Day 54 – EU – Spain [Vinaros to Amposta]

28/01/20

37km

  From Vinaros (Spain) to Amposta (Spain)

Europe

Crossing into Catalona on a bright and tranquil day on the road

I have so far run nearly 400km in Portugal, followed by 1,500km in Spain. In Spain I have crossed the regions of Andalusia, Murcia and Valencia. I cross today into a 4th region, Catalona, which will be the last I cross until I reach France in about 10 days. I am more and more aware of the progress of the journey, it seems to start to be “visible” on a map and with numbers that mean I am also clearly underway.

I noticed how, in the few villages I passed by following the entry into Catalonia, I saw flags flying at the windows. Catalonian flags. I understand the region is the most fiercely independent of the country, with nearly 50% speaking Catalan, rather than Spanish, as first language. Not that I would notice the difference, my Spanish is too basic and I revert to english most of the time.

Today’s run was mixed. The first part was a bit stressful. What I thought would be a quiet secondary road turned out to be a busy road, with no hard shoulder. I escaped as soon as I could, to the first camino I found running parallel to the road. Then I found the trail that took me all the way to Amposta, next to a railway line that did not seem much in use. Surrounded by, you will have guessed, orange orchards and olive trees!

I’ve had a little walk around Amposta tonight, beautiful city by the river Ebre and the source of the “Ebre Delta Natural Park”. I did not make it to the wetlands, that would have required more time. I reckon a bike ride around the Park would be quite interesting, many bird species have their home there.

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: