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Are we camping?
Not yet. We stay in a house, villa or hotel and use trains and buses and occasionally taxies to get to the start of each stage and home again afterwards. Some parts of the route are likely to be more isolated and camping out might be necessary.
How closely do we follow the coast?
We try to find quiet tracks and paths, off the main routes. These are usually away from the coast. To avoid main roads, our route is often indirect. Although our route follows the coastline, we don't always walk on beaches or coastal cliffs. So far, we have always been within a days walk of the coast. This "rule" will also be used to determine whether of not to cut off promontories.
Do we walk every inch of the route?
Yes but not to the point of being neurotic, trespassing, intentionally breaking the law or taking stupid risks. For example if we used a bus to get to the start of the walk, we would not bother to cross the road to get to the exact point where we got onto the bus at the end of the previous day's walk. The few metres lost are made up a hundred times over by taking wrong turnings and going up dead end paths. When there is no obvious alternative we are happy to use ferries. Near Cadíz, we used alternative routes to avoided motorway river crossings closed to pedestrians. If we get to a an unavoidable crossing, closed to pedestrians, we will use public transport.
Are we doing all the stages in sequence?
Yes. We have already walked along small parts of the route but we will do these stages again walking "west to east". There might be a few exceptions. For example, we got permission to walk the length of the Matalascañas Nature Reserve (along the beach). To fit in with the park operations we walked in the "wrong" direction.
Are there any special problems with this walk?
No. Nothing serious but you get sun tanned on one side only. Golf courses, military bases, industrial zones, ports, estuaries and closed nature reserves often block the direct route. There is always a longer way round. Beach walking, always west to east, makes you get one leg longer than the other.
How difficult is the terrain?
Most of the route is on un-made farm or forest tracks with some unavoidable sections of made up road. Much of the route could be followed with small children and a push chair. Occasionally we take a short-cut across more difficult terrain such as a field or hillside but these stretches could be avoided. In Portugal there are many small lanes with little traffic. Many of the busiest roads in south western Spain (Huelva and Cadíz provinces) have wonderful pedestrian/cycle alternatives nearby.
How long will the walk take?
As teachers we can only go walking during the school holidays. Once we are past Gibraltar, the climate is warmer and drier and we plan to use the winter months as well as the Easter break. Eventually when we have all reached retirement age, we can go for months at a time. This should bring the time estimate down from sixty years to nearer ten. With normal luck and health, we will live that long!