E4 Berchtesgaden (DE) – Tarifa (ES) 2015
3000 km in 3,5 month through Central and Western Europe on the European long distance path E4, which is spanning in a big arch from Greece to Portugal.
I started my ramble in the very south eastern corner of Germany near Berchtesgaden in Bavaria and my goal was the lovely little coastal town Tarifa in Spain.
Through the Austrian Alps to the Bodensee (Lake Constance), Swiss Jura Mountains south to the French Alps and its southern foothils, crossing west to the Cevennes over the Pyrenees into Andorra and finally through all of eastern as well as southern Spain’s mountains to Tarifa.
Different languages, cultures, food, people, flora and fauna. Hiking poles that broke injuries I sustained. From happy to miserable, peaks to valleys, snow to sand, cold to scorching heat and inbetween me, my tent and I.
It was quite the adventure to say the least. And the one thing that drove me crazy and made me almost quit my journey was the FLIES (not even close to bad in this picture) halfway through Spain. At one point it was so obnoxious, I thought I was hearing rain dropping on my tent when I was just about to sleep. To be fair to get in my tent without bringing a bunch of them with me, I had to run up from 20 meters away, jump in dive roll style and basically close my tent mid air behind me. Shame nobody saw that, it was straight out of a Bond movie!!!
Anyways continuing the story, I could’t believe my ears because it was clear skies moments before I went snuggling in…turns out it was the flies banging and flying against my tent still wanting a piece of me. I improvised some sort of protection, but quite frankly it didn’t really work – see the picture above.
These little buggers enjoyed my sweat and company for the better part of 10 days and enriched themselves on my nose, ears, mouth and eyes. Years later I still find them at different places on my body. 🙂
I decided that I’ll take any means of transportation out of this “hazard zone”.
Having to make a detour anyways because of a landslide in the Communidad Valenciana near Cortes de Pallás, I got lucky and met a great fellow who took me to his place in Valencia where I was able to stay for a couple of days and recharge my batteries, figuratively and literally.
I went back to the trail a bit further southwards and thus leaving the flies behind me. What a relief.
Over my birthday I spent some days in Alicante on the beach. I could feel myself getting tired, physically and mentally. The heat and the hardships of the previous months slowly cought up to me.
Therefore and along with a time issue I was running into, I had to turn my back on some parts of the path in the south eastern region around Murcia.
The last 600 km of my hike I was doing better again and felt like finally getting closer to my goal Tarifa.
After some charming parts in Andalucia, notably the Sierra de Baza and Sierra Nevada, I did reach my very goal. Tarifa, Costa de la Luz, and me being exhausted and ecstatic.
More exhaustion?! Another ecstasy?!
Enjoy the hike!
