- Time of past OR future Camino
- Except the Francés
Yesterday I finished the Almería to Granada section of the camino Mozárabe. I enjoyed it very much. Before it all starts to receed from my mind, here are some disjointed reflections on the experience.
Numbers:
I didn't see any other pilgrims between Almería and Granada. This is becoming increasingly uncommon as this camino gains popularity almost exponentially. There were pilgrims ahead of me, 2 Navarrans one day behind, and 4 Lithuanians a day behind them. Two delightful committee members of the Asociación Jacobea de Almería Granada, Mercedes Murillo Pravia and Paco Fuentes, visited me in the albergue in La Peza. They (and other energetic enthusiasts) are responsible for the signage and the recent explosion in accommodation on this route. Last year around 200 people completed it. This year it will be 500-odd. Next year they are expecting 1000. They also run a WhatsApp group for all the hospitaleros on the way, so everyone knows who is en route and roughly when to expect people (which is why I know about the Lithuanians on my heels).
Accommodation:
I stayed in 3 municipal albergues (Rioja, Huéneja and La Peza), 4 private ones (Alboloduy, Alquife, Guadix and Quéntar), 1 pensión (Abla) and 1 nunnery (in Granada). It would have been 4 municipal albergues and no pensións, but unfortunately the albergue in Abla was shut on the Sunday I was there. All the albergues were excellent, with well equipped kitchens in most (only a microwave in Rioja). There is possibly a private albergue opening soon in La Calahorra, which would be great, as it is a charming town with interesting architecture, an amazing castle and lively bars and restaurants, whereas Alquife, 3-5km further on, is fine but.
Food:
I only had a full menú in Guadix, the largest town on the camino. Otherwise I arrived too late for lunch, or the bars in the pueblos were too small to support a restaurant. It didn't matter, as the tapas, I thought, were the most generous (in size) and amongst the tastiest I've encountered. Three, I found, made a perfectly adequate meal, if topped up with a bite later on. For example, in Huéneja, where the bar did not, at first, look inviting, I had a tasty bit of pork stew, a bowl of ratatouille and a plate of jamón and cured cheese. And chatty staff and locals. Yum.
Terrain:
It was mostly fine. There is a vicious climb out of the riverbed shortly after Alboloduy - think of the Cerro del Calvario just before Almadén de la Plata, multiply its length by three and steepness by two, and narrow it to one metre wide of scree with occasional sheer cliffs on one side. At some point someone will fall off and get killed. Best not attempted when it's wet.
The only other challenging bit was from La Peza to Quéntar. It's not especially hard, but just 28km, much above 1400m up, with no houses, no people, no fuentes, nada. Astonishingly beautiful, but it was quite gruelling on a cool October day, and would be worse in heat. I had 2.5 litres of water and it wasn't quite enough.
The bit I slightly didn't like was the riverbed when it was overgrown with bamboo or trees so you couldn't see any views, but that was a very small proportion of the whole.
Conclusion:
A very very pleasant way to spend 200km. Interesting towns, fabulous scenery, charming people, decent food, fascinating history, impeccable signage, unbeatable accommodation. Now wondering why I don't just go back and start again.
Numbers:
I didn't see any other pilgrims between Almería and Granada. This is becoming increasingly uncommon as this camino gains popularity almost exponentially. There were pilgrims ahead of me, 2 Navarrans one day behind, and 4 Lithuanians a day behind them. Two delightful committee members of the Asociación Jacobea de Almería Granada, Mercedes Murillo Pravia and Paco Fuentes, visited me in the albergue in La Peza. They (and other energetic enthusiasts) are responsible for the signage and the recent explosion in accommodation on this route. Last year around 200 people completed it. This year it will be 500-odd. Next year they are expecting 1000. They also run a WhatsApp group for all the hospitaleros on the way, so everyone knows who is en route and roughly when to expect people (which is why I know about the Lithuanians on my heels).
Accommodation:
I stayed in 3 municipal albergues (Rioja, Huéneja and La Peza), 4 private ones (Alboloduy, Alquife, Guadix and Quéntar), 1 pensión (Abla) and 1 nunnery (in Granada). It would have been 4 municipal albergues and no pensións, but unfortunately the albergue in Abla was shut on the Sunday I was there. All the albergues were excellent, with well equipped kitchens in most (only a microwave in Rioja). There is possibly a private albergue opening soon in La Calahorra, which would be great, as it is a charming town with interesting architecture, an amazing castle and lively bars and restaurants, whereas Alquife, 3-5km further on, is fine but.
Food:
I only had a full menú in Guadix, the largest town on the camino. Otherwise I arrived too late for lunch, or the bars in the pueblos were too small to support a restaurant. It didn't matter, as the tapas, I thought, were the most generous (in size) and amongst the tastiest I've encountered. Three, I found, made a perfectly adequate meal, if topped up with a bite later on. For example, in Huéneja, where the bar did not, at first, look inviting, I had a tasty bit of pork stew, a bowl of ratatouille and a plate of jamón and cured cheese. And chatty staff and locals. Yum.
Terrain:
It was mostly fine. There is a vicious climb out of the riverbed shortly after Alboloduy - think of the Cerro del Calvario just before Almadén de la Plata, multiply its length by three and steepness by two, and narrow it to one metre wide of scree with occasional sheer cliffs on one side. At some point someone will fall off and get killed. Best not attempted when it's wet.
The only other challenging bit was from La Peza to Quéntar. It's not especially hard, but just 28km, much above 1400m up, with no houses, no people, no fuentes, nada. Astonishingly beautiful, but it was quite gruelling on a cool October day, and would be worse in heat. I had 2.5 litres of water and it wasn't quite enough.
The bit I slightly didn't like was the riverbed when it was overgrown with bamboo or trees so you couldn't see any views, but that was a very small proportion of the whole.
Conclusion:
A very very pleasant way to spend 200km. Interesting towns, fabulous scenery, charming people, decent food, fascinating history, impeccable signage, unbeatable accommodation. Now wondering why I don't just go back and start again.
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