Huéneja

1st of May is a public holiday in Spain, and as we left Abrucena, everything was quiet.
The Camino comes down rapidly from the town, with initially a good guidance of arrows. We walked through several orchards, with trees that will hopefully provide a good harvest.
The arrows disappeared after a while, but Fiñana sitting on its hill guided us.
There is an ermita in Fiñana that used to be a mezquita. Built in the 12th century, it was converted into a church at the Reconquista, but kept its quibla and decorations of its mirhab. By chance we saw the parish sacristan open the door, and he let us have a look around.
The long walk along the rambla after Fiñana ensued, with beautiful scenery. When we arrived in La Huertezuela, where we intended to have our lunch, we found the village a buzz of activity. It was the romería of the local patron saint, San José Obrero. An outdoor mass was said, amidst the noise of the locals, and then everyone congregated to the square, where a giant paella was being cooked. We were the only ones there with a mochila, so we were approached by various participants, who invited us to join the crowd waiting for the paella.
The wait was a bit too long, and we had nowhere to put our mochilas, which we kept on our backs. So after a while, we politely asked to be excused and we continued to Hueneja.
We're staying at Casa Violeta. Violeta has now moved into the house with her family, so there's only one room, and we're the lucky ones.Read more