To Ronda!!! 21 km and 850 m

Lots of up and down today, but it was a short distance in terms of kilometers so it was all very manageable. I started out in a not so great way – walking down to the train station with Clare (she took a train for a few kilometers and then walked on), I realized that I had left my hat in the Casa Rural. Anyone who walks on a Camino knows that you cannot walk without a hat, so I had to trudge back up the hill and retrieve it. I think it only added about 800 m to my day, so not really a big deal.

The walk had two very distinctive parts. The first part, to Benaoján, was along a river with the craggy mountains in the background all the time. From there to Ronda was up and then down through a beautiful valley, up to another high point and then into Ronda.

The wildflowers were just spectacular today. And now we know why – it rained nonstop for the entire week before Easter. That was terrible for all the people traveling that week, but the benefit for us is pretty incredible. I have always seen wild irises on my Caminos, but I have never seen an entire field of gorgeous purple irises. Then there were red, pink, white and yellow flowers all over the place. It was truly gorgeous.

Ronda is in a beautiful spot. It’s hard to describe, but I’ll attach some pictures.Read more