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We drive to The Rock, arriving just after 9 and catch the cable car to the top. We have 12 miles to walk to Algeciras this afternoon and although some practice has been done it may not be enough! Excuses!
We go up the rock in the company of a car full of cruise ship passengers, there are two big ones at anchor under the rock. They seem more concerned by the minor lurches as the cars reach the half way point than possible navigational problems with their hotel. The famous barbary apes elicit a predictable number of oos and aas before demonstrating their cleptomania by grabbing crisps from a child in the cafe and retreating a safe distance to eat them. After talking to the monkeys we descend to get a sello (stamp for our pilgrim passports) from a very pleasant lady in the cathedral office.
Setting off back across the runway to La Linea (RAF Gibraltar lands across the only connection with the mainland) after a tapas lunch we start walking around the bay to Algeciras (nothing to do with the arabic radio station).
We do not expect to enjoy this walk! It passes through a large chemical works where we see a redbacked shrike and several ?what warblers, followed by a section of high security wall very well decorated by a local art college. Which goes to show that on Camino the bad and the good are often neatly woven together.
The problem with this part of the route is that the two significant rivers that need to be crossed while traversing the bay are most efficiently bridged on the auto route, while there are pedestrian walkways on the bridges it may require multiple leaping of crash barriers to get to them! The latter part of this section is dangerous and tedious. The possible footbridge over the Rio Guadarraque is in fact a pipeline from one bit of chemical works to another.
Eventually we make our way through the back streets of Algeciras to the cemetry in the middle and meet up with Jane and our lift back to Tarifa.
The next day looks better but may be worse who knows?
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