Flat lines

I was just waking up when Andrew came up and said that he and Randy were setting off.

"Do you know where you're going?" I asked.

"I think so," he said. "Someplace called Za-something."

"Just be safe and don't go on the highways," I muttered. And they took off.

Highways are a big problem in this part of Andalusia. The Alcorconales Nature Reserve cuts the Campo de Gibraltar area in half vertically so it's hard to get across the mountains, and while the A381 highway has removed a lot of traffic from the regional roads, there aren't that many ways of getting to the coast. Had Andrew and Randy been riding mountain bikes (and had they not been quite so determined to get an early start every day) I would have shown them the Corredor Verde de las Dos Bahías, an adapted transhumance route that links the Bay of Cádiz with the Bay of Algeciras. At 94 kilometres long, it's not the longest hiking and biking route in the area (the E4/GR7 hiking route trumps them all - almost 10,000 km between Tarifa and Athens) but it's a good alternative for non-motorized transit. On the Michelin map of Andalusia, it's shown as closed road, but it's nothing that a bike can't handle, especially if it hasn't been raining and you've got no particular desire to ride up to the town of Vejer de la Frontera.

The key to cutting this day short is to take the Corredor Verde westward just before reaching Benalup de Sidonia - Casas Viejas, cross the regional road and instead of turning left to go southward, keep following the cañada real straight on until you reach the N340 highway before Tahivilla. This cuts the day down from over 70 km to just under 50 - providing, of course, you're equipped for offroad riding. You go through irrigated fields of wheat and crops, and no one seems surprised or offended if you're on a bike (though a German couple attempting the route on a Vespa got some strange looks from the local farmers.)

One note, though - there's no shade whatsoever, so make sure you've plastered your shoulders well with sunscreen. I didn't. Ah well, at least I know that the sunburn will keep that sleeping bag toasty warm tonight....