What a tough day, really hard work and I'm now waiting for my dinner totally knackered.
It was harder for two reasons: it was five kilometres longer than expected, 32 instead of 27; and the conditions were terrible - deep wet energy sapping snow.
My route is based on Juan's trail which he has plotted on several trips over a number of years. The route was not nearly as well signed when he did it, has sometimes been re-routed, and sometimes Juan chose to ignore the official route and visit something he was particularly interested in. Today it was an ancient oak sitting high up on a hill and surrounded by deep snow.
Today was our first day on the GR1 Sendero Historico proper, a brilliant day, fantastic weather and packed with memorable moments.
Juan was desperate to get away and make the best of the clear blue skies. After the cloud yesterday he was keen to make sure I saw the mountain tops.
It was freezing cold and the ground was iron hard. Leaving the Camporredondo del Alba and crossing the bridge over the reservoir I saw something moving and sticking out of the water. At first I thought it was an eel, it was so thin, but it spun round and two little eyes from a tiny narrow head were starring up at me; I was looking at an otter. I thought I had seen one before in France in the Canal du Midi, but that was fat and clumsy not at all like the speed merchant I had just seen. Of course it was gone in an instant ruining the day for the two guys with huge cameras who arrived just moments too late to take its picture.
It's cold at the moment in Spain and in Leon, where I stayed last night on the way to the GR1 Sendero Historico, all the women of a certain age were decked out in fur coats. Leon is an attractive city, an interesting and ancient centre with a stunning Gothic cathedral. We did a quick tour as the sun was going down and the light coming through the stained glass was wonderful.
Leon is on the St James's Way and the pilgrims were everywhere even this early in the year.
For the first few days on the GR1 I'm with my Spanish friend Juan Holgado who has organised everything. He found a particularly good place to eat last night, a bar full of locals and serving Leon specialities. The atmosphere was distinctly Spanish. All ages and types were present: family groups; groups of women; young couples; solitary drinkers; grandparents with tiny grandchildren; and all ignoring the television blaring away in the corner and all chucking debris on the floor, a compulsory bar habit bizarre in a country which has an obsession with cleanliness.
When Juan Holgado suggested we go for a walk along the GR 48 I jumped at the opportunity. Although it's been a mild winter in the UK it felt like a long time since I had done any serious walking. I was ready for sun and some long days on the trail with Juan felt like ideal preparation for my six week trip to Nepal which starts in March. Better still Juan was doing all the hard work, putting together the itinerary and booking the accommodation, all I had to do was turn up and keep up.
The only downside of letting Juan do the planning was that he determined how long the days were. Juan is a serious dawn to dusk walker and the schedule he put together involved walking 160 kilometres in four days. Despite all my best intentions I had not kept up anything like the level of fitness I had acquired on the E4 last year and keeping up with Juan, who runs/walks 20 kilometres every day he is not on the trail, was always going to be a challenge.
Still the GR 48 was a great choice. It's easy walking, generally between 300 and 800 metres, along excellent trails through really interesting countryside. It's a relatively new trail, going, west to east through a series of natural parks, from just inside the Portugese border for 550 kilometres through the Sierra Morena in the north of Andalucia. Clearly part of an initiative to promote walking it is supported by one of the best web-sites I have seen with guides and GPS trails available for download. The guides on the web-site are in Spanish but English language versions were forwarded to me by a very friendly help desk, via their Facebook page.
There is nowhere to stop between Almaden de la Plata and Cazalla de la Sierra and Juan's original plan involved walking for 40 kilometres and then getting a taxi for the last 10 or so in time to catch the bus or train to Seville. In the end we walked 30, got to the town early, and had a splendid late lunch - good decision and the perfect way to end a such a lovely walk.
Leaving Almaden de la Plata
After brilliant walking along ancient caminos for the first three days, today's trail was just a bit boring following an un-metalled open road all the way. Not unpleasant, just a bit monotonous.
Day 1 was a brilliant walk but if anything Day 2 was even better. The landscape the route takes you through was similar to the first day, with the same wonderful trees and brilliant paths, but if anything opens up a bit with the views just a bit bigger.
The day started particularly well with the bill for the accommodation - 32 euros all in, fantastic value - and Juan confessing that his legs ached a bit after yesterday's 44 kilometres. I told him mine were fine which was not quite true but made me feel better.
Leaving Hinojales as the sun comes up
We were also out in time to see the sun come up through a red sky, excellent start to the day. The sun seemed to trigger of a Hooper bird whose distinct clacking song is, Juan tells me, a harbinger for spring in Spain.
Huge walk today, 44 kilometres, knackered but feeling good, very close to getting blisters on the my first day but after a soak in cold water my feet have stopped cooking and now feel fine.
So where am I and what's the walking like?
Well I'm in Huelva which is the most westerly province in Andalucia, on the border with Portugal, and I'm walking, with Juan Holgado, directly east through the Sierra Morena. It's fairly gentle walking, hilly (we're at an average altitude of around 500 metres) and although the route takes you through a series of small villages, the countryside feels empty.
We are walking through the Sierra de Arecena y Picos de Aroche Natural Park and the landscape is lovely. Most of countryside is used for low intensity animal grazing with the animals sheltering under trees. We have seen the whole range of farm animals: sheep; the famous black Iberian pigs (this is an area famous for the quality of its ham); cattle (supposed to an area where fighting bulls are bred); and even a few goats.
If you decide to walk the E4 and you want to start in Spain, an early choice you have to make is whether to take the northern or southern variant of the GR7 through Andalucia. With no great application of science I chose the northern option. Checking if this was the best option was just the excuse I needed to return to Spain and in October, five weeks after finishing my E4 trek in Budapest, I was on my way back there with Christine.
I only had 9 days which isn’t long enough to do the whole variant. The GR7 splits into two at Villanueva del Cauche in Malaga and doesn’t join up again for 450 kilometres (at Puebla de Don Fadrique). I figured I would need at least 15 days to do the whole stretch.
To help me decide which bit to do I turned to Juan Holgado. I had met Juan in March on my second day out of Tarifa on the E4 walk. This was an amazing coincidence and a real stroke of luck. Juan had helped Michele Lowe and Kirstie Shirra write their guide “Walking the GR7 in Andalucia” and is the expert on the GR7 and all things walking in Spain. He has his own web site (www.jaholgado.com). Although we only spoke for a few minutes we struck up a friendship and Juan, through comments on my blog, advised and encouraged me all the way across Europe.
Leaving Ventas de Zafarraya and arriving at Alhama de Granada
The E4 through Catalonia was worse part of the whole trip. Accommodation was hard to find and I had to walk very long days. Worse still I was constantly missing the trail. Maps in Spain don't show the routes and unless you have a guide or a good GPS trail then it's easy to take a wrong turn. Of course I was never seriously lost but constant minor mistakes made long walks even longer - really frustrating and at times depressing.
Must admit that I couldn't understand why the E4 left the GR7. Having followed the GR7 all the way from Andalucia, it turns east at border with Catalonia and heads down to the coast along the GR8. It then heads along the coast via the GR92 to Tarragona, heads north via the GR172 to Montserrat and then onto Alp and the border with France on the GR4. Meanwhile the GR7 carries onto the Pyrenees ending up a few kilometres from the GR4.
The E4 through Catalonia does visit some amazing places, in particular Montserrat and Tarragona, but the walking itself was mixed. You are not walking around or through a particular mountain range and it's certainly not the most direct way to get to the Pyrenees. Catalonia is a busy place and although there is some lovely countryside you also have to cross some major transport corridors and built-up areas.
Montserrat Mountains
My negative view of the E4 through Catalonia is influenced by the extent to which I had been enjoying the GR7, particularly the last few days through Castellon. It was a change however and a change might be as good as a rest. I was entering a different sort of countryside and I was also entering Catalonia, a particularly distinct part of Spain with its own language and cultural traditions. The lack of love between Catalonia and the rest of Spain is manifested in many ways including the intense rivalry between the Barcelona and Real Madrid football clubs, something I had been observing throughout the trip (six El Clásicogames when I was there).
I had put my schedule together using the information on the La Federació d'Entitats Excursionistes de Catalunya (FEEC) , the Catalonia Climbing and Hiking Association, which identifies all the major walking routes and gives you stage distances, walking times and altitude gained and lost. Great help for planning the route but as it turned out only limited help when you are actually doing it - why can't they go the next small step and actually publish a GPS route!
I started walking through Catalonia on the 24th of April and got to Alp 16 days later on May 9th. I stopped for a day in Tarragona and had another rest day at Alp before crossing the border.
The first part of my Catalonia trip was from El Boixar down to Mol l'Abad where I stayed at a very nice holiday centre. Was driven there by the lack of accommodation on the main GR8 route which runs through the mountains just to the north.
Was aiming to re-connect with the GR8 at La Senia but ended up walking all the way along the road to Ulldecona - miserable, was missing the mountains already. Found a good hotel and got there early so some compensations.
View across the Ebro Delta
Next day was much better, really nice walk and interesting as well. The walk takes you up the Sierra de Montsia to la Foradada (684 metres) which has amazing views of the Ebro Delta, the coast line to the north, and all the way back to Penyagolasa to the west. Really interesting information boards describing the impact of rural depopulation in the 1960s. After the climb and the views you walk down through ancient Mediterranean woodland, onto the delta and then into Amposta, a fairly large town with lots of accommodation.
Bridge over the Ebro at Amposta
After Amposta the trail is completely flat but still quite nice. The first part takes you across the intensely farmed delta and then, after Ampolla, along a lovely coastal path to L'Ametlla de Mer. Stayed at the Hotel del Port, very reasonable.
Coastal path after Ampolla
The coastal walk to Cambils was a bit more mixed. Some nice stretches, but also some horrible diversions around gated harbours (Sant Jordi) and a large diversion around a nuclear power station (and over/under railway lines and motorways). There were long stretches of concrete coastline with blocks of holiday accommodation running right up to the shore. Nice stretch along the beach after L'Hospitalet de l'Infant but a lot of hard surface walking over the whole day. Cambils itself was a tiny fishing village in the sixties but is now a huge resort.
Beach north of L'Hospitalet
Next day into Tarragona was just awful although I missed the route and possibly made it worse. Essentially you have to get around a huge port and chemical works to the south of the city (if you are English, think Middlesborough) and following GR signs in a built up area is not easy.
The 'players' entrance" at the Roman circus in Tarragona
Despite the chemical works to the south Tarragona itself is a wonderful city. I rested up there for a day and there was lots to see - it has a huge Roman heritage and is a UNESCO world heritage site. Would love to go back there again but would definitely choose a different mode of transport!
Ideally you would stay at Santes Crues the next day but I couldn't find any accommodation when planning the walk (when I went there next day it looked like there was some) and instead diverted to Valles. Not bad countryside but not stunning either. Initially through scrubby forest and then back to back vineyards. El Cattlar on the way is a pretty little town.
Santes Crues, or Santa Maria de Santa Creus to give it full title, is an important monastery dating back to the 12th Century. It was shut when I was there but looks like it would have been well worth a visit.
The ideal place to stay next day would have been St Joan de Mediona, a nice looking town with a historic centre. Instead I had to go to Capellades about 5 kilometres to the north. It was a long walk with about 700 metres of climb over the Col de Rimbalda and then a drop down again into the next valley. Nice countryside. I went to a distant suburb of Capellades but was rescued and given a lift directly into town.
Montserrat Monastery
Assisted by a short train journey I rejoined the route at Peira and walked onto the next historic highlight, Montserrat. The walk to Montserrat was had some tough bits crossing a series of steep sided gorges which had been cut into the soft loess at the bottom of the Montserrat mountain range. You do have to walk through a large suburb before you finally get to climb up to the Montserrat Monastery which is a 600 metre climb with great views.
The Montserrat Mountains are a spectacular feature, weirdly shaped and high above the surrounding countryside. The colour and texture of the rock are like ancient concrete and the shapes are reminiscent of Gaudi. The Monastery itself, with its famous Black Madonna, is an important focus pilgrims and a key symbol of Catalan nationalism. I stayed there for a day and walked to the top of Sant Jeroni (1200 metres) - the train, funicular and buses bring up the daytown crowds but it's empty in the evening.
The next destination was Navarcles (near Cabrianes) a 42 kilometre walk which was nice at either end but unpleasant in the middle when another busy valley spiralling out from Barcelona had to be crossed. You go on a huge detour to get inside the Parc Natural de Sant Lorenc and then walk along a really nice gorge before finally arriving at Navarcles. Really struggled to find accommodation but ended up in the Hostal Montane which was great, very cheap and very authentic.
Driven on again by the lack of accommodation, next day was another huge walk (51 kilometres) all the way to Santa Maria de Merles. The first hour or so is not pleasant involving a walk up to Cabrianes through a fairly busy industrial valley. After that things improve and the route takes you through a very nice pastoral landscape - lots of old farmsteads and isolated churches. Eventually you get to the tiny settlement of Sant Pou de Pinos from which point you head west and then east, again in a huge and frustrating detour before arriving at the equally tiny settlement of Santa Maria de Merles. Stayed at the wonderful Casa Escrigas - and enjoyed home made everything.
The walk next day was supposed to be a short one but was again frustrated by really poor waymarks with one memorable sign sending me completely in the wrong direction. One of the problems I faced today was intersections with other GR routes - unless you spot these, work out which is the right one, you can easily find yourself following white and red markings in the wrong direction. If it wasn't for the frustrations of getting lost, today would have been an excellent walk, the scenery is good and Borreda, a lovely old mountain village, is a great place to finish the day. Stayed in the Cal Bardolet which was OK but a bit expensive.
Spring growth near Les Pilones
Great walk to La Pobla de Lillet, mostly in trees but in early May the trees were at there best. The highlight was the climb up from Castell de l'Areny to Les Pilones (1700 metres) followed by a walk along an upland valley. The GR4 is supposed to be an ancient transhumance trail but the climb up to Les Pilones felt a bit steep for a herd of cattle. Stayed at La Pobla de Lillet, a slightly run down mountain resort town home to a Gaudi garden (Artigas Gardens) and station for the Spanish Yellow Train (there is a French one on the other side of the Pyrenees). I stayed and ate at the Hostal Pericas which was cheap and cheerful.
The walk to Alp was the last full day in Spain and another good one. Wasn't as tough as I had anticipated and I needn't have left at the crack of dawn. There was a big 1200 metre climb up to the Coll de Pal but it was gentle and along a lovely valley with great views. Not quite so nice on the other side, horrible ski runs and scarred mountains but seeing the snowy peaks on the other side of the valley, in France, was encouraging. Stopped for a day in the ski resort of Alp staying at off-season prices at the Hotel Roca - very nice.
Just a short walk across the valley bottom to Puigcerda and France.
If you want to read what the walk felt like at the time than please go to the walk diaries. The links are below:
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.
I published a whole series of stage plans before I started the E4 and these attracted some really helpful comments. What I'm now tediously doing is rewriting all of those blogs informed by the actual trip. Will try to be as candid as possible - there are parts of the E4 which are not so nice.
The logic behind "Stage 1" is that it takes you to the point where the GR7 splits into a northern and southern option. As it happens the split takes place at Villanueva del Cauche but to make my itinerary work for me I went slightly beyond that point.
The month leading up to starting the walk, by the way, was terrible. I was committed to the walk but had massive reservations. Wasn't sleeping and had an almost overwhelming feeling that I was about to fall flat on my face and make a complete fool of myself. Getting to Spain and starting the walk was just a wonderful release, the doubts disappeared and for the first few weeks I was powered by euphoria.
Tarifa is the perfect place to start the walk, it feels like and is the edge of Europe. It is also very windy (apparently the wind is virtually non-stop) and the views across narrow Straits of Gibraltar to the Africa are sharp and clear. Would have been nice to have stopped for the night in Tarifa but instead I trudged along the beach and shortened what would otherwise have been a 41.5 next day walk to Los Barrios. I stayed at the Hotel Artevida which was fine but expensive compared to most of my accommodation in Spain.
Cork Oak Grove
The first full day's walking through the Los Alcornocales Natural Park with its cork oak forests was nice rather than amazing. Lots of wind turbines along the route as well as a large reservoir but the views back to Tarifa and across the narrow straights to Africa were wonderful. Horrible and painful walk along a road to finish the day in Los Barrios. Stayed at the Hotel Real in which was cheap, simple and good fun.
The 34 kilometre walk to Castillo de Castellar is a poor one - long walk past a huge rubbish dump, a walk down a quite road, and then a walk along a cycle path alongside a busy road before you finally get off road just before the finish. A shame because Castillo de Castellar, a wonderful hill top town, is a great place to finish the day. Stayed in an absolutely amazing hotel, part of the castle itself.
After two big days the third day was a short 15 kilometres walk to Jimena de la Frontera, through pleasant if not particularly exciting countryside. You spend quite a bit of time walking alongside a famous (apparently) wide gauge railway line. I really liked Jimena de la Frontera and you can see why a lot of ex-UK residents have decided to live there. I managed to stay in another really lovely hotel, the Casa Henrietta, brightly decorated with real Andalucian style.
After Jimena de la Frontera the countryside really starts to match the towns for interest. After an initial climb up to about 800 metres your into fairly open moorland with great views all the way back to Gibraltar. It's a tough 40 kilometre walk and you stay high all the way until the final descent into Ubrique, another recently interesting and ancient town rammed up against huge cliffs. Didn't stay in a hotel in Ubrique, was the guest of the local tourist board, but there are hotels in the town or nearby. The Hotel Ocurris is one which seems to attract recommendations.
On the next day I walked all the way to Ronda but this is fabulous countryside and anyone sensible would have stopped along the way. Stopping options with accommodation include Villaluenga del Rosario (bit close to Ubrique) or Montejaque (bit close to Ronda). Either way this is a wonderful stretch. Highlights included the march up the Roman road (everything still there) to Benacoaz; the walk through the valley to the pretty village of Villaluenga del Rosario (nestling under the Navazo Alto) or the walk through the limestone scenery of Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park. If you do decide to walk all the way to Ronda, like I did, you'll find the walk after Montejaque painfully long.
The Stunning Sierra de Grazelema
I only stayed one night at Ronda, which is probably a capital offence for people who love Spain. It is a lovely town, an important tourist destination and has lots of places to stay.
The next day's walk was another poor one, difficult to find the route between Ronda and Arriate and a lot of road walking between Arriate and Cuevas del Becerro. Cuevas del Becerro is slightly away from the route but there is no accommodation at Serrato which would otherwise have been a good place to stop. Had a nice afternoon in Cuevas del Becerro, there was a fiesta, but not much of a draw otherwise.
The following walk to El Chorro is much nicer although a bit tougher than I had anticipated. Lovely open arable countryside with long views. Ardales, half way along, is another interesting looking town (the walk takes you over a Roman bridge) with accommodation if you want to really short day. The second half of the walk is a lot tougher, a nice ridge walk and then a climb up to the spectacular reservoir above El Chorro and a really steep climb down. I stayed in a camp site with huts but there is other accommodation available.
El Chorro
The walk to Antequera via the small town of Valle de Abdalajis is a pleasant one but with a nasty bit of road walking in the middle. Valle de Abdalajis has accommodation and if you wanted to break the walk up with a day off than there is enough to see in Antequera famous for its ancient bronze age tombs. Lots of accommodation but I stayed in the Hotel Colon which was OK.
The last day of this stage was a really wet one for me which was a shame because it meant I missed the views of the El Torcal peak in the natural park to the south of the route which has the same name. Not a bad walk but you do have to work you way underneath the motorway and there is a bit of associated road walking before you eventually get to Villanueva del Rosario. Stayed in the Hotel Venta Las Delicias which was cheap, cheerful and good fun.
Most people would sensibly walk section of the GR7 at a slower pace and there are enough accommodation options to do things differently to the way I did it. Perhaps the key issue is whether or not to stay at Ronda. If you have been there before than it would make sense to stay at Montejaque, then Arriate, then Ardales, Valle de Adbalajis and then Antequera. Another day to the itinerary but perhaps more sensible.
If your interested in what it felt like at the time please have a look at the daily diary entries.
Was a bit apprehensive about today's walk. It involved the biggest climb I've done so far and, given my recent track record, I was nervous about getting lost. So I left early and was out of the the "habitacion" in La Pobla de Lillet (behind the Cerdanya restaurant, cheap and miserable) by 7, and, after coffee and cake, was walking by 7.30.
I did start badly and was on the wrong side of the valley heading out of town and well below the road I should have been walking on. There was a way of avoiding going all the way back and that was to follow the line of the narrow gauge yellow train which goes up to the cement museum. Lots of warning signs telling you not to do it but having checked the timetable decided to be a devil. Was tempted to wait for the cement museum to open but managed to resist it.
No Yellow Train just the tracks
The walk takes you into the Parc Natural del Cadi Moixero. The weather was perfect and as usual I had it all to myself. At one point I disturbed a deer which leap away ahead of me making a strange sort of barking noise and was then treated to a brilliant arial display by up to 10 eagles (or something like eagles). I also saw my first marmot.
Part of the walk was on a narrow path underneath a huge limestone ridge. In the middle distance looking west you also got a great view of a mountain which I think was Cornabona (2530).
Up the valley towards the Col de Pal
Cornabona
Had actually been going up hill ever since leaving La Pobla de Lillet and although it did get steeper as you got to the top of Col de Pay it was a fairly easy way of climbing 1100 metres. Once you got the top you were in ski resort country with runs heading down to the valley below. I love skiing but resorts can make a mess of the mountains. Alp was just around the corner to the west. Across the valley the mountains were in France.
Down a ski run
Across the valley to France
Lost the GR4 amongst the ski runs but was able to follow a well marked local walk down to Alp. Arrived at about 3.30 having walked 26 kilometres with a total of 1600 metres of ascent. Alp is about 8 kilometres from Puigcerda and the French border. Not doing anything tomorrow other than resting my feet. Staying in a very nice hotel which is also off season cheap. My room is full of drying clothes.
Today was supposed to be an easy day, a chance to recover from yesterday's big one. Instead it turned into a navigation disaster and I didn't get to Borreda, which is only about 20 kilometres from Santa Maria de Merles until about 7. I blame the Catalans and their signs.
I did have a leisurely start. Had a lovely breakfast with the Casanovas in their amazing house, the Masia Escrigas, discussed the walk with them and how tough the trip up to Alp might be. They even gave me a walking stick. I didn't start walking until well after 10.
Everything went fine for the first 90 minutes, got to Segas which has an 11th century church, and had already done a third of the trip. It started to rain but not really heavily and I had to do a bit of road walking but not a disaster.
Segas
The signs had started to change a bit. Really expensive looking signs at the major junctions but the white and red waymarks in between were becoming rare. This was slowing things down a bit but I was still making progress. Had some lunch (discovered I had lost my Swiss Army knife) and pressed on.
At about 2.45 I came to a sign which said Borreda 5.8 kilometres which was good news although the sign did seem to be sending me in the wrong direction. Followed the road down hill to La Portella and by the time I got to the bottom, in the absence of any GR signs, or another sign to Borreda decided to go back up the hill. Got to the top, went 200 yards in the opposite direction to the way the sign told me to go and found another sign to Borreda.
Good sign, wrong direction
Right direction
It was now just after 4 and lots of signs to Borreda, should get there for 5.30 easily. Followed the GR signs down the hill, lovely walk was even starting to forget the 7 kilometre detour. So cheerful, and the way was so clearly marked, that it wasn't until nearly 5 that I started to wander where Borreda might be and decided to check my map. The GR signs had taken on a route well to the east of where I needed to be.
Lost in the trees
Decided to navigate my way across country using forest trails and the maps on my GPS. Had lost a lot of height and it wasn't until 6.45, and a few dead ends amongst the trees, that I was in sight of Borreda. Just as I was coming into town the GR signs reappeared like street lights being turned back on. When I got into town there was a really helpful map which showed that there were two GRs heading into Borreda, and that I had followed the other one, the GR 242, heading east. It's just a shame that the junction between the two wasn't prominently signed.
Two more days walking in Catalonia and to be honest I can't wait to be in Alp, my last stop before crossing the border. Tomorrow's walk is 25 kilometres and the map in town has shown me where the first bear trap is, the point at which the two GRs split, so hopefully I will head of in the right direction.
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.
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.
