Walking the La Palma 9.1 in Franceses, Garafia

When we try to decide where we will go on our next walk, we often fall into the trap of thinking it must be a walking route some distance away.   However yesterday, because of needing to stay fairly close to the finca in Franceses, we decided to set off right from the door - after all the donkey path next to the finca is the LP 9.1 route and two minutes away is the La Palma GR130 route, so we are hardly short of walking in the area. 

I do wonder though just how many times we can walk the various donkey paths in the area of Franceses and fall in love with it all over again.  To be honest, I think quite a few more times.  
And a perfect end to the walk was to see the new lambs at the farm just above the finca.

Our visitors however walked rather further afield from Franceses leaving the accommodation to walk to Roque Faro, then El Tablado, La Fajana and then back to Franceses.  That's the circular 9.1 route and quite a toughie as it involves a climb from 500 metres to 1000 metres, then back down to almost sea level and eventually back up to 500 metres again.  Well done guys!
Here's a You Tube video I shot when we got home from our little jaunt.
You Tube

PR-LP 9.1 Roque Faro > Franceses > El Tablado > Roque Faro

This past couple of months, things have been pretty hectic here on the finca which has meant that our little walking expeditions are not a happening thing right now.  At least though we have been able to enjoy tales about walking on la Palma as guests walk the GR 130 and other routes around us.
However, the good news is that should we find time for a short excursion then we won't have to travel far - if we take one step off the finca, we will now find ourselves on the PR 9.1 Roque Faro to Franceses/El Tablado route.  Of course the donkey track has always run alongside the house and finca - after all, this was the way people got from one place to another before the advent of roads, cars and buses - but now it has a route number, a cheery white over yellow blaze and an official sign.  Yes, we really are on the walking map as you can see from the photo below. 

Our house - where the green meets the blue

If you start your walk in Roque Faro you will actually find a sprinkling of new signs and re-routings such a newly opened section just after Roque Faro.  Instead of following the road the path ducks down to the left and pops you up again at 'El Cruce' which is the junction where the old Barlovento road joins the main road at a notably enormous pine tree.

 After a two-hour descent from 1000m to 500m you will now arrive not in the centre of Franceses but simply brush by it walking down 'our' ridge of Las Tierras, the most westerly part of Franceses.  From here you have a great view over El Tablado.  (The photo below is of the same sign as the first one but facing west instead of north.) 

The donkey path is looking very green at the moment with quite a few of the 'flor de mayo' - a tall plant with clusters of tiny purple petals - already out and I see this morning that the sweet peas are well on their way with a few colours on show.  In a month's time, there will be great billowing clouds of them, energetic yet intricate bundles of muted green with flowers shaped like butterfly wings of stunning magenta, pink and crimson.  March and April make walking on La Palma a very colourful experience as the routes wend their way through the spring flowers.

 Just below where the first picture is taken from, the PR 9.1 joins the GR130 which has recently been re-routed as per my previous post. And now there is further good news as you descend towards La Fajana, as a better route has been developed which means that you avoid a longish stretch of walking on the road heading pretty much east and then a motor vehicle track bringing you back to the west.  This saves a total of almost 2km of road walking along this section of the GR130 between El Tablado and Franceses.  Now, you just drop off the edge straight down into the ravine.  Sounds scary, huh?

Well, that's excactly what we thought when we walked it.  But that was up, not down which is always easier.  In fairness though, the workmen have cut steps into the ravine-side so it is not as bad as it might seem.  We'll find out when we walk it in the other direction in a month or two's time.
Once in El Tablado you leave the GR130 as it goes on its sweet way to Santo Domingo and you head uphill to Roque Faro. This completes the circuit.
Like most circular routes, there is no beginning and no end but I suggest walking around it once in a day is probably enough. 

A great day to be on the GR130 in Franceses

Today was a red letter day for us and one we have been looking forward to for some months.  You see, the GR130 has been moved.  And not just moved but moved to come right along the path just below our finca in Franceses.  Yey!!

GR130 signpost 50 m from us

In September last year, I posted 'An Old Path in Franceses gets a New Look' but little did we know that this path was to become part of the GR130.  Then, just before Christmas, lo and behold the white over red blazes appeared, painted on rocks and all became clear - the GR130 was being re-routed right by us with the result that a 1km walk along the road to La Fajana is now no longer part of the route.  That really is an improvement!  And of course, for us it is perfect as walkers only need to leave the GR130 at this point where the above photo was taken and head up the 9.1 in the direction of Roque Faro for 50 metres, and they arrive at our doorstep.  Thank you Cabildo for our Christmas present!
But the intrigue didn't end there.  In our super-sleuth mode, we noticed that holes had been dug at junctions in the path.  Ah, posts then ...

I decided that I wouldn't put this in the blog until the posts were put in and I could put some photos with it.  Of course this did cause me to wonder what I would do if putting the posts in became delayed, or never happened.  But this week - they went in.  Even the path leading up to our finca was not forgotten and now we have the lot - the original lovely old wooden sign that says 'Las Tierras,' the white over red blaze (just visible in the photo) and a GR130 walking sign.

Pointing the way along the new route

And the spring flowers were out too.  Colour me happy!

An old path in Franceses gets a new look

The other day, whilst looking out of the kitchen window, we noticed a group of workers in their high-viz vests clearing the path below us.  The path is about a three minute walk away from our house and our most direct route to the GR130 and the road down to the old port village of La Fajana.
I remember walking it one time, years ago now, and we both took a sickle to clear the overgrown parts.  But eventually, we gave up the unequal struggle as it all grew back by the next time we walked it.  And anyway, the last part where it joins the road wasn't very good being steep with large loose stones so it was a case of hang on to your hat and hope!  It seems that over time, nobody else has walked it and the last time I tried, I couldn't even find the right way and ended up clambering over rocks and bushes before turning back.
However, we couldn't help but notice that this group of workers were cheating.  With four people, a heavy-duty strimmer, plus any other hand tools that we couldn't see from our vantage point and three days to throw at it, impressive results were guaranteed.
So once they seemed to have finished, we picked up our walking poles and set off to explore.

We were thrilled to discover that the path was impressively wide and very well cleared.  Bushes, long grass, encroaching cacti all cut back.  Along the first part, a ridge of solid stone (and a 450 metre drop-off) keeps you 'in' and on the other side, a line of cacti bushes keep you 'out.'  Further down, stones line the sides of the path making it impossible to lose the route. And at the bottom of the path, where it joins the road, a new set of sturdy steps have been made, all in stone.   Looking back inland towards the sun, it looked quite mystical.

Apart from being a short cut and a handy route in the old days for people living on our ridge, it also provides an amazing view.  Because it runs along the most westerly ridge in Franceses, from here you can look right down into the barranco of Los Hombres.  It is hard not to just stand and admire it.

From the path you get a very good look at the GR130 route as it zig-zags up to El Tablado which we can also see from our own house.  But the eagle's eye view as the land swoops almost vertically down into the barranco is simply awesome.  You look at it and think, 'If I had wings ... '

GR130 - El Tablado to Santo Domingo 13.3 km

  For a change, we decided that we would not walk from the house to El Tablado on the GR130 - that would be too obvious.  No, we would start our walk at Roque Faro, go down the LP 9.1, thereby joining the GR130 at El Tablado.

  An early start was needed to give us at least some time without the sun and at 6.50 a.m. the only signs of  life in Roque Faro apart from us was the bread man and the moon.  Actually, it was still laughably dark (and I did laugh) and it was only with the help of the moon that we were able to pick our way down the path.  As we wound our way down from Roque Faro at 1,000 metres above sea level towards El Tablado at around 360 metres the light gently grew and it was a brilliant experience to walk through the wooded paths with the growing dawn. 

  Arriving in El Tablado via an old stone path that runs down by the side of the restaurant El Moral, the few residents were beginning to start the day, watering the little plots of vegetables being the norm.  It was great to be among all the little houses that we can see from our own house, just 1.34 km away as the crow flies! 

 Passing by the church, the path conveniently deposited us right at the signpost for the GR 130 - unfortunately not one of the newer ones with the distances but none-the-less, a clear indication as to where to go.  And so off we set on the 'walk proper' - now we were on the GR130 and our main quest for the day. Walking along a pretty little cobbled path, we were soon leaving the picturesque El Tablado behind us.

We passed the much-photographed ancient drago tree (see website) and were now truly in the open, overlooking the impressive north coast with its roller-coaster of ravines.  From here, we could see the walking path undulating its way across the north but our final destination was some distance beyond the final hill, out of sight.  There was a long way to go!

We began the zig-zag trek down the Barranco Fagundo which lies between El Tablado and Don Pedro which, according to the Rother Walking Guide, is the finest on the island.  There were certainly more than a few spectacular sights along the way such as looking back over the old port village of La Fajana and spectacular coastline you would never normally see.  And the curious overhangs and fascinating strata made me wish that I knew more about geology so that I could appreciate it even more!  

After an hour of fairly careful walking due to the nature of the dry path, we came to the rock-strewn bottom of the barranco where we left the GR130 route for a detour to the beach.  You can read about it on our finca franceses blog but on reflection, we would have preferred to do it (if at all) as a stand alone exercise rather than as part of a longish walk. 

Continuing up the other side of the barranco, the path was good but steep enough in places and it was a case of a steady climb in the growing heat.  

  Along the way, we were rewarding with a mirador as we got higher and higher and then another with table and bench seating plus an interesting (and intact) information board. Oh, and still another 1.5 kilometres to Don Pedro - how did that happen!

The final path into Don Pedro was pretty, filled with greenery and nothing more than a slope which we attacked with gusto.  Aren't way points great for that boost of energy!  Not of course that we would find anything in Don Pedro apart from the potential of a herd of goats being shepherded through, a couple of resident dogs and a few elderly Santanas which will probably never move again.  So, without pausing, we carried on to the next stage, a length of 8.8 km.  Santo Domingo - here we come!

  At first the going was easy with a few interesting houses to pass by and, in between the bushes, glimpses of the super-barren land of Juan Adalid in the distance - being August, this rather desolate area of La Palma was the colour of a desert rather than lush green of winter.  However, our path took us down into woodland with some short, quite steep parts and a few oddities such as a cave with its own GR130 blaze on the door -  I think the paint person was having some fun!  Perhaps that's what brought on our song of the day, 'The Cherokees are after me .... there's a hidden cave ... two wheels on my wagon ...'  (You had to be there.)

But of course, going down means only one thing and we were soon heading upwards again, this time to the highest part of the whole of the GR130 across the north at nearly 600m. 

After some easier walking, we were pleased to see the wind turbines appear in the distant and then, quite suddenly, the head of one appeared over the bushes.  Five minutes later we were walking right by them. 

 

  Our next sign revealed that it was 5.8km to go to Santo Domingo and the open trails stretched out in front of us.  A generous sprinkling of GR130 signs kept us informed how we were doing and the occasional house in a supremely remote location kept us puzzled.  Low cloud started to form which looked quite ethereal but more usefully helped keep some of the heat at bay.  

  Unfortunately, it was just after this photo that the camera decided not to work any more.  Oh no!  Because we had just come to 'the best' cave we have ever seen, where you could easily house 50 people.  And then old stone washing basins and a spring where we refilled our water bottles, having already drunk 1.5 litres each.  Ow, ow ... no camera and the phone camera decided not to work either.  It was a conspiracy!   Oh well, a good excuse to come back in winter and do it all again when everything is greener.  (And it transpired I had taken 130 photos already.)

  At one point after this, we realised we had lost the trail as we saw the burgundy/gold sign in a parallel place where we weren't.  We knew where we must have gone wrong but the thought of having to retrace our steps did not fill us with glee.  Luckily however, we managed to find a link to get us back on route - phew!  

  A rough track now took us further and further over the hills with a surprise scattering of houses cunningly located in the middle of nowhere.  But eventually, we were coming back to civilization along a concrete road.  Now we just had that one last little barranco to traverse before arriving in Santo Domingo.  And whilst it is something of an unwanted surprise if you are not expecting it at the end of a long walk, it really is quite small and the goats in their little caves always make it something of a treat.  It really is like going back in time.

We shall return!