The Unforgiving – Colldejou to Tivissa

I had hoped that this would be a manageable walk over 25 kms of undulating land. I’d remembered it with some trepidation but also confidence that I’d researched a new route at the end which would be easier. However it turned into 20 miles of sweat and tears. 

The morning was misty over the mountains as we ate a breakfast of eggs, cured ham and sliced fried potatoes  to stock up on protein and carbohydrates. Yesterday we used up 3,800 calories according to Gazza’s superwatch. Today we were to use up nearly 5,000. 

The route today was uphill and seriously difficult. We set off at 9.30 am and got instantly coated in sweat with the weight of the rucksacks. It took us two hours to climb up over 3,000 ft and the last couple of kilometres were so steep that we followed a careering path up to the top of a cloud-covered pass. 

The summit was around 3,500 ft and we had a difficult walk down to a ghost village, Llaberia, which is complete and well maintained but has no inhabitants!

Having reached the top, we had to stop, and drop down the route we were following, the Gran Reccorrido 7, being the longest and most prestigious footpath in Spain – but dilapidated and no-one walks it. 

We were pouring in sweat and running out of water but when we eventually reached the valley floor there was a sliver of a river and we topped up with fresh water and filled our water bottles. Good job. We’d have really struggled without this top up.

We climbed up onto the valleyside and there were the most fantastic vineyards. They now carry on for hundreds of miles to the Rioja region. The village behind Gazza is Capcanyes.

Bad news is that we shortly had the longest, most severe and highest climb of this trip. We struggled. It went up almost 75 degrees in places and it blasted us. I’ve had the worst cold for ages, and it only peaked yesterday, so I was struggling for breath. Gaz done good. In pain but kept going.

After a long slog we made it to the back of the mountain and a rock face to our left as we descended over very iffy ground through the warm cloud.

It took us an hour to reach the valley floor and we slipped through an unelectrified electric fence and cut across a steep gully to join a track up a valley that I’d spotted on google earth. 

This is wild country. It took us another three hours to get to Tivissa to find ourselves the only people in the Hostal, again. We had some free tapas and a sandwich and called it a day at 9pm. This walk is great. I’m exhausted, Gazza’s doing well but exhausted too as we hiked over 20 miles today over high mountains, climbing 5,000 ft. It’s not easy but it’s great.

Night night. Love you. 

Night night from Gazza too. He’s loving it.