To Jimena de la Frontera (25 km)

Yesterday’s meal was good- the sea bass was freshly caught (we are only 10 km from the ocean after all) and grilled. And they served a really delicious and unusual entrada, which was a salad of sorts —avocado, oranges, onions in a tangy sauce. Since we’ve walked through many avocado and orange groves (with the incredibly sweet scent of the blossoms all around), it seems like an excellent way to show off local produce.

Today’s walk had about a 300 m ascent up to the ridge of windmills. From there, the views were just gorgeous. Everything was green, lots of wildflowers, valleys, and hills and mountains. It was beautiful. After the descent, the rest of the walk was kind of a slog, a lot of it on asphalt. We had heard from many people on the forum that there was a virtually impassible brambly segment that we could avoid by taking a minor road. That meant about an extra kilometer and some more ascent but hey, we’re here to walk.

Somehow, I managed to pick the Casa Rural (la Posada Grande) fue that is about as high as you can get in this town. At the end of the day, it was hard. But we are right in the centro histórico and the place itself is very comfy.

What luck to find that this town keeps their castle open even on a Monday. After a late lunch, I spent about an hour climbing around the castle and am now having an icy agua con gas on a shady terrace looking out over the countryside.

I have read that 2-3 years ago they discovered a pit with skeletons of some of Franco’s victims. That led to the opening of a little museum in town, which I would very much like to see, but it’s closed on Mondays.Read more