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Camino Mozarabe April 2018Camino Mozarabe April 2018
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A 53-day adventure by Laurie Read more
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  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018
    Day 12

    About 30 mountain kms to Quentar

    April 19, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Today’s walk was spectacular, except for a short one or two kms along the road at the end of the first mountain ascent and before the beginning of the next. Snow covered mountains along the left, olive groves, almond trees. Just wonderful. It was tough though. This is probably the hardest camino I’ve walked, and that’s not just because I am getting old!

    There are about ten people in our “bubble”. Two Austrians, an Australian, two Dutch, a Spaniard, two Brits, and one guy from Puerto Rico. Many will spend a day in Granada. My pal Alun will leave the camino in Granada also. So I will start over and hope to find other peregrinos. I am very glad to have the tracks on GPS, that’s for sure.

    Short 20 km day to Granada tomorrow, where we hope to sleep in the convent of the sisters of Santiago. I will probably not get back to the Alhambra but if the stars align I could take a quick trip.

    And I will buy a new hat!!!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018
    Day 13

    In Granada

    April 20, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Today’s walk was perfect, except that it was way too short. We were sitting in a cafe in Granada having a coffee by 10:30. Almost all off road, some wide open ridge walks with views of the Sierra Nevada, then a descent to walk along a stream and past an old monastery in ruins. The final part took us through Sacramonte, where the many gypsy caves have been turned into tourist attractions.

    This is the end of the first 200 kms. It’s also where Alun leaves, and Herminia and Rupert, my Austrian pals, keep on walking. So tomorrow I start out alone, knowing I will meet up with a new batch of peregrinos.

    We are staying in a convent of the Sisters of some order of Santiago. There are 22 of them in charge of this huge place, and they are all always scurrying around cleaning and washing and sweeping. None of the nuns are Spanish. Our individual rooms with private bath are spotless, a great deal at 20€.

    Most important event of the day —buying a new good hiking hat!!!

    This afternoon we hoofed it up to the Alhambra grounds. No tickets available but we had a nice shady walk up and around the walls. Last time I visited the Alhambra was 1995 and it has only gotten more popular. It is beautiful, no doubt about it.

    Tonight I will meet up with a Santiago friend who lives here in Granada. It will have to be an early night because I am hoping to start walking tomorrow before 7 am.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018
    Day 13

    Afternoon in Granada

    April 20, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    First task after the stroll up to the Alhambra was to try to replace my fanny pack. The zipper keeps opening while I walk. The guy in the North Face store said —why replace it, why not fix it? He sent me to an upholsterer who with a few twists of a tool, got the zipper back to perfect condition. When I asked him how much it would be, he laughed and told me he was having a special sale today. So happy that this happened here and not at home, where I’m sure there is no one who would fix a fanny pack zipper!

    From there to meet a camino friend Amancio, who took me to the old Moorish madrasah from the 14th C. The beautiful prayer room had been covered with wood panels for three centuries and is in perfect condition, as is the antechamber for washing feet.

    After a great ice cream cone in Italianos, the last stop was the Santo Domingo church for a look at its last supper statuary. We weren’t sure which was santiago though.

    A final goodbye to Alun and time for an early bed. Tomorrow our on my own again.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018
    Day 14

    38 long kms to Moclin

    April 21, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    But I’m here in time to go visit the gorgeous castle!!!

    Today was much longer than I had planned. My first choice was to try the new alternative that goes through a town called Abolote. Missed that somehow so I knew I’d have a longer day. Then I managed to get on the longer (but nicer I’m sure) off road route through olive groves up and up and then down and down before the last, and biggest, ascent. Gorgeous and not too tough but I was dragging a bit by then. And the snow covered Sierra Nevada are still in view!

    The way out of Granada was the typical city exit. 5 kms on asphalt past warehouses, dumped junk, unfinished subdivisions, etc. After the town of Pinos Puente, the landscape changed dramatically and I walked for kms and kms through olive groves. And 9 hours later I arrived in Moclin. I’m staying in a Casa rural—no Albergue here—and have a decent room for25€.

    I lucked out by being here on a weekend, because the castle is only open on Saturday and Sunday. It is really impressive. I’m glad I had enough energy I go up and visit it. Tomorrow’s 24 km will seem like a walk in the park. That is tempting fate I know.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018
    1
    Day 15

    Short day to Alcala la Real

    April 22, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    I knew it would be a short day so I left after 8– almost unheard of for me. It was cloudy most of the day but the views were still good. As I left the castle behind I passed three or four atalayas (watch towers) on nearby hills, all from the same ancient time of the Arab castle.

    Today’s walk wasn’t spectacular but it was very pleasant. Off road a lot of the tine, either through olive groves or other agricultural operations. I had seen people out and all bent over and seeming to pick something and put it in a bag they carried. But the fields seemed to not have much growing. Finally I saw a man leaving the fields and loading up the car, so I stopped. Turns out they were picking asparagus. Very hard work and not very remunerative. They sell theirs to a coop and get 2€ for the bunch.

    I also had a nice long chat with a young male cyclist who must have told me a hundred times how valiente I am. He just couldn’t imagine how I was doing this. But by the end of our conversation, he was starting to think he might like it!

    Alcala has a big Moorish fortress up on the hill, a great post-prandial destination. The restaurant attached to my pension makes paella on Sundays, and it was a treat.

    So here I am after two hours walking around the castle, with more excavations of the city inside the walls than I’ve ever seen. Really a nice way to walk off the paella. Sleep is about all that’s in my future today. Tomorrow is another short day.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018
    Day 16

    Another castle town

    April 23, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Today’s walk was great walking even if the scenery was a bit monotonous. 99% through olive groves, on a wide dirt tracks used by the aceituneros (people working in the olive groves). There was one tricky part through a culvert under a highway and across a stream but I survived it.

    I walked 25 km but my body didn’t register that many. It seemed a lot shorter. I arrived around noon in the town of Alcaudete, another town of Arabic origin with a castle on top. This was the Moorish/Christian frontier during the 13-15 C. Lots of battles and intrigue.

    Since it’s Monday the castle is closed, but I was able to hike up and walk around the walls and also able to get between the inner and outer walls.

    So many castles!!

    Tomorrow will be another short day like today but then I may tackle a long stage to get me close to Cordoba.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018
    Day 17

    Into the big town of Baeza

    April 24, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    I left Alcaudete around 7:15, which is a good time for me to get going. Time for a cafe con leche (of sorts) made by me with my electric coil, packing up, doing email, etc. I had heard a lot of thunder in the night but the sky was clear when I set out.

    25 km of dirt roads through olive groves, with cool temps, lots of wildflowers and white towns sprinkled among the hills. Some have described these last few stages as boring, but I find them energizing and glorious. I came across my first peregrino since leaving Granada. A Spanish guy who was having a hard time and debating whether to pack it in. He was planning to go to the small albergue in town and I just had a hunch he would be a snorer. Time to go to Plan B.

    Just as I entered town there was a sign for Hotel/Restaurante. Peeking around the corner, a 3*** Hotel appeared. You never know, so I went into check on pilgrim prices and sure enough, one hour and a long shower and clothes washing session later, I am a happy camper, paying 25€ for a very comfortable room!

    After a nice lunch and walk around the old town and through the quiet municipal park, I am heading back to the room for s good sleep before my very early departure tomorrow. I may be crazy but I am hoping to walk 42 km more or less!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018
    Day 18

    Enjoying a long day of walking

    April 25, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    My GPS registered 42.8 km when I walked into the hostal where I am going to spend the night, in the dusty little town of Santa Cruz. There was a method to my madness. First, I just don’t enjoy 19 km days to towns with nothing to do. Second, I could have walked a shorter stage today and a longer one tomorrow but that would have taken away from my precious time to visit Córdoba. So it all made sense to me.

    I was surprised to see that it took me about 9 hours, which included one short and one long break, a detour to avoid flooding, and one stream crossing where I had to take off my shoes and walk carefully. But I am in my little 23€ hostal room, having finished a decent lunch. How lucky was I that the kitchen stayed open till 4pm!

    The first part of the walk had one thing on offer — olives. After the little town of Espejo, with its pretty privately owned castle on top, the scenery got more varied. Lots of wildflowers and lots of huge fields of brilliant green grain. Tomorrow will be only 26 into Cordoba and I don’t think the terrain is too challenging. So happy to have all this time alone to clear the cobwebs of my brain!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018
    Day 19

    In lovely (but very touristy) Cordoba

    April 26, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Yesterday afternoon I was delighted to go down to the bar next to my hostal and see three women, obviously walkers, sitting there. Thinking that my days of walking alone might be coming to an end, we started talking. How bummed was I to learn that the single Spanish woman had been injured and was taking a bus tomorrow, and that the two Finnish women were stopping today in Córdoba. Maybe I’m destined to walk alone for a while.

    The 27 km into Córdoba—did someone say olives? But wait, there were also gorgeous green fields and wildflowers. And when I was about 10 km from the city, the olive trees disappeared altogether. Oh but the walk into town. I saw the city at least 10 km away—HUGE and sprawling. But the agricultural track was serpentine, weaving around with no clear direction into town. But finally when I got really close I was very happy to find that the camino deposited us in a residential section very close to the mosque. I going my cheap hotel, showered and washed clothes, and found a non-touristy highly rated Italian restaurant. Splurged a little and had an excellent meal.

    By 3:30 I was back in tourist central, eager to visit the mosque. The guy in the ticket office told me that things would be much quieter if I came back around 5:30. So I did my grocery shopping and wandered around bumping into a first century Roman temple and a very nice plaza.

    Then back to the mezquita. Though the superimposition of Catholic renaissance architecture is kind of jarring, at least they left stuff standing. Unlike the Moors, who tore down the Visigothic temples, or the Visigoths, who tore down the Roman temples. All here in many layers. Once the groups are all gone, it’s an amazingly lovely place to sit and contemplate.

    Long walk tomorrow so I should go rest up!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCamino Mozarabe April 2018
    Day 20

    40 km again!

    April 27, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Hi from the little village of Villaharta. I had two choices for today—Cerro Muriano at 19 km or Villaharta at 40 ( my GPS read 40.7 but that’s because I got lost when trying to find Córdoba’s Roman bridge.)

    I left early since it was going to be a long day of walking. The exit from Córdoba, just like the entrance, avoided the ugly parts and once over the bridge I was out in countryside. Near a lot of highways but still, on dirt and out of traffic.

    The walk had some very nice parts— an ascent through rocky hills with scrub oaks and lots of wildflowers, and lots of off-road paths through woods. It was interesting to walk by an army base that must have been 2-3 km long —tons of tanks, trucks, barracks, and who knows what else.

    So here I am in the tiny village of Villaharta, where the very kind owners of the local bar have offered to take in pilgrims. Since I walked two stages, I have finally found some others!! The little place is bursting at the seams. Luckily I called and got the last bed— in a corner of their garage!

    Dinner beckons—as another bit of evidence of the owners’ kindness, they are opening the kitchen at 5:30 pm!    Read more

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