Salinas walks earlier this year.
You can also, if youīd like to, subscribe to the website mailing list which means youīll be informed when any extra/new walks are added or any changes made.
If you have a nice walk you can share with us, please DO! Weīre always looking for new walks to do, to vary things. The Mar Menor walk we have done was kindly donated by Peter & Lyn Ewers and was a fantastic day out enjoyed by all, and even raised money for charity on two separate occasions! We also had a lovely walk through the Barrancos de Gebas and to the lake thanks to Margaret Perrett helping Louisa to work out the new walks! Many people donīt realise the amount of effort, time and the costs that go into finding all these walks and wonderful places behind the scenes! So anything you contribute, you wonīt be paying for!
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Most of the walks with Nature ESpuna trails are so easy anyone can do them, as long as you are healthy! But just make sure you wear sensible walking boots or non slip secure footwear for rugged, rubbly caminos and slopes that we sometimes walk on. We like to talk and be sociable during walks, enjoying the scenery and taking photos and appreciating the wildlife and fauna.. NEST walks arenīt a race, nor a muscle-pumping 'sport' scrambling up steep perilous cliffs .. NEST is about enjoying the views, the scenery and the company in a relaxed, easy-going way, and not as a sport to be 'endured' - and if anyone has problems keeping up and is slower than the rest, we like to courteously wait for them and let them keep up, catch up and be part of the group.. We appreciate it if you bear this in mind on NEST walks, in keeping with the
friendly 'easy walks'
group spirit. If you treat walking as a sport and like to zoom off ahead regardless of anyone else's pace, and donīt like waiting for people to catch up in a relaxed way in the spirit of friendship, then NEST isnīt for you.
Dogs are always welcome on walks as long as they are kept on a lead and under control, as people mustnīt be tripped up by excitable dogs and there are sometimes herds of sheep or goats whose shepherd will not appreciate them being worried by dogs off leads and may even shoot the dog on the spot, as dogs have been known to badly attack goats. So dogs off leads are not acceptable on NEST walks. Other dangers for dogs are wild boars and Arruis, and if your dog were to wander off and not come back, which can happen off a lead, dogs found lost/wild in the mountains of Sierra Espuna are, Iīm told, usually killed by the authorities. So please note, dogs must please be on leads at least for their own safety - they are extremely welcome and often have an extremely enjoyable time with plenty of fuss and attention!
