Aim'jie had an inspiration: hiking alone along the Mediterranean coast towards France! For one week I was still with her, from Adra to Almería, then she went on alone. The hike together was marked by very different landscapes: first the plastic greenhouses, then 16km of nature reserve without any settlements, then tourist places, then the mountains and finally the city of Almería.
Now you might ask if that wasn't too cold in the middle of winter. We were occasionally a bit cold. Then we simply dressed warmer. This was sometimes a bit uncomfortable at night, because we only had summer sleeping bags, which are designed for 15 degrees! Aim'jie therefore bought another summer sleeping bag in Almería, which she put over the other sleeping bag at night. That worked well, the following nights were more comfortable.
Sunday, 10 Jan 2021
After little rain yesterday, we sleep in this abandoned house. Here the morning sun comes in.
Ooops - someone made a mistake!
We are in a green house area. It has one advantage: we find rests of vegetables on the way. Not much damage, good taste.
There was a lot of rain in the last days, the road is flooded. We balance on a wall.
We walk along the Mediterranean coast. I like to walk barefoot.
The weather is fine. But in the night some rain will come. We're going to sleep under a roof on the terrace of a restaurant in Almerimar.
Monday
Between Almerimar and Roquetas de Mar there's a nature reserve of 16km length. No trees but still nice.
Colorful sunset. Time to look for a sleeping place.
Tuesday
There are not many buildings in the nature reserve, but we found this ruin and buildt up our tarps on the side.
A lonely and silent region. Mostly you hear only the waves of the sea.
We arrive in Roquetas de Mar - and find dates.
On the left you can see a few buildings from Aguadulce, on the right Almería - if the picture quality were better.
In Aguadulce we find many dates. And we meet a funny woman on a bicycle who sells vegetables. We buy to have food tomorrow in the mountains.
Our sleeping place at a beach of Aguadulce.
Wednesday
We start early, here the sunrise.
Between Aguadulce and Almería we walk over mountains. From far, they're looking grey and dead...
... But there are plants and bushes. It's nice and warm enough as you can see.
On the highest point, 800m high, there's this strange military area.
On the way down: Almería in view!
On a length of 1km, there are grains on the ground of our path.
It's marked for hikers.
Thursday
We sleep in the "Cueva de los Corrales". We have built up a tarp over our sleeping place, as some drops are falling, the cave is wet...
... But it's pretty warm. Warm air comes out of the holes on this side. It probably comes from a deep mine that is connected to the cave via these holes. The wall was built so that no one could crawl through and fall into the mine.
I check the roof. There are a few stones that are not quite firmly in place. But we hope it's safe enough. The warmth is so nice!
Display board with view to Almería, about two types of rocks we can find in these mountains.
We are on a "Via Pecuaria", a path that has been used since ancient times. Miners, muleteers, labourers, shepherds and others used to go here.
Before Almería, we find an abandance of tomatos and pepper on the way.
Friday
Aim'jie goes by bus from Almería to Murcia and hikes further along the coast. I go home by bus from Almería to Nerja.
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