De opmerkingen die we na het traject Ronda - Colmenar n.a.v. het gebruik van "Walking the GR7 in Andalucia" aan Cicerone hebben gezonden:

 

Dear editors,

My wife and I used with great pleasure your Guide for the GR10 and are using the guide for the GR5. This spring (25/2-2/3) we started with a part of the GR7, and again we used one of your guides: “Walking the GR7 in Andalucia”. It was very useful. Indeed, going the GR7 without that book is almost impossible.

Nevertheless, some remarks. There are in 2008 some differences between the book and the field.

pag 70, par.1: Hotel Berlonga => Hotel Berlanga *
pag 72, par.1: “...before you reach the platform and the bar….” In the vicinity of the platform/station we couldn’t find any bar.

pag 77: “From this path you are again…. taking you away from the reservoir.”

That path starts approx. 30 m from the point you are going down. Even in February it is almost overgrown and not easy to find.

pag 80: “Just around the corner you’ll come to a second crossroads, at this one turn to the left onto a track which take you trough several fields. From here the route is very badly marked with some posts obviously missing.”

When you take the second crossroads you’ll find a marked pole that leads you to the left over a track and through a “barranco”. Nothing is missing. The first track to the left leads now to a brand new house (and to an olive orchard).

 

 Looking back: the path and the barranco on  the other side of the valley 

pag 81/166 (on the map): The name of the village is Villanueva del Cauche.

pag 82: “…., coming in by the football ground.”

The west part of Antequera is “adopted” by Antequera-Golf (Links, Apartments, Hotel). You have to find you way between this. Antequera-Golf has nothing to do with GR7-walkers and indeed you have to stroll some meters more than you thought you had to do (see Google-Earth). The distance between Valle de Abdelajis and the centre of Antequera is now 34 km.

pag 84, par.1: “After a kilometre this track almost peters out……footpath” and “The path then turns back into a wider track”

In 2008 the situation is totally different: The track is over its entire length wide and simple to follow.*

pag 84, par.2: “Descend towards the Hotel ….just beyond.”

Better is, I think:  “Descent by a first underpass towards Hotel las Pedrizas, cross the hotel car park and pass under the second underpass just beyond.”

pag 85 (box): We couldn’t find this bar in the village.

pag 165: The blue text is odd in the light of our experiences. But first something about the point where South and North Route split (pag 165, par. 1). Coming from Hotel las Pedrizas and passing the second underpass you pass a signpost that indicate Northern and Southern Routes both (via respectively the A-7203 and the A-7204).* The sign for the southern route points to Villanueva del Chauce but it is more convenient to take the old and quiet tarmac way (A-7204) that joins the busier MA-115 approx. 1km more to the east. (So it is also a shorter route).

 “…. which appears just to go to the farmhouse and has an off-putting “no-entry” sign.” We were lucky: it was an early Sunday morning, everyone was at home. Despite the fact we were waving with our “Walking the GR7 in Andalucia” dogs and men didn’t understand why we were on their property. After we showed our map and the little drawing on pag 166 they told us we were allowed to go further. But they were very pleased to see the photograph of their fields on pag.167. Nevertheless we had the impression we were the first ones who asked for overpass and that they didn’t believe that Riogordo was to reach by this way. Further on the route we lost much time in avoiding a young bovine couple with their two calves. So we came at the gate you didn’t need to reach and at last we found (approx. 500m, and not 200m from that gate) the point you have to “head steeply uphill….. only some small goat tracks” (pag.167, par.1). At last we went over the grassy pass (for indeed there is also a higher track with many pebbles and stones.)

Later we had to decide to go to the right (and not to the left) to be in time at a bus stop, thus assuring we could get our plane in time.

So we reached the MA-115, the road between Villanueva del Chauce and Alfarnate, and walking to the south we came on the road to Colmenar. There we saw a marked pole, indicating that this part of the MA-115 was part of the GR7!

Somebody told us this route do not go over Riogordo but over Alfarnaterjo to Ventas de Zafarraya.

We are eager to read the comments of the writers about our remarks for we hope to do some other parts of the GR7 in the next year.

Sincerely yours,

 

J.Bouwman

 

* We can state this with documents/photographs.

PS: The distance between Ardales and El Chorro is approx.16km and not 13km

 

 

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