Santa Cruz

Day 30, from Castro del Río to Santa Cruz, 19.4km.
We spent the night at the Hostal A Ka La Sole, which is to the north-west side of the town, and very close to the Camino. A few steps and we were out of town.
The "official" stage from Castro del Río to Santa Cruz passes through Espejo. The only thing that bothered us about this stage was that just before you get to Santa Cruz, you have to cross a bridge over the Río Guadajoz on the N-432, the Carretera de Córdoba. We've crossed this bridge twice in the past, in a bus, and we've seen the traffic that crosses it. So we didn't want to take any risks crossing that bridge.
We had picked up tracks by another pilgrim who had taken another route in April 2022, which did not cross the Río Guadajoz at any point. So we chose this option.
The short climb out of Castro del Río is a gravel road, and we had a great view of the town. On the other side of the hill, we could now see other crops: cereals and chickpeas.
After 4.5km, we had to take the A-309 for 700 metres. The verge is wide, so there's nothing to worry about. Then we took a country road, not at all busy, given the state of the bitumen. Here, olive trees grow in tight rows.
A little over 3km later, we took a dirt track that lead us through fields of sunflowers, cereals and olive groves. It's a very varied path, with lots of short ups and downs. We even had the pleasure of seeing the Río Guadajoz.
A puddle on this path reminded us that it would be a nightmare to walk on this path after a lot of rain.
The route we took is in fact part of the long stage from Castro del Río to Córdoba. At the junction with the CV-271, a small country road with no traffic, we left the Camino, ignoring the yellow crosses, and followed the road towards Santa Cruz.
When we reached the area where there is a Roman bridge, the Puente de Fontalba, we couldn't resist seeing it. It didn't take us long to cross the olive grove to get to it! The bridge was probably built in the 1st century AD.
Back on the road, we came across some arrows, which led us to believe that this road to Santa Cruz was part of the Camino in the past.
We're staying at the Hostal La Bartola.
Tomorrow it's going to be hot. We'll have to decide whether to walk the 26km without shade or water, or take the bus to Córdoba.Read more