Alcoy-Bocairent endurance test

Well, today was a long and eventful one and no mistake.
I Started out at 10.00am from Hotel Reconquista, and climbed up to an old factory in a gap between imposing salmon-pink stone cliffs. The gap continued through into a gorge with a small river. It was very beautiful. Then a house in the gorge with no access except the path. Two mules were tied up outside so I suppose they delivered the groceries Further on up the track became a roads then a track again. A group of walkers! I might have known they'd be English. On up towards the peak, Montcabrer, which is 1390 Mtrs above sea level. I got there at about 12:30 but already there was a group of about 90 Spanish teenagers on a school outing. It's impossible to describe the sheer amount of noise they were making. You'd have thought they were attendees at a boxing match. They went eventually and the group of English walkers took their place. They were somewhat quieter.
The view from the top of Montcabrer was stunning: two vultures wheeled overhead and far below a hang-glider. All around, other misty mountains disappeared in the haze.
It was tempting to think that the hard
Part of the walk was done, but therein was still a long way to Bocairent.
I tried to ring the Casa rural I was hoping to stay in but couldn't get a signal. When I did the guy at the other end told me they lived in Valencia and couldn't do anything at such short notice. I called on my friend and he sorted another hotel out for me. I had to get there by 7pm though.
The rest of the way was mostly along forestry tracks: eventually I got to a gr7 sign for bocairent. 3 hours and 25 minutes. This was at 4:00pm so I was a bit alarmed. No way I could get to the hotel by 7.00pm.
I decided to take a shortcut. Whe. I got to the point on the hill directly above the town, I took a side track leading to a house. I knew itu was unlikely to be occupied during the week. There was a short stretch between the house and the road below which had no path, but it didn't look too steep from the map.
Well it wasn't too steep but it was completely covered in dead pine tree branches, gorse, ivy and brambles. I did get to the road but it took about an hour and my trousers were ripped to shreds when I got there. So were my hands and legs. That's the trouble with short cuts: you never know what you're going to get. 7:00pm now so I rang the hotel to say I'd be a bit late. No reply. I finally got there at about 7:20pm and knocked on the door. Still no reply. I noticed there was a hotel on the way in so I booked a room there without enquiring the price. It's the hotel l'estació, and it's very nice. It's called a silence hotel. I'm too tired to do anything except lie on the bed in silence. I might stay here tomorrow too.