The final day on the trail would be a fairly short one, just 14 km or so to Albarracín. And a good job too as I hadn’t slept much, having had an espresso after lunch in Calomarde the previous day at around 3:30 pm when my personal cut-off time for coffee is 2 pm if I want to sleep. Still, the fairly sleepless night (until about 4 am) allowed me to make good headway in the book I was reading!
The breakfast buffet at the hotel was astounding with just about everything one could possibly imagine eating for breakfast, along with excellent coffee. Just the fuel I needed for this final day.
I set off at around 9:30, fairly late but with no great distance to cover, expecting to be in Albarracín by lunchtime before a long, well-earned nap at my hotel to make up for the bad night. It was pretty easy to reach the trail from the back of the hotel, with the friendly owner pointing out the way, meaning I didn’t have to go back into Tramacastilla. And, as I climbed the gentle slope, I picked up another stick of wood to compensate for the lost hiking pole.
Once I hit the trail, it stayed on the level at first, hugging the edge of the Guadalviar valley, then descended gradually as I approached Torres de Albarracín. It was another glorious morning, with just a few wispy clouds in an otherwise clear blue sky.
The trail at first led me through woods, but then entered a section of open fields where I could make the trail winding its way across the landscape towards Torres de Albarracín.
The trail didn’t take me into that village but stayed on the other side of the valley before meeting the main road from Tramacastilla to Albarracín.
Because of an overgrown section of trail, I had to follow the road for about 100 metres before turning off for what would be the final climb of this hike, a 200-metre ascent to a ridge above Albarracín before a 250-metre descent to the village. After the gentle descent from the hotel to this point, the second part of the day’s trail would prove to be a bit tougher.
The first part of the climb was pretty easy, along a dirt track, but then it veered off onto rockier terrain to follow a section of El Camino del Cid, a long-distance Spanish trail with multiple variations as it crosses the country from Burgos to Valencia and then on to a spot south of Alicante, following the journeys of Rodrigo Díaz, the Spanish Middle Age military hero also known as El Cid. Apparently, he had come this way on his travels. The trail must have changed a bit since he passed by as I couldn’t really imagine him leading his troops along the narrow, stony path that I could barely make out on the rocky terrain.
After staying more or less on the level for a while, the trail then headed down into a valley before climbing to the last high point before Albarracín. It looked as if it would be a steep climb from afar (see photo below) but it wasn’t that bad. The day wasn’t too hot so the lack of shade on this section was not a problem and the climb to the ridge turned out to be less gruelling than expected.
From the ridge, the trail markers were far from easy to follow at times and I ended up getting lost in a couple of spots, mostly because I wasn’t paying enough attention. I was expecting to spot Albarracín below by now, but the numerous folds in the terrain meant that the village would remain hidden until the very last minute. And, of course, the final descent, in keeping with much of the trail, had to be a nasty, stony one.
After a while, Albarracín came into view, marking the end of my hike. From afar, it looked intriguing, with its higgledy-piggledy layout and the walls running up the hill behind the town. And it only got better the closer I got. Probably one of the most perfectly preserved mediaeval villages I have ever seen anywhere. Eagles were wheeling in the sky above, riding on the thermals, and the sunny day was pleasantly cool.
After passing a small chapel, the trail began its descent to the village proper and I began to get a clearer view of the layout, between the different churches and the cathedral with its tiled tower (typical of the Teruel province).
After wandering through the village where there were quite a few people about, I went for a celebratory lunch in a restaurant where the food was so good I immediately booked a table for dinner that evening. I then found my way to my hotel (at the very top of the village) where my room had a terrific view of Albarracín.
The hike was over and it had been a terrific experience, with the discovery of a totally unfamiliar corner of Spain. But as I had two nights in Albarracín, there’ll be one more blog post coming about the day I spent in this magical place.
I’ll conclude this post with a few flowers spotted along the way from Arcos de las Salinas, nine days earlier
Footsteps 