Ramón Santaella Park

Stage 18: Alcaudete to Baena, 25.7 km.
A long stage for us.
We left Alcaudete under the castle of the soldier monks of the Calatrava order, and first followed a small sealed road. Among the olive trees, of course! Beautiful landscapes behind us and in front of us.
Sheep and one or two goats keep the grass short under the solar panels that supply Alcaudete with electricity.
The sealed road gives way to a country road, over hill and dale. Did I tell you it was among the olive trees? Well, there you have it. ☺️
At the top of a small climb, here comes the N-432 again, the Carretera de Córdoba. On this Monday morning, the big trucks still give us a few worries. Fortunately, not for long, as the Camino goes off to the right, just after passing into the province of Córdoba, and winds its way through trees. What kind of trees? Olive trees, of course! ☺️
The Camino continues and brings us to the Laguna del Salobral, which is dry, very dry. We walk around it to get to an old railway stop. It is on the Via Verde leading to the old station of Luque, which is now a restaurant. Last year, to shorten the stage, we followed the Via Verde, and asked José Maria to pick us up with his taxi.
This year my darling decided to go all the way. It wasn't easy, because there is no shade between here and Baena. Unless you make your own with an umbrella.
Olive oil has made the fortune of Baena, and it doesn't stop. The old olive trees, probably centuries old, are uprooted to plant new ones, lined up to facilitate mechanisation.
The arrival in Baena is not bucolic, far from it, but on the outskirts we see its citadel.
And to end a beautiful day, even if it was tiring, we had a good meal at the restaurant El Primero de la Mañana. Czytaj więcej