A steep walk up from Jimena then staying high for most of the day. Much less humidity than saturday, & cooler because of the altitude. Some lovely woodland walking on small paths, but then it was back to walking on pista (driveable tracks). Finally a couple of miiles road walking, downhill & I reached a bar. A couple of beers to end the days walk. I'm camped nearby with the view in the photo of Ubrique.
Well, I've realised a few differences to my previous hiking in the past week.
1. Hot weather and hard surfaces : Getting blisters when they've not been a problem for me before.
2. Privately owned land: Owners don't want people entering their land & protect it with 2m high fences & locked gates, making stealth camping spots hard to find outside of regional or national parks.
3. Camino Reales, like Canada reales, are centuries-old pathways which were designated by royal decree. They are still very much in use by farmers to move their animals from area to area. Today they are also rural roads & their surfaces upgraded for vehicles.
I suspect that a large part of the GR's in Spain are routed along Canada Reales.
4. Walking in the heat is no fun, but a shower or fresh water to clean-up in is highly desireable at the end of the days walking. Only once so far have I had fresh water where I've camped, besides the campsite at Jimena. Staying in hotels is a luxury that I will be able to afford only occaisionally. Campsites are few & often some distance from the Gr7. Stinky !
A rest day after the heat of yesterday.
A strong wind all day & a forecast of 24°
Of course there's a fiesta, which are common in Spain, & the shops are shut. The beginning of Easter week.
Yesterdays blog says publishing ???
A long uphill plod on a road to re-enter the Alconcores. Lovely walking that ended up at a huge refuse site that was a great attraction for hundreds of birds. Most common were Egrets, but also Vultures, Storks, & Black Kites.
A few miles more & it was road walking for the rest of the day, not so good on a hot day like today.
I'd got a blister on my left foot, whkich I threaded a little dental floss through to keep draining any fluid build-up.
I'd planned on a wild camp before Castillar. When I took the track into the hills, after 1k the wah was blocked by a huge pair of gates. That wasn't on my map !
So back to road-walkiing.
When a motorist asked if I was going to Castillar & then did I want a lift ......
So here I am. Tomorrow I'll reaquInt myself with the place. I'm spending the night in a little open sided chapel that's out of the wind.
A cold morning, & a sunny afternoon.
I decided to ignore a signpost for the GR7 & follow the gps track. Twat ! after a bit I was bush-wacking, climbing fences & gates, forded a river to get back on track.
My back has been stiff & my feet sore.
Stopped for a beer near Los Barrios & the barman told me of a campping spot nearby. Good enough, as I don't really want to walk more than 15miles a day for the 1st week.
I wanted to start at the official start, but I was too impatient to walk back 2k to the tourist office & started at the bus station.
It was into a strong headwind along the beach & after 7k I headed inland with the 1st GR7 signpost.
Vultures and Cuckoos afternoon.
After storms and a forecast of a week of rain I have returned to wait until setting off at my Trail Angel's Angie's home.
