Packed!

It fits. 5.4 kilos in the backpack, 1.5 in the front balance packs. Everything I need and nothing I don’t for 7 weeks. I hope! Laid out is “from the skin out” so it includes the clothes I’llLue lisää
Dubai sleepover

Copthorne Airport Hotel courtesy of Emirates for a 17 hour stopover. A big bath (yes!) and a sleep. It’s 40 degrees out side but 22 inside. The hotel gold store looks like fun window shopping.Lue lisää
Puerta de Atocha

Catching the Ave fast train to Seville. No time to take a photo because instead I had my first, for this trip, cafe con leche and bocadillo con jamón ibérico y tomate y aceite.
On the train to Seville

It is sooo good to be back in Spain. The countryside looks green and beautiful.
What did I do to deserve such delight?

After a fast trip (train was averaging 259kph) through interesting countryside. First there seemed to be miles of new green wheat, then miles of olive trees, then suddenly a golf course - seemingly inLue lisää
For Ian

A ladder lift
Seville

A very pretty city with the Guadalquivir river flowing through it. This morning visited the worlds largest gothic cathedral, very impressive and extremely well preserved. Got my first “sello”Lue lisää
Walking out of Seville

So I lay awake from 3am. My sleep pattern has obviously not yet transitioned to Spanish time. I left as soon as the first birds started tweeting but it was still deep night. As I could see no yellowLue lisää
Italica - Roman capital of Hispana

A short 12km walk from Sevilla, made slightly longer by my bad map reading. Once I was back on track I had no problems following the yellow arrows. I took the river route which was slippery and muddyLue lisää
Love the truck stop for breakfast

Cafe con leche - with sugar. I’m told that it helps with muscle cramps.
Guillena

After my breakfast with the very cheery gentlemen truckies in the industrial area, I walked the 11km to Guillena. The flooded Arroyo dos Molinos proved to be easy - used a broken wooden pallet to stepLue lisää
Breakfast in the industrial area

I can’t go past a truckies cafe! After a strenuous 2 km time for coffee. Besides, I know there are no other refueling possibilities between here and Castilblanco. It is countryside all theLue lisää
A perfect days walking

Today was simply stunning. Sunny, but with a cool breeze, firstly olive groves, then orange groves and then kilometres of beautiful path through a garden of wildflowers. Every few steps I’d stop andLue lisää
When you need a sweet red wine...

A beautiful walk through a national park, part of the Sierra Nevada Norte. Wide gravel path, soft green grass, masses of wild lavender in bloom, chestnut trees. A few clear streams to cross - wadedLue lisää
Made it before the hail

A lovely days walk again, through the Sierra Norte National Park, filled with wildflowers and lush green grass. The park does have private landholdings, strictly regulated, so they can graze theirLue lisää
20km and still feeling good!

Set out from Al Real in crisp cold weather. The skies are quite spectacular in this weather - cold air streams must be interesting the cloud patterns. Again, another beautiful day of walking, for theLue lisää
Walking in the Air

Today was a day that I’ll remember forever. A day of thin places. Moments of sheer joy. I walked most of the 22km alone - apart from an eagle soaring over me - and was absorbed by the beauty aroundLue lisää
Sunburnt feet and olives

Last night I was too pooped to write up the blog, but for the record - Zafra is a dear little town with a couple of pretty squares, a nice medieval centre, a couple of interesting Mudejar churchesLue lisää
Beautiful Mélide

Wow! What a gem. No wonder it is a world heritage site.
The day started early, leaving our rather primitive albergue before dawn. There was a wedding last night and the locals seem to celebrate byLue lisää
Storks and a walk through the Dehesa

The stork season is well and truly here. So many flying overhead - I can’t tell if they are scouting for food or flying further north. But certainly every storks nest I pass, and there are many, isLue lisää
Visigoth church and...wildflowers

A lovely walk on a perfect surface in perfect weather - not cold but with enough cloud cover that my sunburnt feet were happy. About 17km from Aljucén to Alcuéscar, through national park. Once hereLue lisää
The joy of a washing machine.

Last night I stayed in Câceres in a nicely situated but rather dingy old hotel, tonight I’m in a spacious and bright modern apartment in Casar de Cáceres. With a washing machine, oh joy! I have onLue lisää
Luxury albergue by the embalse

A 22 km walk today.
Casar de Cáceres was an unexpectedly pleasant village - obviously great local pride as they had made a very welcoming green arcade into town - vine covered trellis walkway andLue lisää
Motorbikes in Cañaveral

Maggie (Oz, remote area RN) and I rejected the road route taken by most of the other pilgrims this morning, and instead took the “alpista” path or Camino Naturale. A bit of a climb and then weLue lisää
There is always a fiesta...

There is a fiesta here tonight - in the Playa Major (the place that looked dead this morning is now hopping). And tomorrow a Romería to the ermita this side of Grimaldo - followed by on-site food,Lue lisää
MatkaajaYou did it. Remember when you thought 12 kg was a good pack!