Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast

Using the route laid out by Guy Hunter-Watts, we walked 416 kilometers in southern Spain from Maro on the Mediterranean to Bolonia on the Atlantic. Leer más

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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
El Burgo
4 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F
El Burgo, 23 km - Hotel La Casa Grande

We had a nice rest day in El Burgo, getting ready for our 27 km marathon tomorrow! There was sunshine this morning, so we explored the town. It has Arabic roots, as do virtually all the towns in Andalucia.
We are in a hotel with sufficient heat in the room(!) and with wifi that actually connects in the room, a first for that combo, so I was able to download all the maps for the rest of the route in comfort. It has really been fun learning to use the iPad.Leer más
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
El Burgo to Ronda
5 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ ☀️ 55 °F
El Burgo to Ronda, 27 km - Apartamentos Tajo

We made it! I have just enough energy left to type these words. The climb up to Lifa was magnificent. We have many memories of making this exact route in the opposite direction on our bikes in 2009. Today we were able to take photos of Ned at the same tree and of both of us eating lunch in the same cave as on our TransAndalus trip. There were even cyclists exiting the pasture at the top just as we approached. Climbing 2342 feet and walking 17 miles makes for a long day, so we will be glad for a rest day tomorrow.Leer más
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
Ronda
6 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F
Ronda, 5 km - Apartamentos Tajo

Today is a holiday in Spain, Kings' Day, so of course, nothing that we planned to do here was open. We are now hoping we will be able to recharge our internet and phone cards in a small town when they expire in a few days, but who knows...? Marie and I had fun walking around in the sunshine, while Ned, who wasn't feeling well, stayed home and did laundry. Having built in a rest day for every walking day sure has been great, both for recovering from hard days and for adjusting for bad weather, as well as for getting to enjoy the places we are in. Ronda's famous bridge is visible from the balcony of our apartment... a great view, but no heat.

This is actually our third visit to Ronda. We first came in 2008 to meet with Miguel Angel, who laid out this section of the TransAndalus. In 2009, we cycled here and met up with fellow-TA rider Oriol.Leer más
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
Ronda to Montejaque
7 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F
Ronda to Montejaque, 15 km - Apartamentos Sierra del Hacho

We walked 15 km today with lots of ups and downs, beautiful views back to Ronda's Tajo and forward to the mountains behind Benaoján and Montejaque, and glimpses of the small cortijos outside of Ronda. Our route took us via Benaoján, although the current route heads directly west. Montejaque has a real mountain village feel. There are no other tourists around. We picked up the keys for our apartment (cold, as always) at a restaurant in the east end of the village. Our balcony overlooks a school.Leer más
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
Montejaque
8 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F
Around Montejaque, 5 km - Apartamentos Sierra del Hacho

We had a great day exploring the village, washing clothes, and checking out our route for tomorrow. The mirador above the village has expansive views of the karst sierras we'll be walking through. This would be a wonderful village to come back to for a week sometime. The streets are very narrow, the houses are well- kept with lovely old doors, and the people are friendly.Leer más
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
Montejaque to Cortes de la Frontera
9 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F
Montejaque to Cortes de la Frontera, 19 km - Casa Quercus

We had a magnificent, though windy, day walking through the wild Llanos de Líber valley. Other than one farmer, we didn't see another person all day! The wind was quite strong so we hunted for a place with some shelter to eat lunch and finally had to settle for a corral near the Refugio de Líbar. A steep, rocky climb and descent brought us into the highest part of Cortes de la Frontera. After some confusion in our tired state, we finally found our apartment in another part of the village.

I think this was our last stage in high, remote mountains, as we are getting very close to the Mediterranean again now. The weather is due to be rainy and windy all next week, so it will be a good time to be at lower elevations.Leer más
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
Cortes de la Frontera
10 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F
Around Cortes de la Frontera, 5 km - Casa Quercus

We had a great time exploring Cortes de la Frontera (so named because it was on the frontier between Arab Andalucia and Christian Spain) this morning. The visitors center for the two natural parks in the area (Sierra de Grazelema, which we walked through yesterday, and Alcornocales, one of the largest cork oak forests in Europe, which we will be in for the next several days) had good displays on the animals and plants of the park. Particularly interesting were the details of the cork industry, the lifeblood of this village. While looking for the mirador viewpoint, we stumbled instead into the cemetery and spent a moving hour there. The memorials to those who died in the Spanish Civil War are heartfelt.

We have a great apartment with lots of heat - super for this grey day, so we washed clothes as well. Off to El Colmenar tomorrow, in the predicted rain probably.Leer más
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
Cortes de la Frontera to El Colmenar
11 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F
Cortes de la Frontera to El Colmenar, 20 km - Casa Rural Ahora

The high point of the day was meeting an old man on the trail and ending up seeing an incredible house carved out of a single boulder that belonged to his grandparents! All because we were friendly and asked him in Spanish about the heavy bags he was carrying. It turns out they were full of olives he was harvesting.

The rain did not materialize, but we had plenty of other problems. This was supposed to be an easy day, but the trail was so faint we had a very difficult time following it, having to retrace our steps many times. So we did not get to El Colmenar until 6:30, just as the sun was setting - our latest day yet. We are too tired even to eat supper.Leer más
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
El Colmenar
12 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F
Around El Colmenar, 5 km - Casa Rural Ahora

A nice rest day in El Colmenar. This is actually our third time here, so the village has special memories for us. We ended our bike trip here in Nov 2008 and started here again with the bikes in spring 2009. We were sad to find the unique hotel here that we loved had closed, a victim, like so many, many businesses we have seen, of the financial crisis. But instead we are at another great place , Casa Alora, a yoga retreat with healthy food, rustic rooms, five two-day-old puppies, and a friendly kitten!Leer más
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
El Colmenar to Jimena de la Frontera
13 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ 🌧 55 °F
El Colmenar to Jimena de la Frontera, 25 km - Casa Henrietta

Well... It was a mistake to walk today, but we made it to Jimena de la Frontera. It took us 10.5 hours of walking with only one 15 minute break for lunch! The forecast was for morning showers followed by sunshine, but instead, it rained almost all day. We knew we needed to walk fast to cover the 25 km before dark, so we left at first light at 8:15, but the mud was slowed us way down, and we just kept getting colder and more tired, but we knew we couldn't stop to rest or there would be no margin for error. As it was, we arrived at 6:45 - after the sun had set! I have never walked so many hours without a break. Definitely a rest day tomorrow!Leer más
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
Jimena de la Frontera
14 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F
Around Jimena de la Frontera, 5 km - Casa Henrietta

It took us to noon to get back to normal from yesterday, scraping mud off boots and packs, washing mud off clothes, drying everything out (even though we had waterproof raincovers for the packs, the sleeping bags still got wet, who knows how), getting gel inserts for Marie's and my boots, going by the same post office where we mailed home unneeded items on the TA five years ago, etc.

This is an interesting town to explore...a castle with Arabic arches under restoration with birds of prey overhead, and a little hole-in-the-wall neighborhood bar where we had a tapas lunch for 13 euros.

Off to Castillo de Castellar tomorrow along the same route where the Guardia Civil rescued us in 2009 when the river was too high to cross with our bikes. I hope there is less mud this time!Leer más
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
Jimena de la F. to Castillo de Castellar
15 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F
Jimena de la Frontera to Castillo de Castellar, 21 km - Tugasa Casa Rural no. 8

We made it through the mud! It wasn't anywhere near as bad as in 2009. Most of the day we walked parallel to the railway line, so Ned had plenty of chances to listen for trains, watch them pass, and film them. Mr. Henderson's Railway, as it was called, has been upgraded to allow higher speed trains to now travel the line between Algeciras and Ronda.

Castillo de Castellar has an unusual history. The castle was one of a series of border defenses built by the Muslims in the 13th century. After the reconquest, its residents became virtual serfs on the vast latifundia surrounding the village, one of the largest in Europe. Franco had a new village, Castellar de la Frontera, built along the railway line in the 1960's and moved the villagers there.Leer más
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
Castillo d C to Castellar de la Frontera
16 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ 🌧 57 °F
Castillo de Castellar to Castellar de la Frontera, 10 km - Hotel Castellar

We left our cute little house inside the castle walls at 8:30 this morning knowing it might rain, but figuring we could get to the nearby town of Castellar de la Frontera in 2.5 hours without getting too wet. It was just showers until the last half hour, then a royal downpour. We had our rain jackets on but not our rain pants, and we foolishly thought we would reach Castellar so soon that we didn't stop to put them on. We raced past the Almoraina estate (subject of protests on the news) and missed a crucial turn, meaning we had to walk in the opposite direction from the hotel until we could find a way to cross the busy A route, so we were thoroughly soaked by the time we finally reached shelter. Now our hotel room is draped with wet clothes and boots. It's supposed to rain for the next three days, so we are thinking about options. Next week is supposed to be sunny and we only have four more stages left to walk, so I think we will be able to finish with no problem.Leer más
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
Castellar de la Frontera
17 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ 🌧 55 °F
Castellar de la Frontera, 2 km - Hotel Castellar
We are waiting out a rainy day here, hoping that tomorrow will be better. Rain or not, we are walking tomorrow. Everything is now dry from yesterday. Having washed ourselves and all our clothes, the only thing left to do in the rain is read and eat! Ned ventured out to find a grocery shop, and luckily, the breakfast buffet table at our hotel, included in the price of the room, was quite an extensive spread.Leer más
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
Castellar de la Frontera to Los Barrios
18 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F
Castellar de la Frontera to Los Barrios, 21 km - Hotel Real

We lucked out with both the weather and our route today. It was pouring rain as we ate breakfast, but by the time we left, it was just a shower. It alternated showers and sun all day long, and we never got soaked. Most of the day we were on a paved cycle path and a paved minor road, so the only muddy part was the final track down into Los Barrios. What a relief. We don't want to break our record of walking every stage of the track from Antequera to Tarifa!

Marie doesn't have a hat to keep the rain off her face, so I made her a visor from a plastic bag and the cardboard box last night's instant soup was in. Held on by her buff, it worked perfectly!Leer más
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
Los Barrios
19 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F
Los Barrios, 5 km - Hotel Real
Lots of wind here today - gusts to 90 km- but sunny. We did the usual rest day things: washed clothes, explored, and bought groceries for tomorrow's 27 km walk, the last long one. The only grocery store open on Sunday in this town of 20,000 was a tiny tienda with bread and cheese, no fruits or vegetables, no cereal!Leer más
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
Los Barrios to El Pelayo
20 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F
Los Barrios to El Pelayo, 30 km - Complejo Rural Huerta Grande

What a great day through the heart of the Parque Natural de Alcornocales! We had to ford a river this morning, running high because of all the rain. Great views of the Rock of Gibraltar and Africa unfolded as we made our way along the track high above Algeciras, the same one that we cycled in the opposite direction on the TA in 2008. A bonus was seeing cork cutters at work! A long detour at the end to the only shop we found open in El Pelayo made for a 30 km day.

We may walk on to Tarifa tomorrow without a rest day because Wednesday may be rainy.

Taken after I was already through the deep partLeer más
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
El Pelayo to Tarifa
21 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F
El Pelayo to Tarifa, 18 km - Posada Vagamundos

Here we are in Tarifa, all the way from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic! It is too windy and cold by far to go stick a toe in the water, but we will within the next few days. It was supposed to be sunny all day today, but instead it rained and we battled the wind directly in our faces. Still, you can't beat seeing the Strait of Gibraltar for the first time, and marvelous views of Africa!Leer más
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
Tarifa to Bolonia
22 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ 🌧 57 °F
Tarifa to Bolonia by taxi - Apartamentos Miramar

Breakfast was a special treat. We went back to Kampai, the restaurant recommended by Linda and Richard where we had had such a warm welcome last night. The owners remembered Linda and Richard well and showed us their names on their blackboard. They were so kind to us - they wanted to give us our tapas free last night because we were friends of Richard, but we wouldn't let them.

It was such bad weather today that we decided to do the last stage of the walk in reverse, hoping for sunshine tomorrow. After taking a taxi to Bolonia, we spent a windy, rainy morning watching the huge container ships going through the Strait of Gibraltar. In the afternoon, we went over to the Roman ruins at Bello Claudio...and the sun came out to give us a glorious visit! What a thrill to walk on the actual paving stones laid 2100 years ago and see the theater with its intact arches. This was a cannery town, for the salting of tuna, so it was particularly interesting for us.Leer más
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
Bolonia to Valdevaqueros
23 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ 🌙 59 °F
Bolonia to Valdevaqueros, 15 km - Hotel-Apart Dulce Nombre

We had an incredible walk along about 12 km of beach today, in the sunshine! There was a fair amount of wind, but once the air warmed up from the sun, it was comfortable. We came to a labyrinth-like forest after Bolonia where the umbrella pines were so dense it was like walking through tunnels with what appeared to be Roman ruins scattered in the shadows. Once on the beach we had some clambering over rocks to do and then some wading through the water. It was rather thrilling to be next to the Atlantic all day, knowing that we had walked across the provinces of Malaga and Cadiz to reach this point. Now we are in a close-to-the-beach hotel, the only people here, I think. The owner is opening the restaurant especially for us.Leer más
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
Valdevaqueros - Tarifa - Málaga
24 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F
Valdevaqueros - Tarifa, 10 km
Tarifa-Málaga, bus and train - Eurostars Astoria

We had a glorious day for the finale of our walk. In fact, it was hot, hot, hot! Hot enough to wear bathing suits (had we had them) and stop for a quick swim. There were wind surfers on the beaches and board surfers in the water.

We got to Tarifa, the end of our walk, early enough that we thought if we rushed to Algeciras in a taxi, we'd be able to get a rental car there and drive back up into the mountains today. But in the whole big city of Algeciras, there was not a single rental car of any size available. We were resigned to taking a bus to Málaga, when Ned noticed the train station right next door. So we took a train to Bobadilla where we changed to a train for Málaga. The really great thing is that the train line more or less retraced the route we walked from Ronda, so between our walk this morning, the taxi to Algeciras, and the train, we retraced seven weeks worth of walking in a few hours!Leer más
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
Málaga to Sedella
25 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ 🌙 63 °F
Puente Romano, 3.5 km - Finca Duende

We drove up to Sedella this morning and took a short walk out to a Roman bridge on a part of the trail we missed in December. The plan was to stay at our favorite Finca Duende tonight and then do a longer walk we missed on Mt. Maroma tomorrow, but when we had been here for about an hour sitting in 72 degree sunshine reading on our Kindles, we said, "Who needs to hike to enjoy the mountains? We can sit right here by the pool and admire the view and it's a lot less work." So now the plan is to stay here a second night and do nothing tomorrow but eat, read, and sunbathe!Leer más
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
Sedella
26 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F
Finca Duende

Eating, reading, sunbathing
That's all we did today!
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
Sedella to Málaga
27 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F
Sedella to Málaga by car - Holiday Inn Express Málaga Airport

We had a great drive down from the mountains in the sunshine, followed by a surprise visit to...a dentist!

Ned has a tooth that has been getting worse all week, so last night he called Dr. Wakeman in Friday Harbor who advised getting started on an antibiotic immediately. We found a dental clinic, Clinica Dental Herrera in Torre Del Mar, on the web, emailed them, and they said, sure, come in right away. It was the most modern office we have ever seen, and the total charge for X-rays and consultation came to only $78. Ned got the prescription filled and already feels better.

We are now at the hotel by the airport, ready to turn in the car at 7:00 tomorrow morning and fly out at 9:25.Leer más
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Spain 2013 - Coast to Coast Viajero
Málaga to Seattle
28 de enero de 2014, España ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F
We had nice flights home with no problems. We got into Seattle too late to make the last ferry, so we stayed overnight at a motel near SeaTac. We'll pick up the car in the morning and drive home to Shaw.Leer más
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Fin del viaje
28 de enero de 2014