Day 09: Estació den Benifallet to Gandesa

Date	02 Jul 2025 ( Wednesday )
Today's Distance:	12 miles / 20 km
Total This Camino:	60 miles
Total All Caminos:	1678 miles
Route and Stats
Lodging (Deb & I):	€ 90 @ Tanins Hotel Botique
Total Lodging:	$ 510
Total Airplane(s):	$ 1360
Travel Insurance (Larry):	$ 360
Buses / Trains / Taxis (Deb & I):
Total Buses / Trains / Taxis:	$ 220
Food (Deb & I) :	€ 55
Total Food:	$ 500

On the Road

5:00 a.m. Wake up and breakfast

6:00 a.m. hitting the trail

8:45 a.m. Snack break rest stop and gear check before we start the steep climb. We have 2 and 1/2 hours in and 5.75 Mi complete.

1:00 p.m. Arrive Gandesa. temperature is 96°.

2:00 p.m. In bar, waiting to make contact with hotel check-in.

3:00 p.m. Checked-in. At restaurant for a combined lunch and supper.

4:30 p.m. Shopping done.

1050-ft climb in 2 and 1/2 hours over 3 Mi. Much of the day was shaded by trees and / or mountains which was a great relief. Only in the last 2 miles were we really exposed to sun. And unfortunately that also happened to be road walking. But overall a stupendous day.

Meaningful Moment

Our climb over the Serres des Pandols-Cavals stands out as a memorable achievement.

Although we were in the mountains for quite some time prior to our summit ascent, the real climb began at the throat of the Rio Canaleta. From that point, the length of climb was 3 and 1/2 Mi. The elevation change was 1050 ft. And it took us 2 hours and 15 minutes to do it.

Miles 7, 8 and 9 had a 45-minute pace.

By the end of the climb we had gone through a lot of our water and electrolytes.

You will be able to see and some of the photos below just how stunningly beautiful this particular portion of the park was.

To be buried deep in the ravine of the river with cliffs, hundreds of feet high on both sides was simply inspirational.

Random Thought of the Day

There were some initial issues with our check-in, primarily the air conditioning was not working in the 95° f temperatures.

Our Hostess Esther was quick in getting a service technician to take a look at the air conditioning unit.

To be fair, I may have screwed something up with the control unit, but I don't think so.

In any event, the air conditioning started working and we were able to relax.

Esther was friendly and outgoing and welcoming and it turned out to be a pleasurable stay.

After hiking all day in this freaking heat, there is something really appealing about fresh cold vegetables in a salad with vegetable oil and vinaigrette dressing.

It is so good to the palate in a way that prime beef or fresh seafood just can't match.

Our ascent into the Serres de Pandols-Cavals

Dawn on the Via Verda

The rock facing is striking.

More tunnels today.

A long time ago this was a railway.

Hence the abandoned or repurposed railroad stations.

Another significant feature today was tremendous amounts of shade. I'd say along more than 50% of our walking today, the trees gave us lots of covering.

Another significant feature of being in the mountains was that all these cliffs kept the sun from beating down on us until after 9:00 a.m., giving us an additional hour and a half of protection.