Camino del Estrecho day 1: Algeciras to El Pelayo, 16.8km

Fortunately the weather was not as forecast. The constant layer of marine cloud making haste towards the Atlantic ocean kept us pleasantly cool, which was perfect as day one was predominantly a generous climb up into the hills of the Parque Naturel del Estrecho. The birds of prey circling overhead were on the lookout for flagging peregrinos. The area is a major stop for migrating birds, amongst which are listed multiple types of eagle and vulture, so we had to stay focused. Plus the appearance of cows and steers on the road was a bit disconcerting, but Susan ensured that at all times I was between her and the beasties with the big pointy horns.

The first hour leaving Algeciras was the typical city exit – long stretches beside busy roads, but the bike path/pedestrian promenade kept us well separated from the traffic. We detoured from the official trail to walk along the beachfront, which conveniently included a cafe for breakfast. The bonus was the 2km we saved!

The official path climbed the hills on a former military road dating back to the Franco era, including occasional sentry boxes, barracks, and gun emplacements on the highest hill. One section had tall concrete screens to mask road use from the prying eyes in Gibraltar, apparently built by Republican prisoners (Spanish republicans. Not a comment on potential incarceration of US politicians 😁).

El Pelayo is not a destination town. Actually it’s hard to figure out why it exists, being a bunch of houses on the busy highway between Algeciras and Tarifa. Fortunately it has somewhere to stay: the Youth Hostel is quite impressive, but hard to figure out what it was in a former life, with its sports facilities, swimming pool (sadly closed for the season) and amphitheater. It’s also fortunate that they’re not too picky in defining “youth”, although anyone who does the 16km up the hill is probably young at heart. The village has a restaurant – a wee walk back from the hostel, so lunch at 1600hrs will double as dinner. Tomorrow may be another short term fast, as backtracking to the village is not that appealing, and it’s otherwise 16km to the next cafe in Tarifa.