- Time of past OR future Camino
- Some in the past; more in the future!
Burger King didn’t mind.
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Burger King didn’t mind.The bar/restaurant where he will be eating will be thankful if the mud has dried and fallen off his shoes!
What in the world did you eat there? Sorry, but it’s a pretty jarring image for me.Burger King didn’t mind.
They have a veggie menu these days.What in the world did you eat there? Sorry, but it’s a pretty jarring image for me.
I love this analogy!Camino arrows are a bit like life: both can be crooked sometimes, but in the end they point you in the right direction.
I figured you would decide to finish this journey on foot after a hard think. After all, what's one more day at this point after you've come so far. Even if it's quite a long stage, it's just the one final piece to complete the puzzle all on foot and put an "exclamation point" at the end of it!I’ve decided to walk it after all, as it would be a shame not to complete the entire journey on foot at this point.
That’s some serious mud-caking! I haven’t come out of my shoes (yet!) but my feet do move around a lot in my shoes while mud-caking, which leads to blisters. And the whole thing just slows me down. Anyway, there was still some today but not as bad as yesterday.Oh Nick I feel your pain.. that video brings back memories of Chemin d’Arles where the Way sometimes takes you through private farmlands. One particular day we had to walk through recently ploughed fields, made into thick mud after many days of rain. I thought I’d tied my shoes tightly enough - but alas no. As I tried to lift up my heavy mud laden foot, the whole shoe came off. If I hadn’t had my poles I’d have fallen over. Getting my foot back into the shoe was quite a feat. Don’t know how I would have done it if I were on my own - as you are - without Domi to hold me upright!
Oh Ship! That’s a bad memory for many of us serial pilgrims! I’m sincerely hoping that your final day is wonderful and sun filled. BlessingsMud-caking from yesterday. Hoping for less/none today!
May you have blue skies and less mud for the long pull into Sevilla!I’ve decided to walk it after all, as it would be a shame not to complete the entire journey on foot at this point.
I am a sandals man for mud too! you can easily submerge your feet in any stream to clean your shoes and feet in seconds!I am currently reading "The Crossway" by Guy Stagg - and some of his stages on the Francigena were a torment of mud.
I've worn sandals through deep mud. It's easier to wash off bare feet and sandals, but you do have a danger of gritty bits causing rubbing and blisters. And cold feet.
Anyway, my sympathy Nick. It is the price you pay for walking while the rest of us are stuck at home.
Every time my darling and I fly over 18000km to walk in Europe, we know how you feel, @jungleboy . It's the tyranny of distance.I decided to keep walking, because my loved ones are all on different continents and I didn’t know what else to do.
Day 10 - Utrera to Sevilla: ~34km
Eleven days ago, I took this photo of the sun’s first rays softly lighting up the AD 1198 Giralda beside the world’s largest medieval Gothic church, the cathedral of Sevilla.
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Then I took a bus to one of the Pillars of Hercules, gazed across the Mediterranean to the twin pillar on the north coast of Africa, turned around, and started walking back.
Halfway through the Vía Serrana, my camino and my world changed due to a family medical diagnosis. The exhilaration of the first half of the camino, of walking through the Canyon of the Vulture Nests, of the spectacular first glimpse of Ronda impossibly perched on a cliff top, of mountains and olive groves and whitewashed villages and all the magic of Andalucía — that all vanished.
I decided to keep walking, because my loved ones are all on different continents and I didn’t know what else to do. The walking helped — it must have helped — but I could barely pay attention to my surroundings. From the next three days, I remember tunnels and a castle and almost nothing else. Then last night it hit me that there was only one day left.
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For the final act of the Vía Serrana today, I’m faced with a 34km stage in the rain. I almost skip it and take a 30-minute train ride from Utrera to Sevilla instead, because how much fun is it going to be to walk 34km in the rain?
But having fun isn’t why I’m walking this camino anymore. The pilgrimage has been stripped down to its most basic, persevering form: putting one foot in front of the other.
So that’s what I do today. After three hours of off-and-on drizzle in the early morning, biblical rain arrives and there’s nowhere to hide on the open plains, so I get drenched. By the time I reach the outskirts of Alcalá de Guadaira, the streets have become rivers and waterfalls are cascading down staircases.
The rain eventually stops and Sevilla arrives more quickly than I thought, but it takes an age to make it through the outskirts. Then I’m in the centre and it all comes at once — Plaza de España, the Universidad de Sevilla (where I once attended a paleography colloquium), the Real Alcázar, the cathedral. Suddenly the Giralda is soaring above me, I’m back to where I began, and it’s over.
I don’t know what to feel, but mostly I’m just exhausted. I take the same photo I took before, yet it’s somehow completely different. It’s dull and gloomy and looks pretty much like the last four days have felt.
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But I don’t want that to be my last memory of this camino, so I go back 90 minutes later at nightfall and take the same photo for the third time, with lights and bells and whistles. It’s the brightest one of them all, and that’s how this journey ends.
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Thank you and buen camino!This thread has been super helpful because we are planning on doing this walk beginning in mid-January.
Not specifically for the Serrana as far as I know but a regular credential will do. You can buy them at Triana Backpackers in Seville if you can’t get one beforehand.Is there a credential booklet for the Via Serrana?
Yes, all hotels I asked had a stamp. On the day my camino changed, I stayed in a place with self check-in and didn’t get a stamp or even think about stamps that day. Then I didn’t bother getting any the rest of the way.Can one get stamps along the way?
The Asociación Gaditana Jacobea Vía Augusta has tracks for the Vía Augusta, Vía Serrana and Camino del Estrecho on Wikiloc at this page.Hi Nick,
You mentioned you found the gps tracks invaluable. From where did you source the tracks? Thank you...
Day 4: El Colmenar to Jimera de Líber: ~26km.
Gently sloping, forested hills are quickly transformed into sheer, dramatic cliffs. Early morning beams of sunlight pierce the crags only to vanish into the vast expanse of the valley floor far below. Birds of prey soar high above, ominously circling at first, then making majestic sorties from the mountaintop. Defying the sunshine and blue sky, fog rolls through the narrowest stretch of the gorge, infusing magic and mystique into the landscape. The thunderous rapids of a fast-flowing river provide the only soundtrack. It’s utterly spectacular, and no one else is here.
It’s the Canyon of the Vulture Nests.
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This is one of those truly spectacular camino stages that don’t come around very often and I love every minute of it.
After the canyon, the mountain scenery is still very impressive but it does pale in comparison a bit, and there’s only so much beauty the eyes can take in one day.
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Some practicalities:
— I would have liked to have visited the Casa da Piedra near Cortes de la Frontera that @islandwalker recommended, but if you’re continuing to Jimera de Líber and not staying in Cortes, it’s not on the way. And this was a long enough day as it was without a detour. Next time!
— La Parra in Cañada del Real Tesoro is a short detour off the camino, so it’s a good lunch spot if you’re continuing to Jimera. They have veg options.
— I thought this day would be about 23km but if you go to Jimera proper and not just the station town, that adds a few extra kilometres. Combined with my ‘paso de fotógrafo’ (slow pace because of photo-taking) and one-hour lunch break, this was a 10.5-hour day door-to-door.
— In Jimera, I’m staying at Hotel Inz Almaraz, which is very nice, reasonably priced (€38/single) and has a restaurant.
I’m hoping to walk from Gibraltar to Seville in November. You’ve replied to my earlier question already. I’m curious if this route was well marked? You mentioned there were yellow arrows. Is it marked well enough to find the trail or did you use gps tracks?Thank you! I’m a bit unsure how to proceed for the last two days. The last day Utrera-Seville is 34-35km with a lot of rain forecast, so I’m dreading that a bit and I’ve thought about skipping it altogether and just taking the train tomorrow afternoon instead.
If I do walk it all, tomorrow is only 19km to Utrera so ideally I’d like to walk a bit further but there doesn’t seem to be any accommodation that would allow for a more even split.
I guess I’ll walk to Utrera tomorrow, eat lunch there and then decide what to do.
Hi, @jungleboy, I thought I’d put this question up on the forum with the caveat that there is absolutely no rush at all (I know you are very busy!).After San Pablo de Buceite, the trail passes avocado plantations and then climbs into the hills for what I suspect would be, on a clear day, the best scenery on the Vía Serrana since the Rock of Gibraltar disappeared from view.
I don’t recall anything related to this at all, sorry!But my camino buddy has sent me a link to a video of someone’s third stage from Estación de Jimena to Estación Gaucín. He says that in San Pablo de Buceite, he was advised very strongly to get off the camino because of a property dispute over public passage. And that there were aggressive dogs involved as well. This is around 2:40 of his youtube. So he went alongside the train tracks, which he says is horrible and totally inadvisable because of a dangerous tunnel. Anyway…. we are not at all tempted to try to train track route, but I wonder if you had any bad experiences on that stretch after San Pablo de Buceite, or if you have heard anything about it.
and totally inadvisable because of a dangerous tunnel. Anyway…. we are not at all tempted to try to train track route, but I wonder if you had any bad experiences on that stretch after San Pablo de Buceite, or if you have heard anything about it.
But my camino buddy has sent me a link to a video of someone’s third stage from Estación de Jimena to Estación Gaucín. He says that in San Pablo de Buceite, he was advised very strongly to get off the camino because of a property dispute over public passage. And that there were aggressive dogs involved as well.
At 2:15pm I had reached the only town on this stage, San Pablo. In the center I saw two open bars. I chose La Cantina and enjoyed some tapas, coca-cola and a. After this lunch break I passed palm trees, orange trees and nice looking houses before slowly climbing uphill. I reached a gate, actually an important marker (with photo!) on my wikiloc file of this stage. There the gate was wide open and the camino went through. But now it was closed and locked with a chain. According to a sign, there was even camera surveillance. But I couldn't find a camera or anyone around behind the gate. The whole area looked deserted.
Well, you seem to have to walk around. The owner obviously doesn't like pilgrims tramping through his property anymore.
I couldn’t scale the gate but I overcame the adjacent wall and stamped sullenly uphill on the official Via Serrana marked in my wikiloc.
You are aware that you are probably on private property. If there is a free roaming dog it could tear you into pieces. And rightfully so.
I didn’t feel great. But my motto now was: No more detours! Thankfully nothing happened.
I walked past a house to another gate, again closed, but this time it was easy to open and close again, just like the cattle gates on the first day.
The path now went really uphill into the hills and got muddy. And then at 3:30 p.m. there was another obstacle. Right in the middle of the path. Cows! About a dozen stood or lay about and two blocked my way.
Jungleboy,After San Pablo de Buceite, the trail passes avocado plantations and then climbs into the hills for what I suspect would be, on a clear day, the best scenery on the Vía Serrana since the Rock of Gibraltar disappeared from view.
Thank you, I certainly didn’t see the Rock that day!Thought I would share it with you
Great photo - keep them coming. Wish I were there!Jungleboy,
You’ve been unknowingly guiding me on Via Serrana (thank you) at day three now. This sentence struck me because my weather has been blue sky beautiful and as I walked this section today I was given beautiful views. From here you would have had what I presume to be the last view of Gibraltar and into Morocco.
Thought I would share it with you View attachment 160105
I have a Willdtrout on camino post going in the Via Serrana thread. I answer some of these questions thereGreat photo - keep them coming. Wish I were there!
I'd appreciate any updates on accommodation prices, things not to miss, etc..
Have you met any other people walking?
Buen Camino
@junglebook's pictures are always picturesque and amazing. I may never get to Ronda, but it doesn't mean I don't wish I could!your pictures @jungleboy this 10-day route through Ronda looks even more picturesque.
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