Like yesterday, the stage ahead of us today runs almost entirely along the beach. At the end of this long beach is a ferry that crosses the river Guadalquivir to Sanlúcar de Barrameda. At least, there should be. Google indicates that there is a ferry line, there are some reviews about it and someone at the campsite told us that there is a boat going back and forth for fishermen. But there is no website and no sailing times can be found. It feels a bit like the weak link in our planning, because if it doesn't sail, we really have a problem. Walking back is out of the question and we have been warned that wild camping is controlled because it's a nature reserve, but mainly because many boats with African refugees arrive here due to the remoteness of this stretch of beach. We don't fancy an angry guardia civil, or ending up in even more awkward situations. Detouring means a round trip of an incredible 160 kilometres, almost via Seville. All the way around the immense Doñana nature reserve.... So we just leave early today, keep our fingers crossed and hopefully there are some weekend fishermen who also take need the ferry. In the early morning we leave Matalascañas. At a quarter past seven we are standing in the dark on the deserted boulevard. We can follow it for the first kilometer to the end of the town, where we enter the beach. The water is still at its highest, so we start across the loose sand. It's quite a plod to keep up the speed, but we've got a ferry to catch 😉 As it gets light, the sky colours from dark blue to deep red, followed by a brilliant sunrise.
We pass one fisherman and one hiker with a dog, otherwise we meet no one else on this beach. Only a few vans from the Doñana nature reserve pass by. They drive along the beach at high speed. Some areempty, so we hope they pick up tourists at the ferry. After an hour or two, the water is low enough to walk comfortably on the firm sand, without having to run away each time from a wave that comes a lot higher than the rest. That walks much better, and the kilometers go fast. Especially as there aren't many shells on the sand: a lot less distraction! It's a wide and long beach and from the time it's really light we can already see the buildings in the distance where we are heading today. Whereas yesterday we walked along cliffs all day, today there are really only dunes to be seen. These separate the sea from the Doñana nature reserve, which unfortunately we can't see; you are not allowed to enter the dunes from this side. It does seem to be very beautiful though, a reason to come back someday. We keep going and take a good break after 20 kilometers, after which we've only 12 kilometers left to hike to the ferry. Just after the break, we see something big and black lying on the beach. We have a look and see that it is a washed-up bottlenose dolphin. We have been staring at the sea in vain since stage 1, hoping to see a dolphin or whale. Too bad that this is how we have to encounter the first one....
We walk on and it's going smoothly. The water is just about at its lowest now and the beach is even wider. In the last kilometers, we see fishermen by the water. We inform about the ferry and they say it runs a bit further on. Great, that sounds good! A little later, we see a group of people in the distance going onto the boat, and it leaves, only to come back our way not much later. When we arrive at the spot, it also arrives back and we can board almost immediately. What a relief. On the other side of the water, the quayside is buzzing. It is a sunny Sunday afternoon and the streets are busy. A funny sight, after walking on empty beaches for a few days. Another 15 minutes later we arrive at our hotel.
Yes, we've made it across!
