Day 8 – to Teruel

There were more people around today, but still very quiet. Quite a few cyclists taking advantage of the excellent road surface for the climb of almost 1000 metres from Alcala, and families out for a cooler picnic spot.

At first I was concerned about my direction of hike today, through the meadows on the GR 8 towards Valdelinares to gain the peak at El Morrón. My concern as there are plenty of cattle wandering free, but they were very laid back, and, unlike our Lowther cows, not interested in the dog. There was a huge bonus for Roja though, the many cattle troughs. So it became, for him at least, a tour of the troughs. It was a bit warmer today, but probably the best scenery of the three hikes we’ve done here.

Then onto Teruel. You wouldn’t normally catch me in a city, but there’s a few things I need to do first thing tomorrow.

There’s a free park for vans and motorhomes, and 4 or 5 others, chiefly from Netherlands and Belgium, here. It was 28C when I arrived at 4 pm, but there’s plenty of shade. The dog’s sat outside as it starts to get cooler in the early evening, watching the local kids play football. I know the Spanish have strict COVID rules, but 10 year olds wearing masks while playing seems a bit ridiculous. Meanwhile I am on Earl Grey and half listening to the sport; Lancashire going well, but still disappointed about the Test.