Crowds assembling at the town sports centre

There was an overwhelming turning this morning in La Nucia for a 4km charity walk, organised by the Town Hall in collaboration with two Spanish cancer charities - AECC and Anémona.

It is the fifth year such an awareness walk has been organised and an estimated 600 people took part - and age was certainly no barrier as pensioners mingled with children and parents pushing prams, plus a number of furry four legged friends joined in too.

Busy selling raffles and taking donations

There was no sponsorship or entrance fee to take part, but volunteers were selling raffles tickets - with all proceeds being split between the two cancer charities. Around 50 local businesses donated prizes such as meals, beauty treatments and floral deliveries, plus some further afield including Benidorm Palace and Terra Natura. Last years event raised 3000€ but the estimate for this year, with the larger participation is in the region of 4000€!

Talking to the Mayor, at the start line

It was great to see the Mayor, Bernabe Cano also taking part in the walk and I managed to have a chat with him before the start. He did glance down at my high heeled boots and told me that next year he expected to see me in trainers and joining in with him.... hmmm, that may be taking things a step too far - but I did buy some raffle tickets to support the cause.


The crowds set off at 10.30am - heading towards the "Ermita de Sant Vicent" via the fields so as not to disrupt traffic. It is actually a marked walk route, going through the woods and countryside. It was great to see such community support for such a worthy and important cause, which seems to affect so many people these days.

Refreshment point

The finish point was at the ecological centre in El Cultivador, where free snacks and refreshments were being handed out to all the walkers.., for some reason the children certainly appeared to enjoy the waffles and cakes more than the fruit!

The charities had tables and stalls with information and were handing out leaflets and freebies such as pens and keyrings.
The La Nucia branch of the AECC hold weekly meetings at the Centro Calvari every Thursday from 4.30pm till 7pm and have translators on hand that can help British, Dutch and German residents.

The event finished with the Mayor and organisers drawing the raffle prizes - some 100 odd, but it was got through fairly quickly.
The Town Hall put on coaches to transport people back to the start point - where the majority had left their cars... I don´t think that many could have managed another 4km walk back!

Congratulations and well done to all those that took part in supporting and raising awareness of this dreadful disease. According to Cancer Research UK, more than one in three people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime - that is a scary statistic.