Wednesday March 23rd Vadillo de Castril to Cotos-Rios

Got a lift from the hotel owner in Cazorla to Vadillo de Castril and set of, at 8.30 on the 38 kilometre walk to Cotos-Rios, another excellent walk through the Sierra de Cazorla Natural Park.

The Park is a designated UNESCO reserve and is particularly important for its ancient pine forest and wildlife including mammals and birds. After only a hundred metres or so along the trail it became apparent that this wasn't necessarily a day for listening to the iPod when I disturbed a huge eagle like bird which was in one of the tall pine and then, seconds later, saw a deer run across the track.

At Linarejos, empty at the moment but with facilities for visitors, there was a group of four animals which I guess could have been deer or Spanish Ibex.

Spanish Ibex?

The highlight of the walk came as I approached a building marked on the map as the Casa Forestal de Roblehondo. The path was high on the side of a gorge and there must have at least fifteen, Griffon Vultures I guess, flying both above me and below me. Desperately trying to get a picture I was looking up when something caught my eye just of the trail above me and about fifteen metres away. It was a group of wild boar, three or four adults but also some infants. One of the adults stopped for a second and starred at me but then turned and shot off. It was a magic if slightly scary moment. I tried to take a picture but looking at the result this evening couldn't find the wild boar.

Griffin Vultures in the Cazorla Natural Park

It was a great walk along an easy forest trail which generally contoured along the side of the valley. The weather was cloudy and cold in the morning but got better. Had the Park completely to myself and didn't see anyone until I got within a couple of kilometres of Cotos-Rios. The last part of the walk was along the side of the Rio Borosa.

Limestone Cliffs

Rio Borosa

Cotos-Rios was actually built specifically for people who used to live in the Park and last night I thought I had found a hotel there and even booked a room in it. When I got there no-one had heard of it (although that could have been my pronunciation) and there was definitely no hotel in Cotos-Rios itself. Ended getting a flat in the Los Villares Apartamentos, have got the central heating on and have been busy washing walking socks.

Tuesday March 22nd Cazorla to Vadillo de Castril

Definitely an odd day today, the first day since a week last Saturday that I've been on my own. Christine caught the 7 o'clock bus back to Granada this morning. Feels strange and a bit like I'm starting again, two of you spread the load, and in particular there is now only one person to maintain the motivation. Amongst other things Christine checked my appalling grammar so I'm afraid as far as this blog is concerned it's back to business as usual.

The walk was also a slightly strange one as it involved going to Vadillo de Castril and then walking back again. This is because I decided that the original plan, to walk all the way to Cotos-Rios was just too far and insane. According to the Cicerone guide it would have taken 12.5 hours and there is only just that amount of daylight at the moment. The Hotel owner here in Cazorla (at the Hotel Guadalquiver) will take me to Vadillo de Castril in the morning (for a chunky fee) and then I'll walk onto Cotos-Rios. By the way there is accommodation later in the season at Vadillo de Castril and there is also a fabulous looking Parador Hotel nearby so you could engineer at alternative plan.

Actually the walking does justify a bit more time, it is really excellent in the Sierra Cazorla Natural Park. Sounds a bit odd but the best thing about today was the path itself. It was on a really well preserved trail, built I guess for mules and too small for vehicle access of any sort. Not steep but occasionally clinging to the side of some very impressive cliffs it contoured along before crossing a couple of passes and then heading down to Vadillo de Castril.

Ancient mule paths out from Cazorla

On the way up from Cazorla you pass the Ermita de la Virgen de la Cabeza, which overlooks the town from the north, and further on you get great views down on yet another Moorish Castle, the Castillo de la Ireula.

Looking down on the Castillo de la Ireula

The weather was good, a lot colder than the last two days but none of forecast rain and the views were great. By and large you're high up and looking north-west down on a huge expanse of olive trees. Apart from olive trees, the walk reminded me a little bit of the Simien Mountains which also sit high above a plain. At the highest pass, which is 1369 metres, you can look south to snow flecked mountains of the Lomos de Los Castellones.

View across the see of olive trees

Turning around and going back again is definitely not in the spirit of through walking and I was still 45 minutes of Vadillo de Castril when decided that I had had enough. By the time I got back to Cazorla I had walked for 8 hours, walked 26 kilometres and climbed 1200 metres so duty done I think.

Monday March 21st Quesada to Cazorla

After yesterday's walk through the cauldron of olive trees we deserved a better walk, Christine's last walk in Andalucia, and today we got it. Although only 18 kilometres today's walk had everything and the next few days walking also look really interesting.

Quesada

Had a quick look at Quesada on the way out this morning and it looks like another nice hill top town. The target however was the Sierra de Cazorla Natural Park

Entering the Park

and to get to it involved a steady walk, largely on a road, up and out of the valley. We were able to chop a lot of the zig-zags by taking a more vertical line up through the olive groves and as we did so the views got bigger. Initially we could just see back to Quesada but eventually, and through the haze, we saw Jodar and the snow covered tops of the Sierra Maginas.

Once inside the park and off the road, the scenery became immense with the trail contouring beneath huge and sheer 1000 metre limestone crags. The vegetation was also different and included types of pine we hadn't seen before and some beautiful miniature irises. The park is supposed to be full of wildlife but today we were only treated to Griffon Vultures which put on a great display.

Dwarf Iris

The walk was rich in architectural remains which included the Ermita de Monta Sion and the Castillo de las Cinco Esquinas both of which were positioned on the edge of the massif with great views across the plain.

Spectacular limestone scenery in the Cazorla Natural Park

Castillo de Cinco Esquinas

In reality the buildings along the walk were just tasters for Cazorla itself which is stunning. The location is set against an amphitheater of huge cliffs and crowned by the huge Moorish Castillo de la Yedra which towers above the town. The centre has a lovely mix of little squares, tiny streets and ancient churches.

Cazorla Castle

I was going to press on tomorrow to Coto Rios but have concluded that a 12 hour march through such lovely scenery is madness and instead have decided to have two nights in Cazorla, splitting the 12 hour walk into two. Will give me time to adjust to being without Christine.

Frustratingly Cazorla is without Internet, down for the whole town, which seems a little bizarre particularly as I couldn't get access in Quesada either.

Sunday March 20th Jodar to Quesada

As usual after a spell in the bar of a nice friendly hotel, this time the Hotel Sierra de Quesada, it is easy to forget that today's walk was not actually all that nice. If I wasn't trying to complete the E4 from Tarifa to Budapest than this is a day's walking I would try and avoid.

The purpose of the walk is really to get you across the wide valley between the Sierra Magina and the Sierra de Cazorla. This is a 40 kilometre gap and today was a hot day to be walking across 36km of it. Would rather not imagine what it would be like to do this in mid summer.

Firstly we probably should have stayed in the other of Jodar's two hotels if we wanted to minimise our walking time. The Hotel Cuidad de Jodar adds at least 2 kilometres and is definitely at the most unattractive end of town. The older part of Jodar is at the north end and close to the exit for the E4.

The nice bit of Jodar

Either way it's 15 kilometres of road walking before you get onto something which is marginally kinder on the feet. You do get some nice views back to Jodar and the Sierra Magina Massif in the background but it's a big price to pay for all that foot pounding. There were of course no E4/GR signs and we were guided by the GPS track and the Cicerone Guide but we did come across a one off sign in a field of olives that suggested a cross country route from Jodar Who knows we may be doing the E4 an injustice but I somehow doubt it.

The secret E4

By the time you get to leave the road, at the bridge over the Rio Guadiana Menor, you will probably be like us and running on half empty. Perhaps we should have tried harder to escape the sun but we couldn't really find anywhere in the olive ridden landscape (no trees), so after a short break we just plodded on. The path started to climb and the scenery was definitely more interesting, at last becoming too dry even for the olive trees, but even this improvement couldn't change the fact that this was a hot and fairly unpleasant walk.

Wide open spaces

Olives everywhere

It's a long shallow valley running from the village of Hornos de Peal to Quesada and at one point you can choose between a slightly more shady route on a road from Toya and the E4. By then the sun had got to us and we stayed on the E4. Painfully you don't get to see Quesada until the last kilometre and you think you're never going to get there. It is however another attractive town and, after two beers in such a nice place, you can forgive anything. However if you're not on the same mad adventure as me then get a taxi, a bus or anything to the bridge at the Rio Guadiana Menor and then have a nice walk.

Quesada

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Saturday March 19th Torres to Jodar

A great walk today, 23.5 kilometres in three legs, with just under 1000m of climb.

But first a postscript on last night. We stayed at Hotel Jurinea, had a really nice dinner, and finished with something special. It was the local version of sloe gin but much nicer, made with sweet anis and cherries, 2006 vintage, absolutely delicious. The guy from Carchelejo turned up with the sticks so I now have all my kit again - a good night.

Perfect weather today, actually hot.

The first leg of the walk involved a climb up along a path through a gorge behind Torres and then down a winding track to the little town of Albanchez (the local pronunciation sounds nothing like the word), clinging to the hillside under a huge rocky with an old moorish castle on top. The views from top of gorge were amazing with a bit of mist at the bottom of valley mingled with smoke from little fires of olive tree cuttings. Saw a couple of deer climbing in the rocks above us. Stopped at Albanchez for a coffee.

Over the gorge from Torres

Albanchez

The second leg involved a long contour walk around to Bedmar. Although the walk was mainly through olive trees this didn't seem to matter today. We came across a large group of Spanish walkers who amazingly wanted us to show them the way, we did our best, but who knows if they got back.




Stopped at Bedmar for lunch, it was getting really hot now so some shade was a good thing. Christine is very particular about lunch and doesn't approve of my chocolate and banana/dried apricot diet - in fairness to Christine the stewed beans and rabbit, all washed down with lots of olive oil, was very nice.

Lunch at Bedmar

According to the Cicerone guide the third leg takes you up steepest scramble of the whole of the Andalucian GR7. The trouble with the climb was that you could see it and it did look long and steep. In the end it wasn't too bad, a lot of the walk was in the shade of the huge cliff on the eastern side and we got to the top in good time. The effect of the walk was slightly sploit by the rotting car half way up which someone had managed to push off the viewing point from the top; suspect it will be an expensive item to move.

Over the ridge to Jodar

The walk down to Jodar was also very pleasant. The sun had now lost its full strength and the walk felt like an early evening stroll. Rather than follow the zig-zags of the trail we straightened the route out by going straight down through the olive groves - would have been too muddy to have done that a couple of days ago.

First impressions of Jodar are not good - looks a bit rundown and out of sorts. Staying at the Hotel Cuidad de Jodar which happily has good Wi-Fi but is on the wrong side of town for a mega 35 kilometre walk tomorrow.

Location:Torres to Jedar

Thursday March 17th Carchelejo to Cambils

The decision to taxi back from Cambils to Carchelejo turned out to be a good one for a number of reasons. First and foremost, after yesterday's mega walk, we both felt very tired this morning, my knees ached and for the first time I was concerned that I was not getting stronger but starting to wear out. So a short walk to Cambils without any serious weight in the rucksack, back here and rest and recuperation this afternoon, was just what the doctor ordered.

The walk from Carchelejo to Cambils is 15 kilometres with 200 metres of climb. It is supposed to take 3.30 minutes but unburdened with gear we did it less than 3. It involved a 5 kilometre march down the road to the motorway (through olive fields), under the motorway, and then 10 kilometres along a pretty valley up to Cambils. Nice weather and a pleasant walk. Lunch in Cambils and then back to Carchelejo for that rest and recuperation.













Staying in our own little house, with a cooking facilities, we decided to eat in - baked potatoes, cheese, ratatouille. For once it was nice not to eat in a bar.
The bars are actually great fun. You no doubt get a slightly odd impression of Spain spending so much time in bars but it is interesting none the less. The first thing you notice is that drinking habits are different here. As well as drinking all day, they drink different things. Lots of spirits, whisky, gin, and brandy and not much beer and certainty not in the large volumes consumed in the UK. The tapas thing is real and you only have to have a beer and small plate of ham and cheese will be offered as well. If you sit at the bar, and that's the best place to sit, then it seems almost compulsory to drop as much debris on the floor as possible. A television in the corner is an absolute fixture and this will be on even if the sound is turned down. The bars are very friendly, very male places, and although it's rare to find someone who speaks English, people are interested in what you're doing and somehow you usually strike up some sort of conversation.
Worth saying that food is a bit hit and miss. The menus are all basically the same, but the amount you get is really difficult to anticipate and it seems courses are sometimes for more than one person. So in Frailes Christine managed to order courses each of which had to be for two people at least. The first was Russian salad the size of entire upturned blancmange with breadsticks sticking out of it Desperate Dan style, very tasty but Christine only managed to eat about 20 per cent of it. The second course was calamari served on a huge platter and again there was more than enough for three people.
We did notice an English couple in the bar in Frailes and they have turned up in Carchelejo tonight having completed the walk we did yesterday in two days. Although they were carrying more gear, and had camped on the way, they clearly felt that doing the walk in one day was a bit of achievement and explained it away by saying that we were obviously younger. Nice to be accused of being younger even if it wasn't true.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Wednesday March 16th Frailes to Carchelejo

After some fairly dull walking, and some fairly dull weather, things took a dramatic turn for the better today with perhaps the best day's walking of the trip so far. Finally escaping the olive trees and getting over 1500 metres for the first time, today's walking combined great views and some tough walking, with absolute solitude (apart from Christine).

Faced with a 35 kilometre walk and just under 1300 metres of climb we needed an quick start. Unusually the bar opened early and by the time we got down at 7.45 there was already a crowd drinking coffee and brandy, very civilised. We passed on the brandy but had a plate of ham and cheese with bruschetta, two cups of cafe con leche and were well set up for the walk.

The weather was cold, dry and overcast, it looked like rain, so nothing to encourage taking in the scenery. As it was the first 90 minutes or so involved a march along the road, up the valley, past the small village of Los Rosales and on towards the 1600 metre mountain of Paredon which was decked out in wind turbines. The metalled road by this point had turned into a track.


Passing a series of ruined farmsteads we eventually climbed to about 1200 metres and contoured around the north side of Paredon. Not a olive tree in sight, the views were now amazing, very remote grazing countryside with bits of snow scattered around the tops of the mountains. The weather was also getting better.


After a steady climb up to the pass at 1500 metres, down through scrubby woodland to a farmstead, Cortijo Los Alamillos, and following the Rio Valdearazo down the route takes you along a forest trail through a valley/gorge for about 7 kilometres. The sky was now virtually cloudless and the scenery almost alpine. There was a shepherd at Cortijo Los Alamillos and he was the only person we saw on the entire walk.





To be honest all this would have been enough to qualify the walk as really good but a huge dollop of icing was about to be placed on the cake. The GR7 continued along the gorge but left the trail and the gorge became much more dramatic. The big sandstone cliffs, wind eroded and forming strange shapes, were now casting dark shadows across the path. The river flowing into this darker, deeper gorge, seemed to be flowing in the wrong direction.






Having walked alongside the river for a kilometre or so, the path suddenly takes you across it and then up a steep climb and out of the gorge. This was the first climb since leaving Tarifa and the ascent, which was over 400 metres, took a good 40 minutes. Just before we got to the top 4 Chamois (I think) danced across the trail.



The final walk into Carchelejo was the inevitable march downhill. We got the hotel in Alcala la Real to book us a Casa Rurales, the Mezquita de Megina, and decided to stay there two nights. The Mezquita landlord told us that the two hotels in Cambil are shut and offered to ferry us back from there after tomorrow's walk and back there the following day.

Had a nice dinner in the bar near the church and watched the Real Madrid game. Trying to understand the Spanish news about what is happening in Japan, given a number for the people missing by a Spaniard and can only hope that this is a mistranslation.