Well it has been one of those days. Really frustrating and I'm still not quite sure what has gone wrong.
First things first, I knew Canada de la Cruz was going to be difficult for accommodation, all I had was a phone number for a Casa Rural, and although I've been lucky with these twice so far, their preference is to fill them weekly rather than have one person there for a night. Rang this morning and indeed they were booked for the week. Not the end of the world, I thought, it's only a 13 mile walk, I'll go there, see what's what, and might even walk back.
In the back of my mind was the thought that something would turn up.
I had a trail on my GPS which was based on a local walkers route, it didn't say it was the GR7 but when I was putting the trail together it was the only one I could find. Funnily enough I checked Wikilocs this morning and Bornem, a Spaniard who is walking the whole of the GR7, has recently published his trail for this section of the walk but too late for me to use. A glance at it confirmed that he entered Puebla de Don Fabrique the same way as mine left so that was good enough for me. He has also walked the route I did yesterday so he must be mad as well.
Set of down the A330 and sure enough at the designated point there was a footpath sign, not a GR sign, but a footpath sign and a trail. Carried on for at least three kilometres, the trail got a bit sticky, the weather was looking changeable but it wasn't until I met a two metre deer fence that I started to worry. Right across the trail, a trail marked on the map.
Walked up and down the fence to see if there was an approved way of getting through but nothing.
Should I climb the fence, would it hold my weight?
Thought about throwing my bag over but the image of my bag stuck on one side of the fence and me on the other was just too awful to think about so, after some hesitation, I made the dash for freedom. It did occur to me that where there is one fence, there ought to be another, and I might be breaking into prison rather than escaping. I put this thought behind me reasoning that it was perhaps the border between Andalucia and Murcia which had to be nearby.
Anyway was now back on my track making good progress in attractive and increasingly open countryside with ever longer views. Had to climb a ridge but yes in the distance I could see Canada de la Cruz (keep thinking Penelope). Walked for about 40 minutes and then had to descend a really steep slope with, you guessed it, a fence. A deer popped out of the trees, my side, looked at the fence and went back into the trees.
At the bottom of the slope I climbed the fence again and walked on down the trail and all of a sudden GR signs were everywhere, even an E4 sign, on the same path as my GPS trail.
And then I lost them again. Not sure what to do, I stuck with my GPS trail, it was continuing to follow a trail on the map even if local deer keepers had a habit of blocking the trail with 2 metre fences.
The route, still heading towards Penelope got increasingly remote, eventually I really was wacking bushes and, despite the trail on my GPS, there was nothing on the ground to suggest that this was the right way. I studied the map decided to go the long way round and pick up a Camino, a Spanish cattle trail. It took the best part of a hour to get to it and it of course turned out to be the GR7 which I then followed, uneventfully into Canada de la Cruz. I also crossed the real border between the two regions.
Nothing by the way of accommodation in Canada de la Cruz but a really helpful barman organised me a taxi so I'm now back in Puebla de Don Fabrique. The taxi is going to pick me up in the morning for the next stage of the route which actually does look straightforward.
Slightly worrying is that when I looked at Bornem's route again, his route didn't go anywhere near the first lot of GR signs I came across, he was coming in the other direction and seemed to prefer a long road walk to the uncertainties of going cross country. In terms of the GR7, I feel none the wiser.
First things first, I knew Canada de la Cruz was going to be difficult for accommodation, all I had was a phone number for a Casa Rural, and although I've been lucky with these twice so far, their preference is to fill them weekly rather than have one person there for a night. Rang this morning and indeed they were booked for the week. Not the end of the world, I thought, it's only a 13 mile walk, I'll go there, see what's what, and might even walk back.
In the back of my mind was the thought that something would turn up.
I had a trail on my GPS which was based on a local walkers route, it didn't say it was the GR7 but when I was putting the trail together it was the only one I could find. Funnily enough I checked Wikilocs this morning and Bornem, a Spaniard who is walking the whole of the GR7, has recently published his trail for this section of the walk but too late for me to use. A glance at it confirmed that he entered Puebla de Don Fabrique the same way as mine left so that was good enough for me. He has also walked the route I did yesterday so he must be mad as well.
Set of down the A330 and sure enough at the designated point there was a footpath sign, not a GR sign, but a footpath sign and a trail. Carried on for at least three kilometres, the trail got a bit sticky, the weather was looking changeable but it wasn't until I met a two metre deer fence that I started to worry. Right across the trail, a trail marked on the map.
 |
| 2 metre high deer fence |
Walked up and down the fence to see if there was an approved way of getting through but nothing.
Should I climb the fence, would it hold my weight?
Thought about throwing my bag over but the image of my bag stuck on one side of the fence and me on the other was just too awful to think about so, after some hesitation, I made the dash for freedom. It did occur to me that where there is one fence, there ought to be another, and I might be breaking into prison rather than escaping. I put this thought behind me reasoning that it was perhaps the border between Andalucia and Murcia which had to be nearby.
Anyway was now back on my track making good progress in attractive and increasingly open countryside with ever longer views. Had to climb a ridge but yes in the distance I could see Canada de la Cruz (keep thinking Penelope). Walked for about 40 minutes and then had to descend a really steep slope with, you guessed it, a fence. A deer popped out of the trees, my side, looked at the fence and went back into the trees.
 |
| Cerro del Celar in the distance |
At the bottom of the slope I climbed the fence again and walked on down the trail and all of a sudden GR signs were everywhere, even an E4 sign, on the same path as my GPS trail.
And then I lost them again. Not sure what to do, I stuck with my GPS trail, it was continuing to follow a trail on the map even if local deer keepers had a habit of blocking the trail with 2 metre fences.
The route, still heading towards Penelope got increasingly remote, eventually I really was wacking bushes and, despite the trail on my GPS, there was nothing on the ground to suggest that this was the right way. I studied the map decided to go the long way round and pick up a Camino, a Spanish cattle trail. It took the best part of a hour to get to it and it of course turned out to be the GR7 which I then followed, uneventfully into Canada de la Cruz. I also crossed the real border between the two regions.
 |
| The boundary between Andalucia and Murcia |
Nothing by the way of accommodation in Canada de la Cruz but a really helpful barman organised me a taxi so I'm now back in Puebla de Don Fabrique. The taxi is going to pick me up in the morning for the next stage of the route which actually does look straightforward.
Slightly worrying is that when I looked at Bornem's route again, his route didn't go anywhere near the first lot of GR signs I came across, he was coming in the other direction and seemed to prefer a long road walk to the uncertainties of going cross country. In terms of the GR7, I feel none the wiser.
