Any climber lucky enough to have visited the illustrious limestone landscapes of Andalusia will know of El Chorro, and most will have at one time or another visited the Olive Branch. For those who know, this little climber’s haven run by down-to-earth expats Mel and Gary Byrne, and an evolving team of super-psyched volunteers needs no introduction.
Comprising five en suite rooms, a hostel-style bunkhouse and copious hillside camping overlooking hazy valleys of olive trees and almond blossom, the Olive Branch has provided rustic, reasonably-priced places for weary climbers to park their vans and rest their heads beneath the towering spectre of Las Encantadas crag for 13 years.
Arguably, what the Olive Branch provides that many other establishments can only aspire to, is a laidback, sociable way of life and a community of climbers that make this magical place feel less like a holiday and more like a home. Whether you stay for two days or two years (and some have stayed for longer!) it is always hard to leave.
This year, like many other establishments, the Olive Branch has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. Loopholes in Spanish lockdown restrictions have meant that Mel and Gary have found themselves ineligible for governmental financial support.
“Spain is in semi-lockdown, which means people cannot travel outside of their own town, but we are not in full lockdown, so can’t get any government funding,” says Mel.
The couple’s landlords are as yet to offer any assistance in the form of rent-reductions and despite attempts to alter their income sources and adapt to the rapidly evolving pandemic restrictions on hospitality, they are beginning to struggle.
“We are running out of money to pay our rent and living costs. … We really hope that 2020 is not the last year of our thirteen year journey building beautiful accommodation for visitors from all around the world.”
Whilst Mel and Gary have made every effort to minimise running costs during this uncharacteristically quiet period, employing the use of sustainable energy resources, these require ongoing maintenance which comes at a price. The couple are now appealing to those that have at some stage called this serene spot their home, to help in whatever small way they can, via a crowdfunding page.
“Any extra money that we don’t use to keep us afloat will go towards supporting our six long-term live-in staff. They have helped transform the Olive Branch into the home from home everyone knows and loves,” Mel explains.
Having begun my climbing career in a baptism-of-fire type trip to El Chorro two years ago, I was touched by the instant affinity that climbers, hikers and mountain bikers alike have for this wonderful place. At night, the campers’ kitchen is a hive of chaotic cooking (to varying degrees of culinary expertise) and is often filled with music, chatter and the excited pantomiming of the beta for whatever was or wasn’t sent that day. In the mornings, the residual rest-day folk lounge by the pool (or brave a quick swim in the winter months), read, stretch out in the bright and airy yoga space, play pool in the OB’s homely lounge or enjoy a very reasonably priced beer from the well stocked fridge, often whilst being regaled with Gary’s ‘larger than life’ stories.
It’s a place like no other. As a complete and utter newbie, I met some of the most enthusiastic, generous and patient people here, and just five days after my first ever outdoor climb, I did my first lead on the hideously polished pinnacle at Escalera Arabe. In what can only be described as a blissfully ignorant ascent, I dogged my way to the top, just about managing to clip the right way, belayed by a diligent but slightly stoned Canadian and cheered on by one of my now best and most beloved friends. The resulting bruise on my thigh from jamming my entire leg, panic-stricken into a crack in a desperate bid for perceived safety, was such a staggering size and colour the following day that it provoked Gary to suggest that I should probably go to hospital.
It’s stories like these that make the trip. And yet if it wasn’t for the Olive Branch, I never would have been sat there, on top of that pinnacle, maniacally grinning and pumped out of my mind. This is the place where you meet the people that make the memories that keep us going, through lockdown, through our own personal trials.
“We have some regular visitors that bring guests or clients with mental health problems, using climbing to overcome depression,” says Mel.
“We want to be able to support these groups.”
If like me, the Olive Branch has a special little spot in your heart, consider if you can, a small donation to keep the place afloat. This year has been particularly challenging for us all, and for many it has been less than lucrative. If you are not in a position to give, please feel free to share the link to Mel and Gary’s crowdfunding page and spread the word, so that when the time is right for your next winter pilgrimage to sunnier climes, the Olive Branch will still be waiting to welcome you.