Saturday 30th April Tarragona

My proper rest day since the start of the walk and Tarragona is a really nice place to stop. Definitely worth coming if your at all interested in Roman history but also if you like cosmopolitan Spain. I guess in Catalan terms Tarragona is very much the little brother of Barcelona but very nice almost because of that.

It is wonderfully positioned against the coast. The main thoroughfare, the Rambla Nova, runs through the centre of the city abruptly finishing at a cliff with great views of the Mediterranean. Around this cliff-top sits the old Roman city with some the ancient city walls still there. There is a collesium, which is outside the walls and what is described as the circus inside the walls. The circus, where they had the chariot racing is largely underneath the city, but you can still see the terracing at one end and the tunnels underground allowing access for the competitors. Looked very much like the dressing rooms at Wembley stadium, absolutely amazing.

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To the dressing rooms

As well as resting up, spent much of the afternoon sorting out the itinerary for next week. It's not easy, there are long stretches along the route where the choice is very limited and because of the bank holiday week things are a busier than they were and a couple of places are booked up. Have got things sorted for the next three days at least.

Quite pleased with the picture. Think I have found Lionel Messi's Roman antecedent, Julio-Claudi, can't believe the Catalans haven't spotted it.

Lionel Messi

Friday 29th Cambrils to Tarragona

Today's walk was just awful, not point to it at all other than a means to get to Tarragona. I think that's what happening with this part of the walk. Instead of doing the obvious thing and carrying on up the GR 7, the Catalan contingent to the design process must have felt it would be a good idea to visit some iconic Catalan locations and dragged the E4 down from the mountains to achieve that. Today it's Tarragona, in a couple of days it's Santa Joan de Mediona and then it's Montserrat.

Will have a look at rest of the GR 7 when I get home but at the moment leaving it feels like a mistake. The walk today was just an endless walk along a seaside promenade. Eventually the coastal path ran out but I missed the signs and after a series of false starts managed to get around the headland beyond the resort of Port Salou, to the next beach but GR signs and I think the path coastal path had shot of inland.

The reason was that at the end of the beach about three kilometres away, was the southern edge of the enormous Tarragona port. Behind the port was a huge chemical works. If you haven't been to Middlesbrough this won't mean anything but this is Middlesborough on the Mediterranean.

Ships at Tarragona 

There were buses at the beach end which would have taken me to Tarragona and the sensible thing would have been to get one but I just kept walking. Eventually the beach ran out and I had to head inland. There was a road which seemed to go through the chemical works and with a sense of foreboding I followed it. It just got worse and worse, smellier, busier, increasingly confined and actually dangerous. I was starting to think about retracing my steps when a man in an ancient Nissan Micra came to rescue me. The phrase don't accept lifts from strange men did spring to mind and this man was photofit strange but hey look whose talking. Anyway I got in without much hesitation, although my rucksack resisted, and he took me all the way to Tarragona, about 7 kilometres along a dual carriageway. He was very impressed that I had walked all the way from Tarifa and we shook hands at each of the five stages it took to get my rucksack, which had now made itself at home, out of the backseat and through the front door of the Micra. Another example of a friendly Spaniard/Catalan saving the day.

So I'm having a rest day in Tarragona. Was going to have a long weekend here with Christine but we decided that as she was here last week that it was a lot of travel for just one weekend. Got a bit of rescheduling to do as a consequence, as I'm actually running a bit ahead of myself.

Thursday 28th April L'Ametlla de Mer to Cambrils

Well last night was quite a night. Great fun watching the Barca win, L'Ametlla de Mer is definitely a Barca town, everyone went totally nuts, fireworks everything. And then I had a plumbing disaster.

You know sometimes the water keeps running after you have flushed the toilet, really annoying if your trying to get to sleep. Common problem, all you have to do is lift the lid and adjust the fitting where it drains from the cistern and it's sorted. That's what I did, but it didn't instantly cure the problem and I touched (no more than touched) the floating thing which controls the water coming into the cistern. It disintegrated and suddenly there is water, straight from the mains, shooting right across the bathroom. The little stop cock next to the toilet just went round and round without doing anything. It was amazing how quickly the bedroom floor was covered with water and how quickly it was going out into the hall.

Slightly panicking, I pulled my shorts on, put everything on the bed and rushed down to the porter.   He was very grumpy, watching the Mourinho interview, and was clearly the only person in L'Ametlla de Mer who was a Real Madrid fan. Eventually screaming at him had an impact and he agreed to come up and investigate. He was not happy. His tried to reconstruct the toilet mechanism but it was impossible given the force of water. He temper was not improved when I asked for another room.

After getting himself soaked he went down somewhere and turned of the water for the whole hotel and rang up the manager. The manager was clearly a Barca fan, in a good mood, accepted that I wasn't helping and found me another room.

Saw the porter this morning as I was dashing away from the hotel and he didn't seem to recognise me, fair enough, didn't need to remind him about how we had faced adversity together.

Today's walk was a 40 kilometre walk along the coastal path. I don't completely understand why the E4 comes down to the coast. It is a change but dragging you along a largely built up coast line is not necessarily the best route for a long distance walk, particularly when you could have stayed up in the mountains on Spain's oldest GR trail, the GR7.

The first bit wasn't too bad, very similar to end of yesterday's walk, along a low cliff with villas very much in the background. You then arrive at a very exclusive marina, at Sant Jordi en Alfamat, and the route is around this and through the suburbs. You then get to Calafat which has a lovely beach at the end of which is a nuclear power station and then a gas power station. Another big detour which takes you alongside a new highspeed railway line and over two motorways.

Eventually you arrive at Hospitalet de l'Infant. Originally I was going to stop there but it was only 2.30 so decided to do another 15 kilometres and make for Cambrils. The nature of development had now changed from villas to blocks of flats and these went right down to coast. Lovely beaches and nice bays but very ugly blocks of flats.

Endless blocks of flats

One thing I did find interesting interesting were the republican coastal defences dating back to the civil war, quite a lot along this stretch of coast.

Republican coastal defences

Flats were then replaced for several kilometres by caravan and camper-van sites. I thought these were nicer, very multinational with the Dutch particularly well represented. Flats re-emerged as you approached Cambrils, so many in fact that I started to wonder if there was going to be any hotels. There were of course but right in the old centre of town. I say old, a picture in reception of the hotel shows old Cambrils with just a handful of houses. The coast north and south is totally empty. The picture was taken in 1962.

Approaching Cambrils

Wednesday 27th April Amposta to L'Ametlla de Mer

The hotel I was staying in last night was a bit expensive (stretched my very tight daily budget target) but did have a buffet breakfast. The fact that I'm on the international buffet breakfast banned list doesn't seemed to have come up their computer so I was able to stuff myself before escaping down the road across the beautiful suspension bridge over the River Ebro. Eating the equivalent of four breakfasts made the room seem bigger and the bill smaller.

Bridge over the Ebro

Seem to remember that the River Ebro is the scene for a Don Quixote adventure, can't remember which one but pretty sure that he and Sancho end up in the water.

The 35 kilometre walk was very much a walk of two halves, the first across the delta to Ampolla, where you hit coast proper, and the second along a coastal path to L'Ametlla de Mer.

Although I wouldn't want to do the first half again it was interesting to do it once. It's clearly a very important agriculture area and the fields, which all have a complex set of drains, are currently mostly flooded presumably to get the nutrients and silt out of water before being planted. There were some fields of Jerusalem artichokes and fennel, the fennel was enormous much bigger than you see in the shops in the UK. I read on a board that the amount of water available from the Ebro is declining as more is taken out further upstream and that sea water and associated salination is eating its way into the delta.

Flooded fields in the Ebro delta

Artichokes

Although you were never far from the railway line and the motorway, which both run near to the coast, and villas and other residential development, the second half of the walk felt like a proper coastal path. Saw a few other walkers coming the other way, all English, but everywhere was very quite with lots of places for a swim if I had had the nerve. It was certainly warm enough, hot in fact.

Classic coastline north of Ampolla

More classic coastline

Arrived in L'Ametlla de Mer at about 4.30, staying in the Hotel del Port, near the port, where the room is unnervingly like the room I stayed in last night. It is however well inside my budget.

Big big football game here tonight and people in these parts are going to be very upset if the Catalan side doesn't win. I think they are going to be upset.

Tuesday April 26th Ulldecona to Amposta

Was perhaps a bit rude about Ulldecona in yesterday's blog and it's much nicer than first impressions. Towards the centre there were some interesting art nouveau houses and a lovely baroque church.

Church at Ulldecona

Must admit I had assumed that after the walk through Valencia, Ulldecona to Tarragona was going to be a flat coastal walk. Well today completely contradicted that impression with a route over the Serra de Montsia range of mountains. This proved to be really interesting with lots of information on boards along the way. Essentially the walk firstly took you through some of the oldest olive groves in Catalonia, with trees dating back 2000 years to Phoenicians; through some natural evergreen oak woodland (i.e. pre-overgrazing and fire effected landscape, the cause of the shrub based landscape that typifies most the Mediterranean), and through some abandoned farming settlements which like much of upland Valencia had supported significant communities until the sixties.

The range gets to over 700 metres and although it wasn't a perfectly clear day the views were impressive. On the way up and looking back I could see across the valley with Ulldecona in the foreground, to the gorge I had emerged from coming from Moli l' Abad. Behind that I could see what was probably the La Creu mountain which I must have seen the day before yesterday. Most impressively I could see Penyagolosa which I had walked past in the rain 5 days with Christine and which is pictured on the blog from three days ago. It's dead centre on the horizon in the photo below, believe me.

Views back to Ulldecona

As well as looking back in time I could also see up the coast to Tarragona so from one place (slight poetic justice, you had to go up the hill a bit to see up the coast) I could see 9 days of walking.

Perhaps the most impressive view however was from the highest point on the walk, La Foredada where you got an amazing view of the Ebro delta. You could see the whole fan of the delta formed by the sediment flowing out from the Ebro river along with the cresent shaped sandbank beyond. From high up it looked like much of the delta is managed for agriculture although parts of it are important wetlands and form the Ebro Delta National Park.

Ebro delta

La Foradada

Just to add to the view, which the photographs don't capture, was one of those windblown holes in rock the name for which has for the moment passed me by.

Sat at the top and had my lunch, an apple and a packet of crisps. The air was full of little flies which in turn attracted hundreds of swallows and swifts who were also having their lunch.

The walk down was also excellent. Deep valleys and through tunnels formed by the evergreen oak. Once on the flat however, and after such a brilliant walk, the sting in the tail was a five kilometre walk through the dead level land of the delta. Like the fens in Cambridgeshire although at least the sun was shining. One highlight was some waders in a flooded field reminding me that this is a very important area for birdlife.

Ancient woodland

Ibis?

Monday April 25th Moli l'Abad to Ulldecona

There is almost nothing to say about the walk today apart from the fact that I finished it.

Had a vague notion that having done much of the walk yesterday I would get to Ulldecona by lunch-time and then pressing onto Amposta in the afternoon gain myself a day. As it turned out I was suffering from the 54 kilometres I did yesterday, it ended up being a 20 kilometres road walk today, and by the time I got to Ulldecona at about 2.30 my feet were burning. Instead of walking on I found a nice hotel, the only hotel, had a nice lunch and then marinated in a bath for an hour or so.

Was supposed to find the GR 8 at La Senia, which was about 5 kilometres from Moli l'Abad. Well I'm sure it's there but I couldn't find it. There were some really good plans and signs outside the town hall but no reference to the GR8. There was an Olive Trail which took you to Ulldecona, which might have been the GR8, but given the rain and the mud I was happy to go with the road. Today was always going to be a transit day and I'm writing it off as that.

After constant mountains for the last two, almost three weeks, you might think that walking through some flat country would be a nice change. Well the pleasure was short-lived. Flat country around here means olive trees, citrus trees and pig farms, lots of pig farms. Not a lot happening in Ulldecona, nice castle on the hill outside the town, but the town itself a bit nondescript. The most interesting thing for me was the huge quarry just outside the town, was amazing to see how many different coloured sandstone you can dig out of same hole.

Tomorrow looks better and I have even worked out where the GR 92 is. Have a small mountain to climb and then it's a coastal trail all the way to Tarragona. With any luck it will stop raining and I can put my waterproofs away again.

Sunday 24th April Morella to Moli l'Abad

The plan was to stay at El Boixar but there isn't much accommodation there and sure enough when I tried to book on Saturday it was all gone. This was a real pain because just after El Boixar, at Fredes, things navigationally get a bit more complicated. So far the E4 has followed the GR 7 but at Fredes and it heads down to Ulldecona, near the coast, on the GR8. Couldn't find any accommodation at Fredes and the only accommodation I could find was at a place called Moli l'Abad which looked about 15 kilometres to the east of El Boixar. So I decided not to go to Fredes but go direct from El Boixar to Moli l'Abad, stay there for the night and then try and find the GR 8 again next day and continue to Ulldecona.

By the way the GR 7 carries on all the way to the Pyrenees. The E4, which travels along the coast to Tarragona, and through Catalonia to the Pyrenees ends up almost in the same place. I must admit I'm sorry to be leaving the GR 7 not least because I had the route well defined on my GPS. My E4 GPS route is very messy in Catalonia so I'm bound to get lost.

So I was a bit fed up when I left Morella, fed up about having to contrive a route and fed up about the weather which continues to be poor. Spending my time trying to find accommodation last the night (fortunately I had an internet connection) meant I missed the supermarket and all I had with me food wise was the last bit of my birthday cake and a lump of cheese.

After about 4 kilometres I left the road and headed up along a farm trail where I met a farmer who was rounding up his cows. Everything was very wet and I started to gingerly cross a stream. The farmer, who was in the middle of his cows and associated mud, and was wearing bedroom slippers, kindly pointed out the stepping stones.

The route follow the stream along a valley and then climbed fairly gently to the top of a ridge. The stream included some brilliant natural swimming pools. As you got higher you had some great views back to Morella spoilt a bit by the murky weather. The ridge walk itself went on for 2 or 3 kilometres before eventually descending through an oak wood, which has just come into leaf, to the town of Vallabona. It was now pouring with rain and at just before one o'clock I decided to stop for some lunch.

Lovely Swimming Opportunity

Spring growth

The next stage of the journey was up along a bottom of a dry river bed heading north. Although the heavy rain had gone it was still drizzling and didn't stop until just before El Boixar. Again a lovely trail which as you approached the top started to open up. It was uphill nearly way and by the time I reached El Boixar at about 5. 30, I had walked 35 kilometres and climbed over 1000 metres.

El Boixar

The sign to La Senia, at El Boixar, said 23 kilometres which I must admit was a bit of a blow much further than anticipated. Setting of and just outside the village I took the first left rather than the second and had gone about 2 kilometres before I realised my mistake. There were no GR signs to follow. To get back on track I could go back or head straight down the side of a gorge, through trees and get on the right route the direct way. I went with the second option and had to survive some very wet, very steep bushwhacking.

Once on the right road it was just a case of walking as quickly as possible. They told me I would need to be there by 7.30 to guarantee the room but it was nearer 9 by the time I arrived. This was the first time I had had to walk on the road in a prolonged way since Andalucia and my feet were very sore at the finish. The signs to La Senia were now reading 5 kilometres so I had walked 53 kilometres in total.

Saturday April 23rd Benasal to Morella

After a week of really good walking, Christine has gone back to the UK and I'm on my own again. It's been great going from mountain town to mountain town and unfortunately she is missing the best one, Morella. The only consolation for her is that the weather continues to be bad.

Set off on a 35 kilometre walk having seen Christine go at 9. The weather was already looking poor which some heavy rain clouds to the south.

Having climbed out of the village the sky was clear enough for a short time to get a view Penyagolosa, the second highest peak in the Valencia region, as well as some great views back to Culla.

Penyagolosa

The first target was Ares de Maestre yet another hill top town. You could stay here it you had a more leisurely schedule, or just stop for lunch. It looked like a great place with lots of visitors on Easter Saturday.

Ares del Maestre

The main issue for me was how far I would get before it started to rain and sure enough it was pouring from about 1.30. It wasn't the end of the world. With the rain, the dry stone walls and the more open scenery you could easy have been in the north of England. In addition to the stone work there was livestock out and about, and for the first time since the early few days of the walk I was amongst grazing cattle, cows with suckling calves.

Another storm

Another feature of today's walk were the wonderful ancient caminos, old cattle trails which in this part of the Spain have not all been turned into local roads. I guess the nearest equivalent in the UK is a green lane but here they are much more widespread. Some of them today, with the dry stone walls on each side, and bedrock running along the bottom were particularly impressive.

Camino

One picture I would have taken if I had had the nerve was that of the bull standing astride a particularly deep camino about 20 yards ahead of me. I've been told that bulls with cows are not dangerous but wasn't going to test the theory, even less ask him to stand to one side, and within seconds I had climbed over the wall and disappeared.

Morella

Got to Morella at about 6 by which time it had stopped raining. It really is the jewel in the crown of the wonderful mountain towns along this part of the route. It still has it's city walls as well as usual brilliant location. Had a good look round, not least because it was packed and finding somewhere to stay was not easy.

The past six days have really been excellent. If it wasn't for the schedule it would have made sense to walk at a much more leisurely pace and take 8 or 9 days to cover the distance. As it is, because I can't get accommodation at the next planned stop, Boixar, tomorrow is going to be a big 40 kilometre day.

Friday 22nd of April Vistabella de Maestrazgo to Benasal

Last night we lay in bed and listened to the rain pour down. The weather forecast was bad and it seemed unlikely that Christine, without full waterproofs would be able to do today's walk to Benasal. We started thinking about alternatives when we saw the sky start lightening from the South. By half past nine it looked good enough to set off, especially as a kind fellow guest in the Casa Rural had let Christine have her spare poncho mack.

Cloud clinging to the hills

The first part of the walk was a continuation of the upland plain which we had walked through in the rain yesterday afternoon. A strange feature, perhaps the bottom of an ancient glacial lake. Along the track a local farmer had found a new use for empty coke bottles. After about 3 kilometres we turned east and contoured along the side of a pretty gorge gradually gaining height.

Noisy fence

We were walking quickly because we didn't trust the weather and wanted to get to Culla for a late lunch. Despite this we enjoyed a quick sandwich break at the abandoned Ermita de San Bartolome. After more contouring the path dropped down, through some beautiful ancient pasture, to a dried out river bed.

Ermita de San Bartolome

Abandoned village - Casa del Capote

The last stage before lunch involved a 500 metre climb up to Culla. The smell of pigs as you approached from the southwest was sickening and we were thinking we had made a mistake to rush. As usual when you arrive you can't see anyone and you can't believe there will be a bar, never mind somewhere to eat. Actually there were two and we dived into the first as the clouds gathered.

Climbing up to Culla

The restaurant was full of young Spaniards with their children and Christine, who is expecting two grandchildren in the next few months, couldn't stop staring at them. Had a great meal and didn't notice that it was pouring with rain outside until the postres arrived. Tried to stretch things out with extra coffee but in the end we had to go, another hour or two's walking to get to Benasal.

Just as we had finished climbing into our waterproofs the owner of the restaurant asks where we are going and offers us a lift. Seemed unfair to put Christine through 90 minutes of torrential rain on her last day on the GR7 so we accepted and he kindly took us directly to the door at the Hotel la Piqueta.

Tuesday 19th April Montan to Montanejos

Another lost blog. The common link is the dodgy wifi at Montanejos; lovely walk, nice town, great hotel, but dodgy wifi and two lost blogs.

Anyway, let's try a 2nd time..... Tuesday was a relatively short walk. Had plenty of time for a quick look around Montan before we left, particularly the monastery which our hotel was attached to, wonderful building currently being restored.

Montan

Climbed up the road just outside village and then off road and down into a valley. Nothing out of the ordinary but very pleasant.

After climbing up the other side you start to get glimpses of some dramatic cliffs to the north through the trees. After a few kilometres the forest road peters out and turns into a trail. You're then taken around the side of gorge, half way up, on the most dramatic path of the E4 so far. Perfectly safe as long as you're careful but you need a head for hights as your sense of perspective struggles to handle the sheer cliffs above and the huge drops below you. Brilliant scenery.

Barranco de la Maimona

More Barranco

And more Barranco de la Maimona

The path finishes all too soon and it's a short walk down into Montajanos. We stay in the Casa Palacios, a nice hotel built around a Moorish tower next to the church. From our room you had a view of the river which has natural swimming pools amid beds of reeds. Strolling round the town later we saw a fabulous skinny bridge-cum- aqueduct which could take you off on a different GR trail to the South East.

Guest blog by Christine

If you have walked in Europe you will have come across signs giving you an estimated walking time to a destination. If you have walked in different countries you may have noticed that the basis for the estimation varies. The variation is down to the flawed implementation of the EU Walking Time Directive. A brilliant concept, realisation of the vision would have allowed citizens from any member state to plan walks both in country and across borders on a standard basis. Not only would this have promoted walking as a hobby it would also have fostered European solidarity.

It's easy to forget that it was the UK who originally pushed for this piece of EU regulation. British civil servants believed that walking was an English invention and saw the Directive as an opportunity for orderly adoption of Naismith's Rule across the continent.

The French of course had Hercule's Convention. Although this was only used in France, parts of Canada and Polynesia, they insisted that this was adopted as an alternative. At this point English newspapers, in particular the Daily Mail, ran a scare story that British walking would have to be speeded up if it was to comply with Europe. The Minister of Walks denied this was the case but the John Major Government panicked and negotiated a British opt out.

The rest of Europe continued to develop the Directive without the solid basis of Naismith's rule. Perhaps the most damaging intervention came from an alliance between the Dutch and the Danes. The so called "flat land standard hour" meant no account was given to any variation in altitude.

The resulting Directive was duly implemented in all member states but experience reveals the following:
- Spanish walking times are regionally specific
- the French erected signs with dual walking times depending on whether you had eaten the plat de jour
- the Italians had a special time for walkers wearing lycra and designer glasses
- the Greeks doubled walking times
- the Germans doubled walking speeds (triple on the autobahn)
- Austrian walking times speeded up in the afternoons and failure to maintain the pace meant denial of access to mountain huts
- the Irish wrote a song about it.

Perhaps the only country to have realised the vision of the early Directive pioneers is Switzerland which of course is not in the EU. Using permanently positioned satellites the Swiss constantly monitor average walking times and recalibrate signs on a daily basis to ensure that times accurately reflect evolving walker capabilities.

I'm personally a devoted European but the troubled history of the EU Walking Time Directive shows the distance that can sometimes exist between vision and reality.

Christine

Location:The EU Walking Times Directive

Thursday 21st April Villahermosa del Rio to Vistabella de Maestrazgo

So we watched the first half of the Copa del Rey game last night and went to bed. There was a lot of noise later on but it was difficult to know who won. When we came down for breakfast for the first time since arriving in Spain the television was not on. The owner of the hotel was a Barcelona fan and in mourning. We make a fuss about football in the UK but it is nothing compared to Spain, albeit that it feels like there are only two clubs here. It really is wall to wall.

Christine's birthday and a nice 20 kilometre walk to celebrate, unfortunately the weather was not going to help.

Started by climbing up into Villahermosa and dropping into the bread shop. Full of superb extras for Easter.

Easter baking in Villahermosa del Rio

The first part of the walk was brilliant even if it was a little bit cloudy. It was along a valley with a stream in the bottom. Sometimes you were walking next to the stream and sometimes higher up the valley side. Like the walk a few days ago the stream formed natural pools which on a warmer day would have made a great spot for a swim. We even see some wildlife including deer high up the cliff and staring down at us.

Following the gorge behind Villahermosa del Rio

Being watched

After about 6 kilometres you have to climb from about 800 metres to 1200. The path is brilliant typical of the ancient mule paths which have been such a feature of the walk through Valencia. We gain altitude without noticing the effort. All around are tiny abandoned villages, some clinging high up on the side of the valley, which, particularly as the weather was now getting worse, made everything feel extra remote and wild.

Abandoned villages in the drizzle

It was now drizzling so full waterproofs for the first time in a least three weeks (Christine had decided to leave her waterproof trousers in the UK). Visibility was poor which was such a shame as we were walking along the edge of a huge gorge at 1200 metres.

Eventually the really dramatic scenary comes to an end and we arrive at Sant Joan de Penyagolasa. There is a well restored hermitage and amongst other things a restaurant. Lunch isn't served until 2 and that's not for another hour and I'm a bit nervous about the number of people Easter has attracted into the mountains as we have still to find accommodation in Vistabella de Maestrazgo.

The last couple of hours walking is easy (because its pretty flat, despite being high up), and really fast but it's now raining heavily and very unpleasant. When we get to Vistabella de Maestrazgo it's a typical mountain town in the rain, water everywhere and without anyone in sight. Eventually get the directions of a bar that might have accommodation but it turns out to be full. They see the mess we are in, ring around and find somewhere for us to stay. The bar has a restaurant and as it's still only three we have plenty of time to sit down and have a really nice meal. Chicken for me and braised ox cheek for Christine, washed down with lots of red wine. As we eat and dry off other cyclists and walkers come in steaming from the rain and we feel very much at home.

Wednesday 20th April Montanejos to Villahermosa del Rio

Quite a tough walk today, about 30 kilometres and about 1500 metres of climb, Christine has sore feet. One of the things I have to remember is that I'm now ultra acclimatised, have got skin on my feet that a rhinoceros would proud of, but people joining me will not be as toughened up.

Climbing up out of Montanejos

Left Montanejos at about 8.30 fully loaded, too much water and enough food for days. The first thing we had to do was climb out of the valley, up, along and then up again, 500 metres in the first 90 minutes or so. We were surrounded by some dramatic scenery but it was difficult to see through the trees and the low clouds. Having got to the top it was straight back down to the dry river bed just below the village of La Artejuala. We were there by 11 o'clock, and partly to lighten the load, and partly because we were already hungry, we had a huge early lunch. Two lots of salami and tomato sandwiches.

La Artejuela

Forest over abandoned terraces

After that it was along walk up out of the valley still through trees until we hit the road which took us into the small town of San Vicente de Piedrahita. Time to join the locals in the bar and watch some quiz show on the television. After a couple of coffees we decided to leave, we were in danger of getting addicted. Very risqué adverts on Spanish television which English people, in a pub at lunchtime, would find embarrassing but no one blinks here.

Cheered up by the sign that said 2 hours 30 minutes to Villermosa del Rio, the quality of the walking declined dramatically. Although the path was trying to avoid the road the local farmers clearly thought that was where you should be. I was happy to accept the farmers wishes but Christine, whose feet were getting painful, resisted. She was not at all sympathetic when I tripped over an electric fence and fell in a gorse bush.

After the Ermita de San Bartomolome everything improved and although it was getting colder the last hour of the walk was really nice. Lots of Juniper bushes, flowers and a lovely old mule track which contoured around the mountain before the final descent into Villahermosa del Rio. Even saw some wildlife in the shape of circling eagle type things.

Villahermosa del Rio

Staying at the Hostal Ruta Aragon and will watch some of the replay between Real Madrid and Barcelona for the Copa del Rey which everyone is going nuts about here.

Saturday April 16th Chelva to Andilla

Not sure what happened to my first version of the diary entry for April the 16th, it literally went missing between sending it from my IPad and arriving as a blog. It left without leaving a trace and didn't turn up. Really annoying.

Anyway my birthday walk was a bit of a rushed affair as I wanted to make sure I arrived at Andilla before Christine who was flying out from the UK on the same day. Left Chelva at 7 in the morning and although it was starting to get light the sun had still to rise. Managed to get an early morning coffee and a piece of cake in a bar opposite the hotel.

Heading east out of Chelva early in the morning

My recollection of the walk now is that it was pleasant but not breathtaking. Long steady walk through a valley where the path varied from a forest trail to seriously overgrown. Seriously overgrown means scratched legs and slow progress as you keep loosing the route.

On an ancient camino near Caserio de Alcotas

The first major milestone was the little village of Caserio de Alcotas but there was nothing there to make you hang about. After dropping down a bit you walked along another overgrown valley path before emerging on a hill side which was overgrown with wind turbines. The wind had actually got up a bit and they were spinning around and creaking, can't say I'm a major fan, no pun intended.

Arrived at Andilla and it's twin village of La Pobletta at about 3.30, taking roughly 8 hours to cover the 28 kilometres. Andilla is a really nice little mountain town. For the first time on this trip I saw a large number of serious looking Spanish walkers who were eating lunch when I arrived. They had a good look at my ruck sack and footwear just to see if I meant business, I think I passed muster.

The church in Andilla

The casa rural I'm staying in is very close to the church which like most churches around chimes the time all night and does the hours twice. Sure I'll be used to it by the time I have left Spain.

Apart from my birthday and Christine's arrival the really big news is that I have worn out my first pair of walking shoes. The soles of the right shoe have completely split and there is a gash in the left shoe. Although they were showing other signs of wear and tear there was nothing as terminal as a split sole. My feet by the way are now totally acclimatised and pain free. I am absolutely sure that I made the right choice with as light as possible and I'm really pleased with the Inov8 Terrocs I've been wearing. For the record they lasted 47 days during which time I have walked around 1400 kilometres. The timing is perfect as Christine is bringing out another pair, same a before but not Gortex, given the weather I don't think they need to be waterproof and should be cooler.

Shoes on last legs

Monday April 18th Bejis to Montan

Didn't get quite get as far as I had planned today but then perhaps the plan was just a bit too ambitious. Had originally hoped to get to Montanejos, which is at least 40 kilometres from Bejis, but at 5.30, the sign said we still had another two hours walking to do. Christine was accusing me of trying to finish her off, so I decided to cut things short and head for Montan which is just off the GR7. This seems to have worked out well and after two beers Christine has cheered up.

Tried to get a really early start from Bejis but a nice breakfast slowed things up a bit (delicious home made pots of semi jam-like fruit puree with butter, toast and lots of steaming cafe con leche). Great value hotel, nice dinner last night, and as well as breakfast they made us a packed lunch.

Really nice crisp weather this morning, actually a bit cold, the route took you across the valley on a track through terraced fields of almonds which have now set - you can see the green almond fruit growing. The views back to Bejis were good, apart from the blots on the landscape here and there caused by the Spanish tendency to fly tip.

Bejis

Fly tipping near Bejis

Turning east we followed a disused railway track which had been converted into an 130 kilometres long cycle route, the Vio Verde (the route of GR7 almost follows this for about 7 kilometres and leaves it just on the other side of the motorway). The most exciting thing was an E4 sign saying that it was 2,132 kilometres to Tarifa. More than happy to claim I have walked this far but don't think it's true, I'm sure its nearly 800 kilometres too much.

I don't believe it

After going underneath a motorway you start to travel in a more northerly direction. We got lost briefly then rejoined the way marked route, over rough fields and terraces and past sad looking abandoned farmhouses. We continued and annoyingly the path turned southeast for a while before going north again. A couple of miles later we discovered we'd been on a long detour off piste. It was hot and we were getting tired but we now had a long trek up a narrow valley, over a brow, down the other side then up a very steep mountain side through the gorse scrub on a tiny steep path. We finally got to the top and rested on a bed of pine needles and ants.

Rosemary and Cistus

A long descent, part on a dirt track and part bushwhacking through scrub brought us to the Montan sign and we decided enough was enough and walked the 30mins into Montan, a pretty place clinging to wooded hillsides with one bar and one perfectly good Hostal Pilar.

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