Short Stages (most under 20 km) on the Mozárabe

[peregrina2000]

I’m hoping that some who might not otherwise have joined our Mozárabe zooms set for next week will take a look and say — ahh, it can be done!

I spent some time with the Association guide and some great forum posts and came up with a sketch of stages that are almost all under 20 km. The two that are not have taxis in the towns on both ends so pick-up is easy to arrange. I remember @Raggy saying that it could be done, and I just had to prove it to myself.

1. Almería to Rioja (15 km)

2, Rioja to Santa Cruz de Marchena (20.4 km)

3. Santa Cruz to Nacimiento (16.3 km)

4. Nacimiento to Abla (15.1 km)

5. Abla to Huéneja (20.9 km)

6. Huéneja to Alquife (18 km)

7. Alquife to Guadix (24 km)
Can be broken up about half way with a stay in Cogollos de Guádix
(https://www.casaruraltesorillo.com)

8. Guádix to La Peza (22.3 km)

9. La Peza to Tocón de Quéntar (12.6) — pay attention to special instructions, this is an off-grid place, but the guide is very clear.

10. Tocón de Quéntar to Quéntar (15.7 km)

11. Quéntar to Granada (17.6 km)

12. Granada to Pinos Puente (19.2 km)

13. Pinos Puente to Moclín (14.2 km)

14. Moclín to Alcalá la Real (22 km)
(with a Casa Rural about 13 km after Moclín if 22 is too far
https://es.trip.com/hotels/ermita-nueva-hotel-detail-10799004/la-atalaya/)

15. Alcalá la Real to Alcaudete (23 km)
(another casa rural in the middle in Venta del Carrizal —
http://cortijoruralcabezaalta.weebly.com)

16. Alcaudete to Baena (25 km)
Seems to be no way to break this up.

17. Baena to Castro del Río (20 km)

18. Castro del Río to Santa Cruz (22 km)
(with an albergue in Espejo, at 10 km from Castro del Río)

19. Santa Cruz to Córdoba (24 km)
Seems to be no way to break this up.

20. Córdoba to Cerro Muriano (17.5 km)

21. Cerro Muriano to Villaharta (21 km)

22. Villaharta to Alcaracejos (35 km)

No way to break this up. I know some pilgrims have taken a cab to a spot about 25 km from Villaharta (at a point where the camino crosses the motorway) and then walked the rest (see post number 124 in this thread
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...om-almería-june-2018.56268/page-2#post-641502)

Good strategy, except that it means you miss the pretty part and walk the roadside part. So if there were a way to walk first and then get a cab to pick you up at that 25 km point and then get a cab for 10 km into Alcaracejos, that would be much nicer. Getting a cab to come get you from Alcaracejos would be much cheaper than having the Villaharta cabbie take you to Alcaracejos, and there are several listed on the internet. Taxi Alcaracejos Juan Madrid. Tel. 34 600 05 94 94


23. Alcaracejos to Hinojosa del Duque (21 km)

24. Hinojosa del Duque to Monterrubio de la Serena (31.7 km)

No way to break this up that I have found.
Taxi in Hinojosa del Duque. Taxi Rafael Moreno, 648 10 08 45
Taxis in Monterrubio de la Serena. TaxisAntonio Santos Tello. 619 001 477; Taxis Eugenio Juzgado, 661 653 838

*****Note that there is also an alternative way to go from Villaharta to Monterrubio. I haven’t walked this route, but there is good information here. Stages are shorter.
http://pamnjeff.com/caminomozarabe/variant-por-el-guadiato/

25. Monterrubio de la Serena to Castuera (18.5 km)

26. Castuera to Campanario (20 km)

27. Campanario to La Haba (20 km)

28. La Haba to Medellín (18 km)

29. Medellín to Torrefresnada (15.5 km). (be careful, this is the day with the horrible roadside walking on the way into Torrefresnada — there may be a bridge that avoids it, @Raggy do you have any more info?)

30. Torrefresnada to Trujillanos (16 km)

31. Trujillanos to Mérida (9 km)

 

[islandwalker]

This is a wonderful list, Laurie - so helpful! Thanks for doing all that work.

 

[pelerine]

Thank you so much, Laurie! I am still booked to walk Granada to Córdoba with my daughters during the second half of September....

 

[Deleted member 73526]

7. Alquife to Guadix (24 km)
Can be broken up about half way with a stay in Cogollos de Guádix
(https://www.casaruraltesorillo.com)

The Casa Rural Cortijo Maromilla in Cogollos is now listed in the official guide from the Almeria assoc. - €20 per person.

8. Guádix to La Peza (22.3 km)

It's possible to stop overnight at Purullena (8km after Guadix) and Cortes y Graena (13km after Guadix).
Cortes y Graena is a spa town. The lodgings are all listed in the official guide from the Almeria association. Prices range from 15 to 20 Euros.

16. Alcaudete to Baena (25 km)
Seems to be no way to break this up.

No really good way. You could divert off the Camino after the lake toward Luque, where there appear to be a couple of hotels (incl. Hotel San Bartolomé - +34 957 66 71 44 with no web listing; and others such as this https://www.booking.com/hotel/es/casa-molina.es.html)

19. Santa Cruz to Córdoba (24 km)
Seems to be no way to break this up.

Got nothing for you here. The Camino is on a dusty track with no towns. If you followed the N-432, I think it would be very unpleasant and perhaps dangerous.
The M-230 bus from Baena stops in Santa Cruz on its way to Cordoba. There are two buses per day (incl. Saturdays and Sundays):

Consorcio de Transportes de Andalucía

siu.ctco.es

22. Villaharta to Alcaracejos (35 km)

Angel, the hospitalero and owner of Bar Mirasierra can pick up pilgrims at the 18km point on the Camino (where there is a water source and a shelter) and drop them there the following morning.

24. Hinojosa del Duque to Monterrubio de la Serena (31.7 km)

Could be split with a stop in Belalcázar (which has a backpacker hostel) or Casa Rural Casa Rural Pozo la Torre.

The Belacázar route appears to have been marked in 2012

CAMINO DE SANTIAGO POR BELALCÁZAR

Belalcazar

ayuntamientodebelalcazar.blogspot.com

29. Medellín to Torrefresnada (15.5 km). (be careful, this is the day with the horrible roadside walking on the way into Torrefresnada — there may be a bridge that avoids it, @Raggy do you have any more info?)

No bridge but the Badajoz association has now marked the route via Yelbes, which bypasses Santa Amalia and Torrefresnada. The route crosses the river Burdalo at a ford close to San Pedro de Merida.
I think San Pedro de Merida to Merida is about 16km, so you probably don't need to stop in Trujillanos.

 

[malingerer]

I’m hoping that some who might not otherwise have joined our Mozárabe zooms set for next week will take a look and say — ahh, it can be done!

I spent some time with the Association guide and some great forum posts and came up with a sketch of stages that are almost all under 20 km. The two that are not have taxis in the towns on both ends so pick-up is easy to arrange. I remember @Raggy saying that it could be done, and I just had to prove it to myself.

1. Almería to Rioja (15 km)

2, Rioja to Santa Cruz de Marchena (20.4 km)

3. Santa Cruz to Nacimiento (16.3 km)

4. Nacimiento to Abla (15.1 km)

5. Abla to Huéneja (20.9 km)

6. Huéneja to Alquife (18 km)

7. Alquife to Guadix (24 km)
Can be broken up about half way with a stay in Cogollos de Guádix
(https://www.casaruraltesorillo.com)

8. Guádix to La Peza (22.3 km)

9. La Peza to Tocón de Quéntar (12.6) — pay attention to special instructions, this is an off-grid place, but the guide is very clear.

10. Tocón de Quéntar to Quéntar (15.7 km)

11. Quéntar to Granada (17.6 km)

12. Granada to Pinos Puente (19.2 km)

13. Pinos Puente to Moclín (14.2 km)

14. Moclín to Alcalá la Real (22 km)
(with a Casa Rural about 13 km after Moclín if 22 is too far
https://es.trip.com/hotels/ermita-nueva-hotel-detail-10799004/la-atalaya/)

15. Alcalá la Real to Alcaudete (23 km)
(another casa rural in the middle in Venta del Carrizal —
http://cortijoruralcabezaalta.weebly.com)

16. Alcaudete to Baena (25 km)
Seems to be no way to break this up.

17. Baena to Castro del Río (20 km)

18. Castro del Río to Santa Cruz (22 km)
(with an albergue in Espejo, at 10 km from Castro del Río)

19. Santa Cruz to Córdoba (24 km)
Seems to be no way to break this up.

20. Córdoba to Cerro Muriano (17.5 km)

21. Cerro Muriano to Villaharta (21 km)

22. Villaharta to Alcaracejos (35 km)

No way to break this up. I know some pilgrims have taken a cab to a spot about 25 km from Villaharta (at a point where the camino crosses the motorway) and then walked the rest (see post number 124 in this thread
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/bad-pilgrim-starts-from-almería-june-2018.56268/page-2#post-641502)

Good strategy, except that it means you miss the pretty part and walk the roadside part. So if there were a way to walk first and then get a cab to pick you up at that 25 km point and then get a cab for 10 km into Alcaracejos, that would be much nicer. Getting a cab to come get you from Alcaracejos would be much cheaper than having the Villaharta cabbie take you to Alcaracejos, and there are several listed on the internet. Taxi Alcaracejos Juan Madrid. Tel. 34 600 05 94 94


23. Alcaracejos to Hinojosa del Duque (21 km)

24. Hinojosa del Duque to Monterrubio de la Serena (31.7 km)

No way to break this up that I have found.
Taxi in Hinojosa del Duque. Taxi Rafael Moreno, 648 10 08 45
Taxis in Monterrubio de la Serena. TaxisAntonio Santos Tello. 619 001 477; Taxis Eugenio Juzgado, 661 653 838

*****Note that there is also an alternative way to go from Villaharta to Monterrubio. I haven’t walked this route, but there is good information here. Stages are shorter.
http://pamnjeff.com/caminomozarabe/variant-por-el-guadiato/

25. Monterrubio de la Serena to Castuera (18.5 km)

26. Castuera to Campanario (20 km)

27. Campanario to La Haba (20 km)

28. La Haba to Medellín (18 km)

29. Medellín to Torrefresnada (15.5 km). (be careful, this is the day with the horrible roadside walking on the way into Torrefresnada — there may be a bridge that avoids it, @Raggy do you have any more info?)

30. Torrefresnada to Trujillanos (16 km)

31. Trujillanos to Mérida (9 km)

For someone for whom 15km a day is now a struggle this post gives me great hope! I have almost re-designed my hiking trolley to cope with carrying a tarp and extra water to enable me to sleep out in-between the greater distances. When I came up from Malaga years ago I had to compromise and use buses and taxis where necessary. Sometimes the bonny places to walk are outside my scope now but at 82 I feel tis time to be sensible? Many thanks and keep on truckin!

The malingerer.

 

[Colette Z]

Thank you so much! I followed your El Norte route !

 

[Lynn C O'Hara]

Thank you for this! I saved all the info so hopefully I can use it next spring. Missed it this April, but now I’ll be even better prepared!

 

[peregrina2000]

No bridge but the Badajoz association has now marked the route via Yelbes, which bypasses Santa Amalia and Torrefresnada. The route crosses the river Burdalo at a ford close to San Pedro de Merida.
I think San Pedro de Merida to Merida is about 16km, so you probably don't need to stop in Trujillanos.

Thanks, @Raggy, will there be a way to find out ahead of time if the ford is passable? Seems to me that info might be hard to come by, and the water levels vary so much and so frequently. I guess people will just have to take the risk of adding those extra kms if they can‘t pass. Do you have any pictures?

 

[lindam]

Thanks so much, Laurie, for putting together all of this information for us. If there is a future that includes walking the Camino, this will be very useful as we plan our spring Camino for 2021. Hoping to see the south of Spain for the first time!

 

[BruceNZ]

Hi all.. this is almost identical to what we did Granada to Merida in 2018. We tend to use pre- booked accom (for a touch of luxury vs albergues) and I have it all on a excel spreadsheet if anyone would like at any time. . We usually walk 3-5days then take a days rest in the more 'interesting' towns n villages. By the way, it is a fabulous walk and so disappointed as we were all geared to do the same on the de la Lana (Alicante to Burgos) starting last month but will be next year hopefully now.
We will be back !

Note from the Mods: We don’t want people to put their personal email addresses in the forum, so I have deleted @BruceNZ’s email. If you want to contact him, use the PM function. I am also going to PM him to see if I can get the document and post it on the forum. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Deleted member 73526]

Thanks, @Raggy, will there be a way to find out ahead of time if the ford is passable? Seems to me that info might be hard to come by, and the water levels vary so much and so frequently. I guess people will just have to take the risk of adding those extra kms if they can‘t pass. Do you have any pictures?

I have heard that the river is crossable most of the year. I would suggest checking in with the Guardia Civil in Medellin, and also asking the locals in Yelbes. I don't have a photo yet, but I'll ask if someone has one.

 

[Magwood]

Thanks, @Raggy, will there be a way to find out ahead of time if the ford is passable? Seems to me that info might be hard to come by, and the water levels vary so much and so frequently. I guess people will just have to take the risk of adding those extra kms if they can‘t pass. Do you have any pictures?

Super George and I waded the river in 2015. It was quite wide but not too deep, probably calf high. Looking at a photo from my blog I doubt it would get too much deeper. The tracks on this option meander through vast crop fields with lots of twists and turns and not much indication of which twist or turn to take. We did go wrong a few times but soon realised our error. I guess marking may have improved since 2015 and with the help of an appropriate app (maps.me - which I didn’t use back then) the route may now be more obvious.

The crossing is the second image here

 

[Deleted member 73526]

I guess marking may have improved since 2015

Yes. Badajoz Jacobea improved the way marking last year.

 

[george.g]

Hi Maggie,
That was a monster of a day wasn’t it! On subsequent trips I have opted to go via
San Pedro, staying at Hostal Kavanna a truck stop, reasonable prices, nice rooms and most importantly good food.
Best regards
George

 

[angelafinnigan]

I’m hoping that some who might not otherwise have joined our Mozárabe zooms set for next week will take a look and say — ahh, it can be done!

I spent some time with the Association guide and some great forum posts and came up with a sketch of stages that are almost all under 20 km. The two that are not have taxis in the towns on both ends so pick-up is easy to arrange. I remember @Raggy saying that it could be done, and I just had to prove it to myself.

1. Almería to Rioja (15 km)

2, Rioja to Santa Cruz de Marchena (20.4 km)

3. Santa Cruz to Nacimiento (16.3 km)

4. Nacimiento to Abla (15.1 km)

5. Abla to Huéneja (20.9 km)

6. Huéneja to Alquife (18 km)

7. Alquife to Guadix (24 km)
Can be broken up about half way with a stay in Cogollos de Guádix
(https://www.casaruraltesorillo.com)

8. Guádix to La Peza (22.3 km)

9. La Peza to Tocón de Quéntar (12.6) — pay attention to special instructions, this is an off-grid place, but the guide is very clear.

10. Tocón de Quéntar to Quéntar (15.7 km)

11. Quéntar to Granada (17.6 km)

12. Granada to Pinos Puente (19.2 km)

13. Pinos Puente to Moclín (14.2 km)

14. Moclín to Alcalá la Real (22 km)
(with a Casa Rural about 13 km after Moclín if 22 is too far
https://es.trip.com/hotels/ermita-nueva-hotel-detail-10799004/la-atalaya/)

15. Alcalá la Real to Alcaudete (23 km)
(another casa rural in the middle in Venta del Carrizal —
http://cortijoruralcabezaalta.weebly.com)

16. Alcaudete to Baena (25 km)
Seems to be no way to break this up.

17. Baena to Castro del Río (20 km)

18. Castro del Río to Santa Cruz (22 km)
(with an albergue in Espejo, at 10 km from Castro del Río)

19. Santa Cruz to Córdoba (24 km)
Seems to be no way to break this up.

20. Córdoba to Cerro Muriano (17.5 km)

21. Cerro Muriano to Villaharta (21 km)

22. Villaharta to Alcaracejos (35 km)

No way to break this up. I know some pilgrims have taken a cab to a spot about 25 km from Villaharta (at a point where the camino crosses the motorway) and then walked the rest (see post number 124 in this thread
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/bad-pilgrim-starts-from-almería-june-2018.56268/page-2#post-641502)

Good strategy, except that it means you miss the pretty part and walk the roadside part. So if there were a way to walk first and then get a cab to pick you up at that 25 km point and then get a cab for 10 km into Alcaracejos, that would be much nicer. Getting a cab to come get you from Alcaracejos would be much cheaper than having the Villaharta cabbie take you to Alcaracejos, and there are several listed on the internet. Taxi Alcaracejos Juan Madrid. Tel. 34 600 05 94 94


23. Alcaracejos to Hinojosa del Duque (21 km)

24. Hinojosa del Duque to Monterrubio de la Serena (31.7 km)

No way to break this up that I have found.
Taxi in Hinojosa del Duque. Taxi Rafael Moreno, 648 10 08 45
Taxis in Monterrubio de la Serena. TaxisAntonio Santos Tello. 619 001 477; Taxis Eugenio Juzgado, 661 653 838

*****Note that there is also an alternative way to go from Villaharta to Monterrubio. I haven’t walked this route, but there is good information here. Stages are shorter.
http://pamnjeff.com/caminomozarabe/variant-por-el-guadiato/

25. Monterrubio de la Serena to Castuera (18.5 km)

26. Castuera to Campanario (20 km)

27. Campanario to La Haba (20 km)

28. La Haba to Medellín (18 km)

29. Medellín to Torrefresnada (15.5 km). (be careful, this is the day with the horrible roadside walking on the way into Torrefresnada — there may be a bridge that avoids it, @Raggy do you have any more info?)

30. Torrefresnada to Trujillanos (16 km)

31. Trujillanos to Mérida (9 km)

very pleased to see this, thank you for your efforts. I prefer shorter distances now and smelling the roses.