Day 185
4 hrs, 10 .0 kms

I have one more day left in my 20 day Spain-Portugal trip. During this time I've competed a record breaking 4 Superhikes. And now I'm going to see if I can make that five.

How? Well, On my trip up I did a hike from Tarifa, the southern tip of Europe, to Algeciras. Back in 2010 I hiked around Gibraltar and La Linea, on the Spanish side. I've calculated that if I can hike from La Linea to Algeciras, I'll hit the 100 kilometer mark, making this a Superhike. This would be a significant Superhike to do--sort of a "sister Superhike" to the Superhike I did on the south side of the Straits of Gibralter from Tanger to Chefchaouan. Also this Superhike would include the Southern tip fo Europe, iconic Gibraltar, and the city of Algeciras which holds a lot of treasured memories for me.

Any problems? Well... yeah... The problem is that part of the stretch between Gibraltar and Algeciras is freeway only . I may not even be allowed to walk along it. Plus it's a pretty ugly stretch of industrial and commercial sprawl. Also, I have to be back at work in Casablanca tomorrow, so I really don't want to push my luck. I must get on that ferry at a good hour.

But when I arrive in Algeciras before dawn, I decide I'm going to give it a shot. I hop on the bus to La Linea, and we head off into the darkness. I get off the bus on the outskirts of La Linea, where I ended the hike in 2010, and briskly head on my way, with the Rock of Gibraltar rising behind me, wishing godspeed.

The stretch to San Roque isn't too bad, here I meander through the town a bit, remembering my visit here in 2010. As I exit the town, following a side road I hope will go parallel to the freeway I see an odd sight: a young couple of scruffy backpackers coming towards me.

What? Could it be--? I figured for sure no one's tried to walk from Algeciras to San Roque before... I stop and ask them. Sure enough... they've just done the hike that I'm planning to do! They're Germans, and they're traveling across Spain, and camped out last light along the way...

Looks like I've found some kindred spirits! I tell them about the E-trail across Europe and offer them my map--but they say they're planning to switch to hitchhiking...

"You can stay off the freeway most of the time" they reassure me.