Stage 30 will be a big one: 37 kilometers over the hills of southern Spain. At Jimena de la Frontera, we'll enter the countryside, and will encounter only woods, heather, flowers and rocks until the final kilometers at Ubrique. The alarm went off at five 'o clock this morning and at seven, when the campsite gate unlocks, we set off. The clock changed to daylight saving time yesterday, so the sun rises an hour later today, which is around 8.30 am here in Spain. So it's still pitch dark when we start and with a headlamp and the light from the airbed pump, we walk a few hundred meters along a tarmac road. Pretty soon we arrive at an old cobblestone road, situated between walls that demarcate the meadows, and it's quite overgrown with bushes and trees. In the dark and with our backpacks on, the path is quite a challenge. The campsite owner told us to be a bit wary of wild boar in the dark. They may have cubs at this time of year and can become quite aggressive. So we walk with our ears pricked up. With a headlamp on, you can clearly see reflections in the eyes of animals. Several times we see a few 'lights' pass by, but fortunately no boars. As we get higher, the landscape becomes more open. Straight ahead, we can see the Great Bear constellation clear in the sky, and to the right behind us, it slowly starts to get lighter on the horizon, and the contours of the mountains become more visible. Then it goes fast: within minutes the sky behind us starts changing from dark blue to beautiful reds, pinks and purples.
We can also see more around and in front of us, so we turn off our lights. Looking south, we see the Rock of Gibraltar in the distance one last time, together with Morocco, with the mist of the warm Mediterranean in front of it. A beautiful sight, at the top of the slope with colours of the rising sun in the sky. We arrive at a fence with a larger forest path behind it. This one is a lot less steep and we follow it for several kilometers. These are the best paths to walk: soft enough for the feet, hard enough to pick up some pace and clear enough to enjoy the scenery. After several kilometers of meandering between brilliant white rocks, cork oaks and purple flowering heather, the wide path turns into a small path through the woods that rises steeply again. We cross some streams by stepping from stone to stone.
The shade of the trees provides coolness from the sun that is already shining brightly. The path is more often overgrown with low bushes, so it will not be used very often. Mainly with gorse, heather and thistles. The first two are lovely soft plants in the Netherlands, here they seem to have adapted perfectly well to the harsher living conditions and, despite the pretty soft yellow and purple flowers, all have prickles and stinging tasks. Hmm, maybe just put on long trousers on this kind of trails.... After about ten kilometers, we've had most of the meters of ascending. We climbed some 500 meters and are now just above 800 meters altitude. In the Alps this would only be the start, but for this trek from Sagres it's the highest point. A little further on, we take a break in a field and let the ground sheets dry that were still wet from this morning.
After the break, the path soon widens again. Here we stay quite high for a while and get magnificent views over the mountains. Although nature is now freshly green and the deciduous trees are starting to sprout, it's easy to see that it's a lot drier here most of the year. Bare rocks and large stretches without trees or grass are reminiscent of mountains much higher up. It does give it a rather rugged look. Until the second break, we walk from cork oak forests, with trees still being stripped, to open stretches with nice views. We encounter no one, apart from a single Jeep belonging to a landowner. What peace and quiet. After 25 kilometers, just before the descent begins, we take a second break with bread and soup (you need to take good care of yourself on such a long trek!) and leave the tent to dry. We won't need it for the next couple of nights, as campsites are hard to find around here. The descent is also on the main trails and we encounter the occasional cottage here and there again. The dirt track turns into a paved road that we have such a love/hate relationship with. After so many kilometers it's great not to have to pay attention to where you put your feet at every step, yet after a few hundred meters it gets pretty tough on the feet and joints. But it runs well this way. After 27 kilometers, with about 10 kilometers still to go, the landscape becomes even more vast and we look out over a large, expansive valley. Against the mountains of Sierra de Grazalema, with peaks reaching over 1,600 metres, we see the town where we'll spend the night: Ubrique. The white houses of this town, the largest Pueblo Blanco, are clearly visible even from 10 kilometers away. From this distance, the brown/red tiled roofs on the whitewashed walls and narrow alleys look almost like a piece of rock: the natural colours and shapes blend in completely with the surroundings. The Pueblo Blancos have been white since Roman times, to keep the heat out of the houses.
The route then leaves the asphalt for the final kilometers of descent. We need to be careful on the narrow path with lots of loose stones, as concentration slowly starts to run out. We make a another quick break to provide our bodies with some energy and quickly move on. The final stretch climbs along and through the town's houses. In the old part, we walk through narrow white alleys and get close to our guesthouse. Several inhabitants are already pointing us in the right direction, so it can't be missed. We are there! In a gorgeous old, and obviously white alley, we come to the end of this stage. The longest we have walked in the 123 stages since we left home. Now it's time to have a rest, do some shopping, get an evening meal, shower and then go to bed. Tomorrow we'll stay over for a day to see the town, and especially to give the feet a rest. But the area is gorgeous, and we can't wait to move on again!
