Los Barrios to Palayo, June 04

 I was worried about today's walk because the time estimate for it was over seven hours, so of course it was hard to sleep, which is not  optimal before such an undertaking.  It turned out that for most of the way, the route was not difficult.  In fact it was quite lovely, with changing views, including my first view of the Mediterranean since Maro:

                                                               

and a miles-long uphill that was not steep, so it was not difficult.  BUT....

There was an encounter with dogs.

This is not the entire group, but anyway, they came running down the road, barking; I was so outnumbered I realized that I had better not antagonize them.  "¡HOLA! ¿Hay alguien por aquí?"  "HEY, is there anyone around here?" I yelled.  There was not.  Tactic: make friends?  "Hola, perritos, hola!"  "Hi, little doggies, hi!" They sniffed and let me pass.

Later on I heard a loud rumble.  It was a jeep hauling an animal trailer.  After a bit, it stopped and two bearded guys wearing cammo got out.  They were poking about and motioned for me to stop.  Were they looking for mines?  "Hay un problema?"  I asked.  The problema was a cow.  Whether the cow was hurt or what I have no idea.  But they had big truncheons with which to protect themselves.  One guy told me to go another way and he pointed left.  Like I am going to go off through the hills as if I know what I am doing?  Please!  Fortunately, I looked at my GPS and OMG I had missed a turn!  I was supposed to go exactly the way the guy was pointing!  The error cost only about 15-20 minutes.

Then I fell.  Just slipped on some scree and landed on my tooth.  I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!  Who cares about the swollen lip, the blood, the cuts, the stone in the hand!  I just hope the tooth will survive the assault, and I was a bit worried about my jaw.  Amazingly, my sunglasses did not break, nor did the nectarine in my belt pouch get destroyed.  Oh, and at least, my knee—the-not-so-good-one— did not suffer.

Less than two miles from Palayo, the route disappeared.  There were cliffs and brush and whatnot, but nothing like a path that matched the GPS or the instructions.  I was so bummed because despite the dogs and the fall and the missed turn, I would have beaten the seven+ hour estimate.  Again, good luck.  The track I was on led to a road where, farther on, was a "place," El Bujeo, which was nothing more than a parking lot, and, without the details, let's just say from there I was able to call a taxi to get to Tarifa, which was my ultimate destination, there being no place to stay in Palayo.  

"Home" for the next four nights is a little Spanish apartment. This is the door:

And this is the sleeping alcove:

 OK, so the sleeping alcove is stuffy and the bed is not 5***** but I love it...with all the noises and sounds of a real place!  Neighbors and all. There is a tiny little grocery store just around the corner that does not close at 2:00, so I bought a potato, onion and eggs with which I made a delicious linner (lunch+dinner).