Chica’s Challenge
yesterday 22 March
we are back home safely – read all about it!!
It all happened so fast! Last week we were happily planning the next section of the route. The next thing we knew, the caravan site had closed its gates. At first, the lovely owner said we could still walk or move to another site, but it soon became clear this was not the case. Spain was on lockdown! So we decided we would go back to our base in Jimera and wait it out there. However, we quickly realised that anyone going back into the village might be less than welcome. And we’d be housebound, with no garden and not knowing when we could leave. Tom has to start work in a few weeks (as a builder, so that may still be possible) or we will run out of money.
It was a strange drive back through an almost deserted Madrid, stopping in services as there were no sites open. We chatted to others heading back to northern Europe as well as the UK, sharing our stories. We did a 10 hour solid stint to beat the French border closure (only to find we would have got through anyway) and finally crossed on an almost empty Eurotunnel train yesterday. No extra checks – just straight through. Which is good but sort of not! We’d just come from the second most affected country in Europe. But we will stay in for a week or two anyway and console ourselves by binge watching films and eating ready meals – neither of which we’ve done for for the last ten weeks.
We were doing this walk to raise money for Spanish rescue dogs and we’d very much hoped to reach Galgos del Sol on the east coast by the end of April, having raised a substantial amount for them and the other charities we’re supporting. This is so disappointing, especially as they are going to be under huge pressure in the current situation as they can’t move dogs out to potential adopters. Please, if you can, donate just the cost of that coffee you couldn’t have this week to help them, and cheer us up just a little. You can find the details here.
I am so sorry that we have to go home. At first, we thought we’d still be able to walk but then it was clear we couldn’t. And we had no idea how long it would be before we could continue. Dad has to start doing some work before too long so he can feed us. Mostly, I am sorry that we weren’t able to help so many of my friends. In these circumstances, as dogs can’t be moved to new homes, the strain on the rescues will be even greater. Please don’t forget them 😭
Hasta luego, mis amigos! We’ll be back to continue the adventure! Chica
See where Tom is on his epic walking journey from the bottom to the top of Spain with his friends!!
Chico loves to walk and Tom, her man, loves to walk too.
So they’ve teamed up to hike the whole length of Spain, from
Torifa to Andorra, o distance of around l900K.
Chica is a podenco we rescued in Spain. She’s a very happy,
healthy dog now but it wasn’t always so. Many thousands like
her suffer abandonment and abuse so Chica and Tom hope
to raise money to improve the situation for these gentle loving
dogs along the way.
First, Tom decided he wanted to do a long walk.
Then he thought Spain would be nice as it has to be in winter.
And he’d like to take Chica, our podenco.
As an afterthought, he said, “Maybe we could raise some money?”
“Who for?” I asked.
“Well, as I’m taking Chica and it’s in Spain, I guess for Spanish podencos.”
“Great idea! I’ll write the blog!”
