I returned to San Roque on the 8am bus and with Googles help found my way back to the Vía Serrana. A chilly morning, I was hugging my new hiking poles closely as they were useless on the 3k of a minor road I had to walk before it transitioned to lovely soft dirt and I saw this cutie pie:

And finally out into open country:

Free of the buzz from all the industries blanketing the Gibraltar peninsula, now the only sounds are that of birds, the wind in the trees, and my footsteps softly crunching on the gravel road.

The farm track transitioned to an old forest track through a pine forest now let to run wild into old age. Glorious.

10k back on a quiet yet paved country road. As bucolic as it looks the macadam is hard on the feet and knees!

12k I had clamber over this 6’+ gate, throwing backpack over first, then pushed/pulled myself over. Tied securely with nylon rope there was no way to open it and there wasn’t quite enuf room to shimmy under. This seemingly okay view on the other side of the gate led to a miserable few miles….

The grass morphed into a mangled farm track with deep ruts of now-hardened mud, descending down thru an overgrown forest with spiky acacia and tentacles of bramble bushes reaching out to snag the unwary pilgrim. Dim and treacherous it felt like walking thru Malificent’s forest. It eventually spit me out at a tilled field of new wheat and at 15k back to a flat gravel farm road.

1.5k on I arrived at a flooded arroyo. This I was partly expecting based on reports of people walking in Dec&Jan and although it didn’t look deep it was running fast so I played it safe and backtracked a kilometer to take an alternate route.

My feet were getting a little tired of road walking by this point but I didn’t pay them too much mind as look at the amazing brilliant green fields! I’m so glad it’s Spring here and not all dull, dried out brown.

18.5k the alternative turned out to be rickety old suspension bridge. After bouncing across I see why this isn’t the suggested route!

And back to road walking…finishing at San Martín with a total of 21.5 km. My hotel room had a bathtub so I had a long, hot soak to ease my weary bones. Much harder than hiking!!