Villanueva de Algaidas

Day 23, from Cartaojal to Villanueva de Algaidas, 11.9km.
It rained a lot last night, much to the delight of our host who, in addition to his casa rural, has arable land, fruit trees and olive groves.
Our overnight stay included desayuno, served from 8am. And what a desayuno it was: copious, with homemade products. We had a real treat!
Which meant that we left late, at almost 9.30am. We knew we had a short stage, and we also waited for the rain to stop.
The first 3.8km were on sealed roads with no traffic. There was a small rain shower, so we took shelter under a tree.
The bitumen gave way to a path through the olive groves, which had been soaked by last night's rain.
The clay didn't stick too much, but it did in places, especially where the plantations of new olive trees, tightly packed to allow mechanised harvesting, are replacing the hundred-year-old trees.
The Camino goes up, then down, always among the olive trees.
As we approached Villanueva de Algaidas, there were a few cereal fields. But above all, there was now the smell of olive oil production residues in the air.
Just before reaching the olive oil factory, there's a pretty fountain with the shell and logo of the Camino Mozárabe. Only 195 more leagues to Compostela.
The Ayuntamiento is closed on Saturday, so the Policía Local gave us the keys to the albergue. It's right in the middle of town, in the Correos building. It's a good albergue, sleeps 24, with 12 bunk beds, and I'm not counting the extra mattresses. A well-appointed kitchen. And what's more, there's Wi-Fi! 😄Read more