Marbella 4 Day Walking Day 3 - The Vistas Route

Today was the third day of this year's Marbella 4 Day Walking. I am doing the 20km routes, along with my walking friend Jane...

...and probably over 1000 others.  This was the description:

"From the higher parts of Marbella you have beautiful views towards Africa, sometimes even from the beach you can see the mountains of Morocco. To make sure you will enjoy at least one of these views, we’ve set out a route that will lead you to the ‘Altos de Marbella’ and then on to the beach.

The views are definitely worth it, but your legs might protest a bit along the way."

This was our 20km route:

These are the overall stats:

And this the elevation profile...

Here are a few photos:

On my way to the start I passed the lighthouse...

...and the harbour.

As we headed for the Old Town again, we passed the queue of walkers waiting to start. Jane and I decided to take it easy today and didn't rush to stay ahead. 

I managed to get across the road ahead of this lot...

...and enjoyed the sights.

But I was soon caught up.

One of the things I like about being in Marbella at this time of year is the flowers.

After an initial climb, we started to descend once more. We were going under the motorway and up the hill on the other side.

Half way up the hill, I looked back to see the pack of walkers about 3/4 mile behind still descending to go under the motorway.

The checkpoint was about 3/4 of the way up the hill.

Some legs were already a bit tired, but we were doing fine as we had taken our time.

Nearly at the top now, we had a good view back.

We passed the houses below the radio masts.

Some stopped for selfies at the viewpoint.

I stopped to change the batteries in my camera and enjoy the views.

I sped up going downhill and overtook lots of people, but never caught up with Jane.

Today we had a stretch of walking along the beach.

These apartments are nicely situated.

I was glad to get off the sand onto the boardwalk.

But our friend with the big Netherlands flag and small Spanish flag was staying on the beach.

The sea was looking inviting. I had got so hot I poured water into my hat and put it back on my head to cool myself down.

I passed where Joyce and her gang were staying....

...and was soon back at the walking village.

Joyce arrived some time later. The 30km route had done another big up and down in the sunshine (I remember it well from last time). "That was brutal", she said, but she recovered quickly enough.

I did my own thing this evening and visited the Old Town. I do love flamenco guitar.

This little girl got a surprise when the statue moved.

I went to the harbour looking for a sunset photo, but it had clouded over.

But I did find somewhere serving paella for one. Delicious.

We took it easier today so the big climb wasn't too bad... but after the sun came out it was rather hot and I was longing for some shade on the stretch along the beach after we descended. But it's the last day tomorrow and I think we are OK for one more day's walking.

You can see more details of my route here on MapMyWalk and more of my photos and some videos here on Flickr.