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Coma-Ruga to Tarragona – We’re On Our Way Home

Thanks John (and Paul).

We had another great day’s walking today. Long and hard and it’s just the way it changes like the shoreline and the sea. But let’s not talk of love and chains.

We got up late, again. We didn’t set off until 9.45 am hundred hours. We’re not children of the morning. The morning was lovely.

After a long dap along the coast we found a place to eat bacon and eggs, with two coffees and two fresh orange juices each. How pleasant it is!

We strode with purpose and …… something else. Not sure what, but certainly with purpose. Maybe toilet roll. We had that in case of emergency. Yes, that’s it. We strode with purpose and toilet roll.

The Costa Dorada was beautiful.

After a while it dawned upon us that we were falling well behind our Tarragona target And pragmatism was necessary to save the day. And I’ve got tons of that. So has Gary.

We sat down, looked at the map, and decided to cut away from the coast to follow a direct road towards Tarragona. We would cut off down to the coast where the road joined a motorway, and then pick up the GR92 to finish the last 7 miles along coast path. In that way we would restrict the day’s walk to 19 miles.

The road walk didn’t merit any photos, but when we cut back down to the coast, through a pine forest, we saw some stunning vistas.

In the far distance we could see our destination. Tarragona!

The route through the woods wasn’t easy to follow. Even if it had been it would still have been a struggle, due to the fallen trees and other detritus covering the path. But in the late afternoon sun the woods were awesome. Then we arrived at the last beach, and managed to cover the two miles along it in 30 minutes. Looking back was right good.

By this time we were tired. Very tired. We’re not young, fit lads. But we keep going. Our advantage is that we’re tough and from Yorkshire.

We made it into the outskirts of Tarragona, but couldn’t make it further. The sun had set, it was getting colder and we were exhausted. Nowt wrong with that. Exhaustion is a virtue. Well… no it isn’t. It’s a state, or a condition. Whereas virtues are matters showing a high moral standard.

We pulled in to the first hotel we saw. The bar was open and Joe was the guy in charge. We loved him.

He said the hotel was closed, but his bar was open, so we took advantage. He recommended the Hostal next door, rang the owner and got her to come down to check us in. It was a Hostal cum restaurant cum supermarket. The owner, Beatrice, was lovely and had a daughter at boarding school in Bath. She took a shine to us and gave us a suite. How kind. We had a decent meal, between the aisles.