Stage 4 - The GR7 and E4 through Valencia

The 600 kilometres through the region of Valencia (which includes the provinces of Valencia, Castellon and Alicante) involved some of the best and some of the worst experiences of the whole trip.  Although not a particularly fashionable walking area some of it, particularly the northern part, deserves to be much better known.

It took me 21 days to walk through Valencia, starting on the 3rd and finishing on the 24th of April.  Walking up in the mountains, on a trail that ran parallel with the coast,  I experienced the lows of multiple bee stings, the adventure of an all night walk, and the highs of a series of specatular Castellon towns.  The weather was also mixed - really hot at the beginning and extremely wet at the end.  Not quite sure what I was expecting in terms of scenery but I was surprised by how good much of it was -  more of those dramatic gorges I got a taste for in Murcia.

Had an accurate GPS trail courtesy of Bornem and my way was generally not a problem.  Had found high level description on the route, in the form of a PDF, on the Valencian Tourist Board site and this gave me a stage breakdown for the walk and some timings.

The first day, from Pinosa to Elba, wasn't much fun.  A continuation of the fairly dull walking experienced since leaving Cieza.  If you are going to walk 5,000 kilometres you can't expect scenic fireworks everyday!  Elba was not a town I would choose as a destination for a weekend break - the hotel we had booked had closed down so others clearly shared the same view.

The next day was better and the scenery varied from good to excellent for the rest of the walk in Valencia.  No co-incidence I guess, as for the first time for several days the route though the Sierra de Castalla was again at around 1000 metres.  Fairly short walk, 22 kilometres to the pretty little town of Castalla (surrounded by large amounts of new housing development) with, appropriately, a hill top castle.  Stayed in the new and very pleasant Don Jose hotel.

Castalla

Excellent walk to the wonderful town of Alcoi, worth going there just for its amazing street lights.  Great walk through a gorge, up to the top of Menejador and through the Natural Park of Font Roja.  Beautiful and unique ancient woodlands including some trees which only exist in this part of Spain.  Lots of places to stay in Alcoi.

Montcabrer

Excellent 27 kilometre walk next day to the classic Spanish hill top town at Bocairent (just slightly of the trail).   The first third was the best with a walk through an increasingly dramatic gorge followed by a steady climb to the top of Montcabrer, wonderful limestone countryside with huge views.  It was then into the Sierra Mariola Natural Park and onto Bocairent where I stayed at the very nice Casa Rural Baretta.

Bocairent

The walk to Vallada was not quite as dramatic and nor is Vallada such a nice town as Bocairent, but still a good walk often on Moorish mule tracks.  Stayed in the Giners tourist apartments which were fine.

After Vallada and for the next few days the route starts to get difficult in terms of accommodation.

Borranc de Bocquilla

From Vallada, and after crossing the valley and the Rio Canyoles, you go through a wonderful gorge (the Borranc de Bocquilla) which goes on for mile after mile, a real surprise and a great walk.  You eventually climb out the gorge at El Chorrillo carrying on over the heath, drop down into a valley and back up again to Casa de Benali.  There is a Casa Rural there which might do accommodation later in the season but not in April and I had to get a 20 kilometre taxi to and from Enguera - a nice town but a long way off the track.

Next day is also difficult with no accommodation on the route until you get to Cortes de Pallas (55 kilometres from Casa de Benali).  The first metalled road to hit the route is about five kilometres after Caroche and this is the logical place to get a taxi to pick you up.  This was my bee sting day and other things also went wrong.  If you can get a taxi than the nearest hotel is in a town called Ayora and I afraid the hotel there is very poor and on Saturday the disco underneath went on all night.

If you have made it to and from Ayora than the next day to Cortes de Pallas is relatively straightforward, a good walk with nice accommodation at the end of it.  You are entering a really important area in Spain for energy generation, huge reservoirs and nuclear power stations, but the scenery is great, with one dramatic valley meeting another one. Stayed at the Hostal Casa Fortunata in Cortes de Pallas.

Towards Cortes de Pallas

Another difficult day for accommodation -  things went completely wrong as far as my schedule was concerned.  Had expected to stay at Milares but the accommodation didn't exist and meant an unanticipated night out of doors.  Avoiding my fate would involve either a 50 kilometre walk all the way through to El Rebollar and then a taxi or train to Requena or a short walk to Venta Gaeta and a taxi back Cortes de Pallas with a return to the same point the following day.  The lack of accommodation is a shame  because it's good walking, particularly nice stretch north of Venta Gaeta and the walk around the Pico del Mono.  Requena by the way is a large pleasant town with plenty of accommodation, about 10 kilometres to the west of the route.

Next day's walk to Chera (which is about 3 kilometres of the route) was not without incident either.  The route went through a large hunting estate and the management have decided to block it and cover the waymarks.  Without an alternative I climbed the fence and followed the route.  Chera has a hostal which was closed when I was there but there rooms above a local bar.

38 kilometres to Benageber but my navigational cock-ups and some confused waymarking just outside Chera added to the distance.  Continuing to cross empty countryside, usually along forest trails, through dry Mediterranean woodland (Aleppo Pine and Holm Oak) with a thick undergrowth of cistus and rosemary shrubs.  Savage if you need to go off the trail and cut through it.  The countryside is absolutely empty although there were odd bits of cultivated land with locals coming up from the village and working the land in near traditional ways.  Nice apartments to hire on a nightly basis in the bar in the small village of Benageber.

Benageber was the start of one of a really wonderful stretch of walking - comparable to anything in Andalucia - great countryside and lovely towns/villages.

Down to the Rio Turin

The first day in this purple patch involved a short walk to Chelva.  Around 5 kilometres east of Benageber you hit an absolutely amazing gorge, huge cliffs, with the Rio Turin running through the bottom.  You go almost straight down one side of the gorge and almost straight up the other - about 300 metres from the top to the bottom.  Dramatic scenery.  After climbing out the gorge, it's a pleasant upland walk, through the tiny village of Bercuta, along a forest trail and then down to the lovely ancient town of Chelva (with its old Arab quarter) where I stayed at the Hotel La Pasada.

Less fireworks the next day but still a nice walk and the twin villages of Andilla and La Pobletta were really lovely.  Stayed in a smashing casa rural attached to the restaurant opposite the church.  Really friendly and helpful.

Andilla

Short but lovely walk to Bejis next day, some great opportunities for outdoor swimming along the way and a couple of lovely villages to wander around (Arteas de Arriba and Arteas de Abajo).  The first part of the 23 kilometre walk you share with the GR 10 and I managed follow it instead of the GR7 before working out my mistake.  Bejis is in the province of Castellon (you have left the province of Valencia but you are still in the region of Valencia) and is one of a series of stunning hill top towns which now start to come thick and fast.  Stayed at the friendly and authentic Hostal Restuarant El Pita.

Bejis

My GPS route was a bid dodgy on this stretch and this, combined with poor waymarking, meant that I kept missing the route, frustrating on a hot day.  Still it was a good walk and the little town of Montan was a real reward at the day's end.  Stayed at Hostal Pilar, authentic, cheap and great fun.

Really short walk to Montanejos but spectacular.  The main feature is the Barranco de la Maimona, another dramatic gorge and a favorite venue for climbers and wild water swimmers alike.  The only bit of the walk in Spain where a head for heights was needed.  Montanejos itself is lovely, an ancient centre and a spa town with lots of places to stay.   Stayed in the Casa Palacios, a nice hotel built around a Moorish tower next to the church.

Barranco de la Maimona

After what was almost a rest day I got back into the saddle with a walk to Villermosa del Rio.  The first half  was great, through woodland covering recently abandoned terraces, down a valley and up to the lovely old village of La Artejuela and then onto the small town of San Vicente de Piedrahita.  After that the walk was dissappointing, a lot of road or near road walking almost until Villermosa del Rio where the scenary, with Penyagolosa (1815 metres) as a backdrop was once again spectacular.  Another lovely old town and Hostal Ruta Aragon another authentic hotel.

Next day was a special stretch of walking spoilt, when I was there, by bad weather. I really want to go back and do it again.  You go up a lovely long gorge (lots of wild life), past abandoned villages, high along the side of a cliff, past the old monastery of Sant Joan de Penyalagosa, onto a weird upland plain, before some more rugged country on your approach to Vistabella de Maestrazgo.  The rain was pouring down and I missed Penyagolosa but Vistabella de Maestrazgo was a great place to hide out in, another wonderful Spanish mountain town.

Leaving Vistabella de Maestrazgo           

The great walking continued next day (despite mixed weather).  Initially it's more high flat walking across yesterday's upland plain before heading down a long valley past more abandoned villages down to the dry Rio Manleon (dry when we were there).  It's then a steep walk up to Culla. where I think there is accommodation, but I stayed in the lovely little town of Benasal at the Hotel la Piqueta.

Benasal

Two stunning hill top towns in one day, Ares de Maestre and Morella, plus some great walking often along some remarkable ancient and really well preserved caminos. Accommodation at both places and the scenery and stopovers really justify going at a slower pace (particularly if you get better weather than I did).  Morella is the number one hill top town in these parts with a lot of tourists.

Ares de Maestre

So the last day in Valencia and the province of Castellon.  The GR7 continues north but the E4 heads down into Catalonia and the province of Tarragona.  Definitely didn't end with a wimper though and the high quality trail continued through to El Boixar.  Leaving Morella you have a bit of road walking to contend with but after that it's a steady climb up over a pass (great views back), along a ridge and down to Vallibona (lunch stop opportunity) before climbing up again to El Boixar where you leave Castellon. There is a casa rural in El Boixar or, if your staying on the GR7 a refuge a bit further along.  I went down the E4 into Moli L'Abad (which was much too far).

For a day by day, real time account of the walk go to the following walk diary entries:

3rd April Pinosa to Elba
April 4th Elda to Castalla
5th April Castalla to Alcoi
6th April Alcoi to Bocairent
7th April Bocairent to Vallada
8th April Vallada to Casa Benali
April 9th Casa Benali to Casa de Callado
April 10th Casa de Callado to Cortes de Pallas
April 11th and 12th Cortes de Pallas to Requena
April 13th Requena to Chera
April 14th Chera to Benageber
April 15th Benageber to Chelva
April 16th Chelva to Andilla
April 17th Andilla to Bejis
April 18th Bejis to Montan
April 19th Montan to Montanejos
April 20th Montanejos to Villahermosa del Rio
April 21st Villahermosa del Rio to Vistabella de Maestrazgo
April 22nd Vistabella de Maestrazgo to Benasal
April 23rd Benasal to Morella
April 24th Morella to Moli l'Abad

Stage 3 - The GR7 through Murcia

After 26 days walking through Andalucia I had belatedly started to work out just how long the E4 was.  The euphoria which had driven me along for the first few weeks was starting to drain away and I was looking for smaller tangible milestones to sustain me.  One step at a time didn't quite cut it but ticking off another Spanish province would help and fortunately Murcia was a small one.

Less fashionable as a walking destination than Andalucia, Murcia still looked interesting.  Arguably it has an even stronger historical legacy.  It was an important part of the Carthagenian empire (Categena on the coast is still a major port), a wealthy part of the Roman empire and for a time an independent taifi (kingdom) within the Arab world.   The northern part of Murcia, where the E4/G7 route crosses the region, contains a number places of particular significance to Catholics with Caravaca de la Cruz designated as one of the five most important places in the catholic world. 

Unlike the GR7 in Andalucia there is no English language guide for the GR7 in Murcia so I was now relying on my own research efforts (something I would have to do for the rest of the E4).  My key piece of information was a GPS route from Wikiloc published by a cyclist.   As a matter of interest "Bornem", whose route I was to use for the rest of the GR7, has now completed the walk through Murcia and the route is now available via his website on Wikiloc.

The route through Murcia is about 200 kilometres long.  There is a variant to the GR7 which takes you to the south side of the Sierra de Moratalla mountain range to Caravaca de la Cruz, I stuck with the main route.

GR7 through Murcia

The first challenge was to get to Canada de la Cruz, until I got there I didn't have a GPS route.   The route is not clear and a large hunting estate just outside Puebla de Don Fadrique acts as a barrier.  Essentially went cross country (which involved climbing over fences) and, without the aid of a route, got horribly lost.  As often happened my luck eventually turned and signs suddenly reappeared just a few miles from the village.  Shame about the route way marking because it's nice countryside.  There is some casa rurale accommodation at Canada de la Cruz but it not available when I was there and the cheapest option was a return taxi trip to Puebla de Don Fadrique.

Next day to El Sabinar was excellent.  The route takes you up and then along a valley between the Sierra de Taibilla to the north and the Sierra de Mortella to south, dropping into a gorge lined with rocks in stunning colours and then into wild windy upland plain - huge views.  I think there is a pension in El Sabinar, a tiny village, but I stayed just down the road in the wonderful boutique hotel at Casa Pernias.

View across the plain from El Sabinar

Lavender fields on the way into the Rio Alharaba gorge

The walk to Moratalla was another good one.  Starting in the high level plain from yesterday, you go past a huge reservoir near the small village at la Risca then dive down another dramatic gorge, with more colourful cliffs, with the Rio Alharaba at the bottom.  When I went through it new growth on the pine trees gave everything a clean fresh look.  Moratalla is an interesting town, a bit shabby, but with a lovely historic centre.  There is a hotel on the outskirts but I chose to stay in a cheap and cheerful town centre pension.

Spring growth on the trees in the Rio Alharaba gorge

Another short easy day mainly across an agricultural plain to the lovely town of Calasparra.  Calasparra is the home of a particular type of paella rice and the town has its own rice trail and museum.  Compared to Moratalla it had a prosperous feel but with a similar historic centre.  I stayed in the Hospederia Rural Constiticion, excellent and right in the middle of town.

Looking back to Moratalla

Next day's walk is excellent taking you along an east west ridge with wide plains to the north and south.  To the north runs the Segura river which I guess provides the water for the rice which makes the area famous.  You never get to climb to top of the ridge but contour along its side.  Half way along you cross the dam holding the water back at the Alfonso X111 reservoir before going around the Sierra del Almarchion the shape of which is particularly dramatic.  The Segura river flows around the ancient town of Cieza which surprisingly doesn't have any accommodation.  I stayed at La Linda Tapada which was lovely but a bit a trek out of town - the owner will pick you up on request.

Sierra del Almarchion

There is no accommodation on the next stretch of the walk and it's not that pleasant either.  A long stretch through the industrial suburbs to the north of Cieza, then through some dry scrub land and then huge fruit tree estates before hitting the motorway at Venta Roman.  I got a lift back to La Linda Tapada and staying there two nights.

The last day in Murcia is a bit better, the trail is good following an ancient camino across wide open and  empty spaces and if you like big skies it's a nice walk.  You cross the boundary into the region of Valencia just before you get to Pinosa, a small village with a big expat population and which has been speculatively over developed.

If you want to know what it felt like on a daily basis than have a look at the walk diary

Canada de la Cruz to El Sabinar
El Sabinar to Moratalla
Moratalla to Calasparra
Calasparra to Cieza
Cieza to Venta Roman
Venta Roman to Pinosa

Stage 2 Villanueva de Cauche to Puebla de Don Fadrique

From Villanueva de Cauche you have a northern and a southern option for the GR7/E4.  I chose the northern option, which is generally described as the less developed route, because, and without a lot of evidence, I thought there might be snow on the southern route in March.  I now know better and could definitely have walked either route.

In total my Stage 2 is 443 kilometres long, involves around 112 hours walking, and goes from Villanueva del Rosario through the Malaga and Jaen provinces and joins up with the southern option at Puebla de Don Fadrique where both options join before heading into Murcia.

A sea of olive trees

There are a lot of olive trees along this part of the walk.  Spain is the world's largest producer of olive oil and this part of Andalucia (Jaen in particular) is where much of it happens.  To be honest I got a bit fed up with olive trees.

Day one was mixed arable, not yet 100 per cent olive trees, and while it wasn't brilliant walking the trail was nearly all off-road.  I stayed at the wonderful Hotel Rural Paloma which is just off the route and couple of kilometres before you get to Villanueva de Tapia (near where the route crosses the main road) - don't miss it!

The next day, a short 20 kilometre walk but now 100 per cent olives.  Pleasant open countryside but olives as far as the eye can see. Villanueva de Algaidas, the day's destination looked a pretty dull town, although it was pouring with rain when I arrived.  The Hotel Algaidas is at the southern end of the high street.

After the rain the walk from Villanueva de Algaidas to Rute was tricky and sticky (with argillaceous mud sticky to everything).  Streams which needed to be crossed were in full flood and the route was at times very difficult to follow.  This was a shame because, despite the olive trees, this is pretty countryside with the route taking you through the lovely villages of Cuevas Bajas and Vadofresno.  Rute the final destination is also interesting, a centre for the production of anis, the whole town seemed to smell just slightly from the drink.  I stayed at the Hotel el Mirador which was OK but lacked any Spanish soul.

Spanish breakfast at Hostal Rafi

Nice walk to the lovely town of Priego de Cordoba the route takes you along two linked valleys.  Hard to find the route leaving Rute but important that you do as the route takes high up the side of the first valley and away from the road.  In the second valley it's along a quiet road still annoying because there is a lovely green lane running parallel to it nearly all the way.  Preigo de Cordoba is a lovely town with some amazing Rococo churches.  Stayed at the Hostal Rafi, a really nice hotel with a good restaurant.

Priego de Cordoba

After a 23 kilometre walk to Priego de Cordoba I chose to do a much longer, 35 kilometre walk to Alacala la Real.  Could have had a short day by stopping at Almedinilla but to be honest the walking was not that good so not that much to hold you back.  Quiet a lot of road walking although at times I may have walked along the road rather than the path because I missed the route.

Alcala la Real

Stopped for half a day in Alcala la Real staying at the Hotel Torrepalma.  Impressive castle towering over the town and from the top you can see the line of watch towers that marked an old border with the Moors.  A short afternoon stroll took me through the Alcala la Real suburbs to Frailes with accommodation at a wonderful bar in the middle of the village, really friendly, enormous portions of food and great fun.

Frailes to Carchelejo is a big but wonderful walk, 35 kilometres and 1300 metres of ascent.  Climbing steadily up from Frailes to the little village of Los Rosales your soon out of olive country and into open moorland where the agriculture is based on sheep.  Climbing up over a ridge with brillant views to the north you then into a empty and seemingly never ending valley before, after several hours, climbing up again over a ridge, past some amazing wind blown rock, with brilliant views of the Quiebrajano Reservoir, before getting onto moorland again and heading down to Carchelejo.  We stayed at the Mezquita de Magina Rural Apartments, whatever you do don't be tempted to walk onto the Hotel-Restuarant Oasis, its miles away.

GR7 above Frailes

Couldn't find anywhere to stay at Cambil, the walk for the next day, but the owner of the Mezquita in Carchelejo was happy to act as taxi driver.  Easy walk to Cambil, a very pleasant little town, although you do have to go underneath a motorway.  Recent comments on the blog suggest that the route may have got washed away in places so it might be necessary to make some local enquiries, as it was, even when we were there, the river along the valley looked a bit treacherous.

After a slightly dull walk to Cambil, the walk to Torres next day was much better.  Again you get to climb up out of the olive trees, this time into the Sierra Magina Natural Park, over a pass a 1600 metres with some amazing views back to the Sierra Nevadas, and then a long meandering walk down through trees to Torres.  A good walk.  Stayed at the Hotel-Restaurante Jurinea which was excellent.

Albanchez de Ubeda with castle above

The walk to Jodar is a good one going through some nice countryside and visiting the lovely towns of Albanchez de Ubeda and Bedmar both of which are stop-over options.  Jodar is an "interesting" place, nice town centre but the rest of the place feels poor and slightly oppressive.  There are two hotels and we probably stayed at the wrong one - would try the Hotel los Molinos which is much better positioned than the Hotel Cuidad de Jodar.

Would give the walk to Quesada a miss unless you're desperate to do the whole of the GR7/E4.  A lot of road walking through boring olive tree country.  Gets better from Hornos de Peal to Quesada and Quesada is a lovely village with good accommodation options.  We stayed at the excellent Hotel Sierra de Quesada.

Limestone cliffs in the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y las Villas Natural Park

After Quesada you enter the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y las Villas Natural Park, a magical place full of wild life but with a total absence of people when I went there in March.  This was one of the best parts of the whole E4 as far as I was concerned and as well as deer,  huge numbers of birds of prey and vultures, I got to see my first wild boar and either a wild cat or a lynx.  Definitely want to go back there.

You cross into the Park somewhere between Quesada and Cazorla after you have climbed up along a forest trail.  The scenery changes quickly with huge limestone cliffs looking into the park and huge views across the plain looking out.  Along the way you pass ancient churches and castles before getting to Cazorla which itself is an absolute gem of a town.  We stayed at the Hotel Guadalquivir which was a success.

Sticking with the route there is no accommodation on the route into the park so I walked to and from Vadillo de Castril and the hotel gave me a lift back there the following day.  I'm sure there are better options if your not a GR7/E4 purist.  The paths through the park were excellent, a combination of paved mule trails and more recent forest trails.

It was on the second day into the park that the wild life started to reveal itself in numbers.  Usually walking high up, contouring around valleys, you're often looking down at the hovering Griffon vultures and birds of prey.  It was on the second day I saw my family of wild boar.

I stayed in an apartment in Cotos Rios, a small village on the edge of the park, although I'm sure the Hotel la Hortizuela is close by but on the road on the other side of the river from the trail.

Sheep country around Pontones

Although you're out of the park the quality of walking is more than sustained next day on the trip to Pontones.  It was pretty wild when I did it with snow falling going over the pass.  It was at this point I saw what was either a Lynx or a Wild Cat.  Pontones itself is very much a mountain town, very remote and in an area where making a living looks especially hard.  The Hotel Restaurant Ruta del Segura was a authentic, old fashioned good fun place to stay.

Last decent day's walking on the northern variant of the GR7, a walk across dry open limestone countryside followed by a long descent down a valley to Santiago de la Espada.  Stayed at another mountain hotel, the Hotel San Francisco.

Although I walked to Puebla de Don Fadrique there was little pleasure in it.  Mostly along a sometimes busy road and a long way - would definitely recommend catching the bus.  The Hotel Puerta de Andalucia is a good place to spend a last day in Andalucia (or a first day if you're walking the other way).

If you want to know what the walk felt like on a daily basis then have a look at the walk diary.

Villanueva de Rosario to Villanueva de Tapia
Villanueva de Tapia to Villanueva de Algaidas 
Villanueva de Algaidas to Rute
Rute to Priego de Cordoba 
Priego de Cordoba to Alcala la Real 
Alcala la Real to Frailes
Frailes to Carchelejo 
Carchelejo to Cambils
Cambil to Torres 
Torres to Jodar 
Jodar to Quesada 
Quesada to Cazorla 
Cazorla to Vadillo de Castril 
Vadillo de Castril to Cotos-Rios 
Cotos-Rios to Pontones 
Pontones to Santiago de la Espada
Santiago de la Espada to Puebla de Don Fadrique  

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 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

Wednesday 13th April El Rebollar to Chera

Mi hija Hannah described me as supertramp in a tweet with reference to my all night walk, slightly double edged to say the least but it did set me thinking. My head teacher at junior school, Miss Gledhill, had a slightly unhealthy obsession with the poet John Masefield, who before George Orwell, hit the road and wrote Diaries of a Supertramp. Perhaps being bombarded with Masefield has lead me to this. In addition as a teenager I had an obsession with the pre-electric Bob Dylan (what a sell-out he proved to be) who of course modelled himself on Woody Guthrie (check the picture on first album cover) who of course, possibly not out of choice, was a famous hobo. It all fits.

To be honest the all night walk has left a bit of mark. Although it was fine at the time the memory of it is disturbing. Particularly this morning I really felt that I needed to get back from Supertramp to well resourced walker. Maybe the totally wrecked sleep pattern has given me a bit of a jet lag sensation, I'm "Lost in Translation" (which for some reason is a favourite film) and quickly need to get from Woody Guthrie to Bill Murray.

Today provided the antidote opportunity, short 20 kilometre walk to Chera with accommodation booked at other end. Had a double breakfast and got a taxi to El Rebollar. There is a public transport option but I wasn't messing about.

Not long after the start I had to cross a railway line. This can't be happening, John Masefield gets his foot stuck on a railway line and looses it and boxcar Guthrie's railway connections are just too obvious to mention. Manage to walk across it safely when just for a few seconds I think the route takes me across the High Speed Route as well, then I see a bridge and start to calm down.

After that things get better. The route takes me across fields of vines which happily are starting to sprout leaves and then through a valley into hillier country. Essentially you're contouring around the Sierra de Tejo which at the top is over 1100 metres. The route is well marked and looks used. All of a sudden in runs into a two metre deer fence. Just to get the message across the deer fence has panels of steel reinforcing laced into it, the stuff they use in concrete.

To the north of El Rebollar

Block Trail

Hidden Waymarks

Approaching Chera

Now I don't want go anywhere if I'm not welcome but after going up and down the fence looking for the please come through gate, I realise that the only way to get to Chera is once again to climb a deer fence. The absence of "welcome walker" signs are reinforced inside when I realise that someone has gone the trouble of painting over all the GR signs. Not sure but I suspect that this has something to do with hunting. Although, given the almost total absence of anyone on the walk so far, the chances of suddenly bumping into a hunter was virtually zero, the clear inference that I wasn't welcome did spoil an otherwise nice walk. I did see three captive deer but they failed to realise that I was on their side and shot up the mountain.

The deer San Quentin must have been 10 kilometres across and finally emerged about 5 kilometres before Chera. There was a open gate across a cattle grid, the gate was open because a satellite dish installer was visiting a house and had to get access. Either side of the gate were turnstiles to let pedestrians through. On the other side the GR signs started again and shortly after there was a sign pointing me down this route to El Rebollar. No idea what's going on.

In Chera the municipal auberge I had a room booked in was closed until tomorrow but fortunately there was another one in this very small town.

Chera is an interesting little town, population about 2,000 I guess. Have seen 5 bars, a baker, 2 little "supermecados" one selling meat as well, and a chemist. Non of the above look prosperous. On the other hand the road to the town has been completely reconstructed, not a dual carriageway, but high quality non-the-less. In addition to the road the immediate approach to the town has a new street lighting scheme, parking bays, bus shelter etc etc. Neither the road or the new facilities seem to get any use.

Missing my water reservoir. Particularly miss the fact that the pipe which goes over your shoulder and connects to a strap on your bag made you look you look like a serious walker and less like a tramp. Also had a certain ghostbuster, Bill Murray, look to it.

April 11th and 12th Cortes de Pallas to Requena

Having a rest day in Requena, about 8 kilometres away from the GR7 for reasons which will become apparent, so a double day blog.

The two big news items, firstly an equipment failure and secondly an accommodation failure.

Walking is not exactly a technical sport so a bit of kit actually failing is very unusual and I suspect some will find it interesting. My water reservoir sprung a leak. The alternative name for a reservoir is a bladder but the idea of a leaking bladder is particularly unpleasant so I'm going to stick with reservoir. I know exactly how the leak came about and it's a clear design fault, really exciting, so I will have probably write a separate blog on it.

Anyway as I was leaving Cortes de Pallas the bottom of my back felt a bit damp. This has happened before, usually when the bag has been left on it's side, so I didn't worry. After about 10 minutes I decided to investigate and sure enough there was a leak.

What to do. It's a relatively busy road walk out of Cortes de Pallas, I didn't have anything I could put the water in and I reasoned it was slow enough not to matter. After about 35 minutes the do nothing option was becoming untenable,it was starting to look like I had a leaking bladder as well as a leaking reservoir, an impression reinforced by the underpants which were drying on the back of my backpack.

Leaking Bladder

Nothing to do but find an old bottle, put a chlorine tablet in it, drain the reservoir and change my clothes. Down to less than a litre of water but a half way stop on the route where I might be able to get more. I thought that was all the excitement I was going to have for the day.

My original schedule had involved walking all the way through to El Rebollar and then somehow getting to Requena which is where the nearest accommodation is. Christine Durrant thought she had found an auberge in Milares and had booked and paid for it in advance. They were going to refund me her costs when I got there.

Apart from the wet clothes the walk, despite being along a road for the first 5/6 kilometres, was interesting. This area has a lot of infrastructure, a nuclear power station, a reservoir at the bottom of the gorge and another one at the top, power cables everywhere.

Cooling Towers

After a while you leave the road and start the first climb up the side a very impressive gorge. Climbs are a feature of the walk and heading north I'm definitely crossing the grain of the landscape and will complete five climbs before I finish. The other feature is a lot of overgrown forest paths, difficult to follow despite good marking, the GPS is really useful. Just before I get to the top I see my first snake sunning itself on a rock. A light yellow or olive colour with black markings all along it's back - about a metre long.

Gorge to the north west of Cortes de Pallas

Ancient Cave Hose

It's a flat top for 2 or 3 kilometres and then down into the next valley. The restaurant at Venta Caeta is open so I stop for lunch at about 12.45. It was Sunday yesterday, I was on the road at 7.45 and have very little food on board.

Leaving the village the second climb goes to the top of the Col Rodona, again through a really thick forest trail, down the other side and then up again on the third climb. It's then a long and meandering descent on a much better trail down to what looks like a campsite but not yet open and with access to a road. It's now about five o'clock and I'm starting to look for Milares. Slightly worrying is a table of services at the campsite for the GR7 which doesn't mention Milares accommodation.

Worry not, after about 30 minutes a GR sign saying 45 minutes to Milares and an auberge. The GR route takes you on a complex route (ignoring the direct one along the road) and eventually I'm in Milares. It's about six houses, non have mains electricity and there is absolutely no one there. Having wandered around a bit I ring the number Christine Durrant gave me for the accommodation but no answer. I wander through the village and eventually find a sign to an auberge, find the auberge but it's long closed. It does however have a different name to the one Christine has booked so the evidence is not conclusive, although the chances of two auberges seem a bit remote.

Decide to go back to small village on the other side of Milares to see if the auberge is there. This place at least has mains electricity and dogs start to bark at me - life at least. At the end of the village there is some activity. As I get closer I see it's a man spraying the back of his small lorry with a high pressure hose. The lorry, would you believe it, has something to do with bees and the man is dressed in gear you associate with a nuclear disaster, I decide to leave him to it.

On the way back I see some elderly people with some sheep, they tell me where Milares is and tell me the auberge is closed. One final brain wave, I ring up Christine and John Durrant. Encouragingly they are confident that the auberge does exist, they had spoken to them yesterday, and they will SMS me the details. The connection is very bad.

I march back to Milares awaiting the SMS and determined to turn over every stone to find the auberge. My confidence starts to slip, no SMS and no auberge. I get back through to Christine by which time she had worked out the problem, the auberge is in Milanes, or somewhere with a slightly different spelling.

What to do?

I could either go back and throw myself on the mercy of the sheep people (who had not offered to help despite my predicament) or press on. I pressed on.

Climbing out of Milares

This is about 7.30. I didn't really know how far El Rebollar was but knew I would have to get there in good time to organise transport to Requena. Dusk is now arriving and it takes me just under 90 minutes to climb to the top of the pass. It's now dark, half moon, but the sign is clear enough, El Rebollar 3 hours. It's a small place and arriving there at midnight seemed a pretty desperate plan.

As it happens the walk was OK, the path was fairly clear, and it's amazing how much you can see with even a half moon. After another hour I arrived at a old cottage, which had a flat grassy area in front of it. I decided to put all my gear on and see if I could sleep. Flat, smooth surfaces by the way are very unusual around here, the standard surface is rock, or packed soil, covered with rocks.

I did nearly go to sleep but the forest is a noisy place at night what with the owls, larger things crashing through the trees and my stomach. At one point I was convinced that my stomach was sneaking up on me.

Eventually I was just too cold and had to walk just to warm up. This didn't take that long and I wanted to go to sleep again but no flat, remotely comfortable surface presented itself. I did sit on a rock for a bit and some animals came rushing past, had to be deer or possibly even boar.

Had to decide whether I wanted to hang around on the mountain or head into town. Didn't really know what the final approach to town was going to be like or indeed the reception I might get at this time of night from the Spanish dogs. Stayed on the mountain until 3 (found another flat place) and then headed down. Only one dog in El Rebollar and two on the outskirts of Requena. Not counting the roaming around the Milares conurbation, I had walked 50 kilometres.

Was in the centre by 5.30 and watched the town wake up. Two very heavy smokers with terrible coughs ejected from somewhere at 5.45, hospital workers changing shift at 6, the first bar open at 6.30 with the first drinkers in there almost immediately. I kill time with a couple of coffees and manage to get into Hotel Avenida by 7.45.

I had originally planned to do the whole thing in a day but always knew it would be a mega challenge and was pleased when Christine found an alternative. Christine's mistake was an easy one to make and I'm sure I will make similar ones before I'm finished. The particular issue with this stretch of the walk is that there just isn't any accommodation.