El Colmenar to Jimena de la Frontera, May 27, 28, 29

I did not walk from El Colmenar to Jimena de la Frontera. That is correct!  I did not!  It was too long—estimated walking time over seven hours— and had some worrisome features; that was the critical issue that deterred me.  So, I decided on an out-and-back, which was quite pleasant except when I lost the path in the woods.  

El Colmenar from the path:

It was easy to determine when to turn back: at a stream, a big one, that needed crossing:  

Uh-uh!  There were boulders you could crawl to (see over on the left), but scaling them I determined to be beyond my ability, especially since my foot has not fully recovered from the first crossing-without-stepping-stones experience.  And there were several more stream crossing en route (as in "worrisome features," above).

A woman who works at the hotel in El Colmenar drove me to Jimena.  She wore a rather large Magen David on a chain around her neck, but had no idea what it was.  She thought it was a good luck charm and just liked it!!  There ya go!

For three nights I am staying in a one bedroom house in Jimena that I think is meant for trysts or getaways.  The bed is all lit up:

And there is a huge tub next to it:

Also, a bottle of wine, lots of candles and what not, and we have not even gotten to the bathroom yet where there is a huge shower and a sauna!

It is a very nice apartment even though there is a dog who poops right outside the front door. ¡Qué asco! 

I love the tile floors:

 and I am loving having a kitchen for a couple of days even though I needed a video to learn how to turn on the stove!  Of the amenities:  I do not want the music or the TV or the candles or the bath salts or the bottle of wine, but the chocolates, those I want!  They are delicious!

May 28.  Today I did a circular walk that was quite lovely.  There were two highlights.  

The woods:

Are those trees and the colors and the mistiness, which is not mist but branches, enchanting or what!  It was like being in another world!

And El Rio Hozgarganta, which was studded with pink-blossomed rhododendrons:

AND when you had to cross, twice, there were cement blocks that made it doable!  ¡Gracias a Dios!

         Boulders to navigate, as well:

       

May 29.  Today's walk was a repeat of yesterday's, and even more enjoyable, with a few add-ons here and there.  Then another tasty lunch of sautéed potato, onion, and chicken tossed onto various salad ingredients.  There is nothing like a home-cooked meal!

 

Gaucin, May 25 and El Colmenar May 26

I really wanted to walk to Benarrabá today because I wanted some distance, and besides, it is a continuation of the previous leg from El Colmenar to Gaucin.  Problem was: how to get back to Gaucin.  There used to be taxis here, but those businesses fell prey to COVID and now there is nary a one for miles around.  Daniel, el dueño, knowing how much I wanted to do this route, offered to pick me up, which was very kind.

The walk was going swimmingly until it wasn't.  Down at the bottom of I-don't-know-what, a sort of small canyon, where GyPSy said I was in exactly the right place, were three, vague, barely possible directions.  After a bit of musing, I was actually headed the right way; GyPSy said so! But you know my dictum:  "If it doesn't make sense it is probably wrong."  Well, between the boulders, and the briars and the thorns, which can be tenacious and actually aggressive—enough already with the cuts and the scratches—and lack of signage (itself maybe a sign since this route-segment is signed, sort of), and there not being a discernible path, AND a concern that I would not be at the pick-up spot when I was supposed to be if I spent a huge amount of time trying to figure this out, I reluctantly started the trek out of the "canyon." When I had enough of a signal I WhatsApped Daniel: "Pick-up cancelled; returning to Gaucin." Then it was all uphill in the heat.  

I did see a cow:                        

And the scenery remains beautiful:

And I certainly got some distance in for the day!

May 26. Last night there was a party on the terrace just below my window replete with music and a singer, amped.  The dinner music was performed by a solo guitarist who was, for sure, no protégé of Carlos Montoya. She kept playing La Malagueña over and over, and whenever she got to that distinctive, punctuating strum, she hit it so hard it made you jump! Perhaps that was the intention, but I will propose that people at a dinner party do not pay attention to the nuances of the music meant to give the event that je ne sais quois.  When the blues and jazz singer hit the podium, I put on the noise-canceling headphones whose effectiveness earned them the space they take up in the suitcase.

A last view of Gaucin.  Narrow streets cause people to park like this:

The walk back to El Colmenar was  as pleasant at it had been in the other direction.

Saw one Wilbur all by itself:

And, close by, a non-barking puppy. 

Before heading up to the hotel, where, BTW, I have a much more cheerful room, I added a little exploration of the riverbank. Lunch at one of the three bars in town was an I-am-kind-of-sorry-I-ate-there sort of affair, but it was a change from DIY.  

Tonight's music-to-go-to-sleep-by is bells on goats and the rare burro call.  Very sweet, indeed!

El Colmenar to Gaucin, May 23 +24

 The walks I had planned for El Colmenar were segments of sections I had already done—I sort of suspected that—so I decided I would walk, rather than taxi, to Gaucin, where I will be staying for three nights.  I will be returning to El Colmenar for a night, rather unfortunately, because the hotel is the worst so far!  Utterly dreary, with those awful sticks in the room that emit odors that many people enjoy, but I find, shall we say, noxious.  

Back to the walk:  I wasn't too excited about it, thinking it would be too short and not very interesting.  It was only about seven miles, but it was varied, and extremely pleasant except for all the gates you have to open and close.  This operation often requires more height and strength than I have, so it is a struggle almost every time.  But, being a good citizen, I persist! I took my time because why not and besides, I didn't really have a choice!  The first part was through fields:

where you could not see the path, so navigating was time consuming.  (I wish the voice for OutdoorActive articulated her Ts: "You are off the rou+glottal stop.  The rou+glottal stop is 150 feet behind you.")  If the  issue wasn't directional, then you simply had to watch your step because of the rockiness.  ALSO, it was almost all uphill, but on the other hand, downhill can be even slower when there is a lot of scree and there was!

This is a Quercus Suber (Cork Oak).  

Read all about it here:

https://www.andalucia.com/environment/cork.htm

It is super interesting!

Gaucin is a pretty little town, and the B and B is pleasingly upscale.  I am loving it here!!  The wife—Catherine Hunter—of the couple who run(s) it is an artist whose work is an utter delight.  Take a look!

http://artgaucin.com/en/artists/catherine-hunter/

May 24.  Did Guy's northern circuit of Gaucin.  It was OK and sometimes OK is good enough!

There was this ant city:

But the best part was a section through a Quercus Suber forest:

Don't the trees looks as if they are half undressed?!

Here is one close up that shows how many inches of bark are allowed to be cut at one harvest:

Most that I saw are not marked this way.

On returning to town I stopped in at the Tienda Verde because Daniel, husband of Catherine, told me I might be able to get peanut butter there.  All the grocery stores seem to be out of it. There was one jar:

You can take your pound and a half of peanut butter or leave it.  I took it.  Of course, being super-organic, it is saltless and separates really fast, so I will have to be stirring every day or two

In the afternoon I did a walk of the pueblo.  There was a dolly hanging on a fence, losing her underpants, but waving anyway:

Cortes de la Frontera to El Colmenar, May 22

 Easy + Difficult = Medium, I guess. Today's walk started out quite pleasantly.  

A train passed by way down below:

And some burros, front to back and back to front all in a row:

"I will do this in five hours," I thought.  But then, at about the seventh mile, the excitement kicked in.

No, this slew of rocks did not have to be navigated!

But these did (going down):

the part with the steps was not bad, and the hand rail helped, of course, and honestly, the photo makes it look like a piece of cake, but it wasn't (for me)!  Folded up poles and put them in pack lest they get snagged on a rock and tear my arm out of its socket, God forbid! Then sat down for the parts that were not steps, and moved cautiously along.  

Then came the tunnel:

It was so low that even I had to bend down! 

After the tunnel, there was one of those narrow, unmarked, steep paths off to the right, umm, left.  There was not a lot of room to look for it as the ledge was narrow, but find it I did, and started the scramble up up up up, demanding, but not terrible, happy to have GyPSy to warn of any deviances as the promised cairns were not to be seen.  This kind of challenge would be more enjoyable, even fun, a second time when you would know what to expect.

This suspension bridge is in all the publicity photos, so it merits a place here:

Near the end, where you didn't need one, an artistic cairn:

Today is Sunday:

May 20, and 21, Zahara, Montejaque, and Cortes de la Frontera

 A circular walk that begins and ends in Zahara seemed just the ticket before taxiing to  Montejaque where the next phase of the Coast to Coast begins.  The walk began with a long, steep down, very long and very steep, which means, well, you know, for the return. 

Leaving Zahara in the morning:

 The route was quite nice, not spectacular, but nice.  There was the part where five dwellings had bzillions of barking dogs, fortunately, all chained or behind fences except for one farm where dogs, large and small, were on the loose.  The little yappy ones can go after your lower legs and the big one was showing off his CANINES.  There were so many of them, dogs, that is, that my usual yelling and waving of poles seemed not to be terribly effective.  This was especially problematic because I had to figure out a turn here.  Por fin, (at last) a lady came out, quieted the dogs—I told her, "Señora, tengo mucho miedo de los perros." (Lady, I am really afraid of dogs); she nodded, smiled, and pointed me in the right direction.

 After that annoyance, all was fine until, about 2/3 of the way to the end, where there was a turn off the main track onto "a narrow path going steeply down just beyond the gate."  I cannot tell you how I looked for that path. 

 And it was hot.  Finally, after about 45 minutes, I gave up looking and headed down a broad track hoping I was going in the right direction to somewhere.  It took some time, but eventually Google Maps kicked in, and yes, I was headed towards Zahara. 

This here horsie also looked lost and uncomfortable.  He followed me! (I should have ridden him is what I should have done).

            

 But instead I walked very fast!  After about half an hour, and much to my enormous surprise,  I heard a ding.  Looking at the Garmin GPS and saw that I had hooked up with the end of the still invisible path.  On to the homestretch, which w a s   n o t   e a s y!!  Zahara is one huge hill.

Just enough time for an ice cream before heading off at 2:00 p.m. in a taxi, driven by Diego, to Montejaque. 

Montejaque is not totally without its charms (but almost):

 Hotel is, shall we say, modest....very.  Hot water?  If you wait long enough, you will get a trickle.  And the place kind of smells, not in a good way.  But the proprietors are very nice.  The missus and I really hit it off!   Grocery store....no lettuce, tomatoes, or avocados.  Bread, butter, and lox(!), yes, oh, and an onion.  Second grocery: one tomato, as in one was left, and two peaches.  You make do with what you can get.

May 21, Montejaque to Cortes de la Frontera.  A six hour walk, actually completed in six hours, which endeavor included climbing over a tall gate (locked) and also over a fence with a row of barbed wire on top.  Turned out, I did not really have to do either, pero bueno.  

You start out early:

You walk very fast on the OMG FLAT (for a spell):

You don't do too much sightseeing:

Dad sequestered in another field: 

Alas, poor Yorick...

 

In addition to the iron gate and the barbed wire, there was another moment of drama when, on a narrow, steep downhill, a swarm of bees took over the path.  Fortunately, the trail in this area was serpentine, so I backed up, sat down, and slid to a spot on the next level down.

On way to lodgings in Cortes, passed supermarket I was planning on visiting later, but a sign advertised: "May 21 open until 1300."  It was 12:50,  just in time to do some quick restocking since tomorrow, it being Sunday, nothing will be open.  Apparently there is a feria today, so the town shut down and I mean the entire town shut down except for the whooping and hollering you can hear some distance away.

The pride of Cortes de la Frontera gracing a round-a-bout:

Grazalema and Zahara, May 18 and 19

  Yesterday, whilst dinnering on the patio, I noticed a guy who had the same guide book I was using, so I started talking to him.  He had begun the two circular walks of Grazalema that I had planned on doing, but reviews were dissuading me.  Well, wouldn't you know, he did not finish either walk for one reason or another: couldn't find the way, instructions confusing, peaks looked daunting, and so on.  I thought, "Who needs that frustration?  The walk I did the other day was so fab why not do it again?"  A plan was hatched.

Guess what?  There is more than one route from Grazalema to Benaocáz, you know, sort of like taking I 95 or Rte. 34.  So I ended up not repeating the gorgeous walk of the day before yesterday, but taking a very nice, indeed, but somewhat less spectacular, route.

Gorse!

Bed springs often have a second lives as gates:

Fortunately, this was just part of the view:

After reaching Benaocáz, I tacked on a two-mile Roman path to Urbique, the major town in these parts.  It has a real supermarket.  

But, before tackling that last bit in the heat of mid-day, I bought a chocolate Magnum, which, being the perfect hiking food, was most fortifying and delicious.  Birthday present to self!

The Roman path is so in need of repair.  Where are those legionnaires when you need them?  I have walked over so many stones in this area, OK, they are bigger than stones and smaller than rocks, so let's call them rockettes.  I am trying to impress that it is very rocky around here!

How to get back to Grazalema?  Asked check-out person at supermarket, who directed me to hotel across the street, where bartender thought and thought, and finally called a couple of possibilities. One taxista said he would come in twenty minutes, but then decided not to come at all, so, business being slow at the moment, bartender asked his compañero if he would drive me. Yes, he would. Compañero's car had no working AC, he took the curves, of which there were an infinite number, as if he were driving the Indi 500. This  made me so car-sick that I did not mind that he left me off several blocks from the hotel so that I had to schlep the backpack, boots, and the groceries up a huge hill.  

May 19, Walked from Grazalema to Zahara where I am spending the night.  Rojita and Mochilita went with Antonio in his very nice taxi. The walk had its moments:  some good, some dull, and it was hot.  Six and a half hours of walking, due to the taking of a wrong fork. (Although the wrong path was super nice along the embalse//reservoir):

The correct path, higher up, was also beautiful:

Gigantic thistles:

What I was really proud of about today's walk (no, not the grammar of this sentence) was that I was able to reverse the OutdoorActive GPS directions from Zahara to Grazalema since I was going the other way.  Achievements are a good thing!

I am staying at Al Lago, a lovely hotel in Zahara where, after a luxurious shower,  I had lunch—roast chicken and salad— beautifully prepared and served on the patio. Very elegant!

Grazalema, May 16+17

 There are many walks to choose from, but some are too short, some are too hard, some need a car to get to the start, and some need a permit, which is a pain to acquire because no one answers the phone, nor do they respond to e-mail, and to go the office is a $35.00 cab ride (one way!), AND, even if they could help, the local tourist office is closed half the week.  So I chose a walk that needed a return-by-taxi, and added an extension because I feel somewhat under-exerted.  It was a spectacular walk.  I loved every second of it!

The scenery was stunning, the path was demanding, but not too, directional challenge enough to keep one alert, and ascent and descent plenty but not exhausting.  It was supposed to take three and a half hours (without the addition), but it took me about five due to the care with which the stony surface required unless you were a gazelle or twenty.

Speaking of stones, there was an area of meadow—a nice change after all the clambering over rocks— that was heaped with piles and piles of stones.  Were they once walls?

If someone wants to go into the stone business, this is the place to get the goods!

And, would you believe wild pigs (boars?  I did not check.)

One was close-ish to me; Baruch haShem, he ran away to join his freinds.  Yes, I was afraid of him, too!

The walk proper went from Grazalema to Benaocáz, but I went on to Villaleunga del Rosario, not a spectacular add-on, but it only took an extra hour and a half.  Bought an agua con gas at a bar and the bartender got me a taxi, who turned out to be the same Antonio who had driven me from Benaoján yesterday, and who will be driving me tomorrow at 6:15 a.m. to the start of the day's walk.

Lunch again in the Plaza; too much olive oil!  This was the view from my table. (You really do want to click on the image to see it bigger):

The sign above reads, "Agua Potable!"  These fellows, however, were not producing water or anything else, for that matter.

May 17, off to El Gastor with Antonio at 6:15.  The cab ride was quite enjoyable because Antonio told me about the history of Grazalema, and he made a huge effort to speak slowly so that I could understand.  I did.

Two walks were on the agenda:  One described as short and more difficult—do  that one first—the second, longer but easy.  

6:50 a.m. from the picnic area above El Gastor:

Walk number one was fine to start with; in fact, it was marked:

which is so nice!!  But then it got really hard, if not a bit scary; I quit before competing this segment:

To be precise, I did not claw my way up to the very tippy-tippy-top of that peak.  Loose rocks, sandy in between, no discernible path....time to retreat short of the summit.  I finished walk number one taking significantly more time than the estimate, but hey, the easy walk was next.  

It was hot—it was already quite warm at 7:00 a.m.—shadeless, lots of upping and downing on the most boring track ever.  The views were fine, in fact, in places, quite nice:

 

But it was such a slog for two + hours!  A perfect time to listen to audio-book, which I am quite enjoying (Don't Sleep There are Snakes, by Daniel Everett).  At the merciful end (of the walk), I found an easy way into El Gastor, bought a Magnum and an agua con gas.  When I told the proprietress that I needed a taxi, she asked around the bar, made a call—no success—sent me scurrying off to the little grocery down the street to ask if proprietor's husband or brother might be able to take me; he wasn't.  Ran back to the bar.  Lady made a few more calls, and an hour and a half later, a taxi pulled into town.  Enjoying that ice cream, the cold drink, reading the Daf of the day—it had some totally weird stuff in it—and working on the Spelling Bee, made waiting not unpleasant.