 | 18.4.12 Wednesday.
A week since we arrived in Andalusia and Jane has now departed for home, Maurice (the cat), her Brownies and the Ramblers, most (though not all) are not doing as many miles per day as we.
Before setting off for Malaga Airport she dropped us off at the Roman ruins we visited in Bolonia and where our Camino truly begins.
Our route first takes us up over the sand dune at the west end of the beach (claimed to be one of the biggest in europe) just as dawn is breaking, and then down to a nearly 15km stretch of beach. We toil along the sand, in bare feet, boots or sandals according to taste and after a few hundred metres it firms up to a good piste and we scoot along chasing three long legged birds (? Blackwinged Stilts) until we reach Zahara and a mid morning coffee.
Other birds of note spotted during the morning include 2 ostriches (yes, we thought we might be hallucinating too!) and an owl. Most likely a little owl as they are known to be partially diurnal, just out of Zahara after the bridge over the great green greasy Rio Cachon.
The next two hours are a great wander along a track through the littoral area just back from the beach past many wild flowers in bloom and a herd of Andalusian cattle just sitting or standing around on the beach. Cape Trafalgar in the distance gets gradually larger but never arrives.
We reach Barbate just after the cold front forecast for midday arrives on schedule and are seen in a variety of one legged poses donning waterproofs at the side of the causeway into town across La Brena and the Marismas de Barbate (wonderful spanish word not really needing translation).
The town in mid April is largely shut and we think that there would be more (possibly cheaper) accomodation available a little later in the year.
Total distance 22km in five and a half hours.
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