Inspired by one of the world’s most famous benches, the one providing climbers arriving on top of the cliffs of Loiba in Ortegal, Galicia, with a place to rest their weary feat, a group of firemen in Marbella decided to install a bench on another famous beauty spot: La Concha.
World-famous for its spectacular views, the bench in Loiba featured in a TV programme broadcast last Christmas. Watching the programme, Marbella’s fireman José Pérez Bellido decided there and then that his home town needed just such a bench, and what better reason than to install one in support of the Butterfly Children Association (DEBRA), a charity helping children and their families to cope with a rare brittle skin disease?
Such a bench would not just provide tourists and locals with an ideal spot to rest and catch their breath after scaling La Concha. Installing it with a group of fire fighters would raise awareness and potentially much-needed funds for the children.
Breath-taking Views of Costa del Sol and Sierra Blanca
La Concha rises some 1,200 metres above sea level, affording climbers spectacular views across Marbella, Sierra Blanca mountain range and the golden beaches of the Costa del Sol. At the beginning of this month, a dozen or so fire fighters set off to climb this famous mountain, carrying everything needed to construct a bench with them on their long, back-breaking ascent.
They had just two days to carry timber and iron parts of the bench over rather challenging terrain. They also had to spend one night sleeping under the stars, since it is not permitted to pitch a tent on La Concha. Armed with little more than sleeping bags and their determination to make it to the summit, the fire fighters slept exposed to the elements in temperatures dropping to just 8 degrees Celsius at night thanks to prevailing strong winds.
Performing a minor Rescue on the Way up
The following morning a slightly smaller group continued their ascent, since some of Marbella’s fire fighters had to return to their station and resume their duties. There was also one among the returning group who had pulled a muscle. Together with another victim of La Concha’s treacherous terrain, a 55-year-old German hiker who had twisted her ankle, one group of fire fighters snaked their way downhill to meet their 4x4 assistance vehicle, while the other group continued uphill to build the bench. The lucky German hiker was taken to the Refugio de Juanar by the team in the assistance vehicle.
Taking a few mishaps in their stride, the highly-trained fire fighters arrived on the summit, built their bench and posed for photographs with big smiles. Hikers arriving on the peak of La Concha can now collapse on the bench and massage their feet, while catching their breath and admiring the truly amazing views across Marbella, the coast and Sierra Blanca.
Now for the easy Part
While the fire fighters have completed the hard part of the two-way deal for Butterfly Children Association, the public is being asked to do the easy part: donating generously to the charity and raising awareness for young sufferers of this terrible disease that makes even the slightest touch or movement unbearably painful because their skin is so brittle and fragile.
“Although this seems crazy, this will help us to raise a lot of awareness about this disease”, commented the charity’s president Nieves Montero. “We spend a lot of our funds on research but another large part of our work is centred on spreading awareness.”
The new bench is the ideal spot for selfie addicts visiting Marbella’s premier beauty spot. Anyone taking pictures of their proud, glowing red faces after their La Concha ascent should post them on social media with hash tag #bancosolidario, as well as tweeting them on DEBRA’s Twitter @pieldemariposa, to help raise awareness for the cause. Naturally, donations will also be gratefully received by the children’s charity.