Saturday April 23rd Benasal to Morella

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

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

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

Penyagolosa

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

Ares del Maestre

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

Another storm

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

Camino

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

Morella

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

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

Friday 22nd of April Vistabella de Maestrazgo to Benasal

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

Cloud clinging to the hills

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

Noisy fence

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

Ermita de San Bartolome

Abandoned village - Casa del Capote

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

Climbing up to Culla

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

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

Tuesday 19th April Montan to Montanejos

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

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

Montan

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

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

Barranco de la Maimona

More Barranco

And more Barranco de la Maimona

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

Guest blog by Christine

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Christine

Location:The EU Walking Times Directive

Thursday 21st April Villahermosa del Rio to Vistabella de Maestrazgo

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

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

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

Easter baking in Villahermosa del Rio

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

Following the gorge behind Villahermosa del Rio

Being watched

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

Abandoned villages in the drizzle

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

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

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

Wednesday 20th April Montanejos to Villahermosa del Rio

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

Climbing up out of Montanejos

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

La Artejuela

Forest over abandoned terraces

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

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

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

Villahermosa del Rio

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

Saturday April 16th Chelva to Andilla

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

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

Heading east out of Chelva early in the morning

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

On an ancient camino near Caserio de Alcotas

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

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

The church in Andilla

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

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

Shoes on last legs