Hi all,
In cases they are of interest here are notes on my recent walk from Cadiz to Seville (March 2012)
Dave
Overview
For this trip I relied on a badly translated version of the Guide prepared by the Cadiz Amigos, notes by Lovingkindness on her 2009 walk and the yellow arrows (which are reasonably good).
I underestimated the difficulties of the walk. There are long stretches where there are no services so you have to carry a lot of liquid. I ran out of water on a couple of occasions. In addition, if you do it in 6 days the stages are reasonably long and, although the route is very flat, the surface is hard and unforgiving, especially if you suffer from blisters, as I did.
I saw no other walkers.
I walked in the last week of March as I was anxious to avoid high temperatures. I had bright sunny days while walking with the temperature never reaching much higher than the low twenties. As I usually waited for dawn (about 8 am) before setting off I tended to arrive mid to late afternoon, limiting the scope for a siesta.
Seville to Cadiz
The bus from Seville airport drops you off near the main bus station. The station is behind some houses about 200 meters from the bus stop (direction: one o’clock) and can be tricky to find.
The direct bus costs €12.20 and takes less than 2 hours to get to Cadiz. There are two stops, one in the new part of Cadiz and one beside the railway station, just inside the gates to the old part. Close to the railway station are two tourist offices, a city office in a kiosk and a regional office a few meters away.
As it was raining I checked into first accommodation I saw (Hostel Bahia €46, adequate). It is just off the plaza in front of the town hall which is between the bus stop and the tourist offices.
Cadiz to Puerto Real (27k)
The route starts by running along the promenade from the gates of the old city for about 4k. All you have to do is keep the Atlantic on your right and you cannot get lost. There are occasional yellow arrows, for reassurance.
As you leave the new town behind there are more arrows which direct you along the isthmus, to the right (south) of a main road, still with the Atlantic to your right. For a few kilometres there is a service road and footpath. Both end at a bar. For the next two or three kilometres the route goes through some sanddunes between the road and the Atlantic. It is impossible to get lost, as there is a narrow line of dunes between the road and the beach.
When you reach a white building (a military base) arrows direct you to a flyover which goes up to the left, taking you over the main road and the railway (which is on the north side of the road).
You now are on a wide service track to the north of the railway. It runs all the way to San Fernando, turning to the north as the railway turns.
The Guide recommends going through the town by the Calle Real and exiting to the north east. The website of the Amigos however says that a track beside (to the east of) the railway has recently been signed from San Fernando to Puerto Real. I took this newer route. I had some difficulty finding the track, but it was worth it in the end. I simply followed it around the bay to Puerto Real which is a pleasant town built on a grid system.
I stayed in the Hostal Bahia de Cadiz (€30) which looks bad from the outside but the room was fine. The Hostal is near a church but there are at least 3 churches, running from east to west. It is behind (to the East of) the middle one.
There was no bar or shop between San Fernando and Puerto Real and the only bar between Cadiz and San Fernando was closed when I was there.
Puerto Real - Jerez de la Frontera (26 km)
There are three parts to this stage. The first involves walking out of Puerto Real through a national park and is easy to find. If in doubt aim for a large building with a dome on top, a university. The entrance to the park is to the right of the entrance to the university The first hour or two involves a pleasant and easy walk with good signing but no services. This part ends at an interpretive centre with facilities.
The second part involves getting through El Puerta de Santa Maria. When you leave the interpretive centre turn immediately right and keep straight on until you come to a ring road (with a railway track on the far side). Turn left and walk on footpaths for at least an hour. There are few if any signs but you go straight through each of the many roundabouts on the ring road. When you cross over a river start looking out for a train station, then a huge derelict church and shortly afterwards a police station (flag outside). When you come to a minor roundabout with the police station on a corner, turn left passing the police station on your right. Arrows reappear. Follow them to leave the town. There are some benches just before you leave the outskirts and it is worthwhile taking a break.
You are now on the third part of the stage. You leave the town and start up a minor hill, past a white building “Casino Bahia de Cadiz”. The road turns right after the Casino and shortly thereafter you take a turn uphill to the left (the arrow is easily missed) to some sort of nightclub on the top of the hill. Arrows send you off on a track and you will soon see Jerez in the distance.
The track soon starts to follow a busy road to Jerez and it’s simply a case of following the track which runs parallel to the road all the way to a golf club which is on the edge of Jerez. Then there is good signing most of the way into Jerez. At a major junction (petrol station to left) I thought the signs were conflicting. I was not sure whether to go left or straight ahead. I chose to go straight ahead up a hill. This road took me to the city centre where the hotels are located whereas the left turn (which I should have taken) leads to the church of Santiago which is to the west of the city centre.
I found the Hotel Coloso (very good value at €28 and with a very helpful receptionist).
Jerez de la Frontera - El Cuervo (25 km)
I had been given a map of Jerez by the hotel and had tied it into the Guide from the Amigos so I found my way back to the yellow arrows quite quickly. The route takes you straight through the northern outskirts of Jerez for about an hour. The Guide then tells you to turn right at a roundabout near the Hipercor and Opel buildings and I there lost the arrows. I could not reconcile the Guide with my location and decided to aim for the next town, Guadalcacin. It turned out that it was only about 2 kilometers away and with direction from locals I got there with no problems.
I entered Guadalcacin from the west by a road which passed over the railway. Immediately after the railway there is a bar where I asked for directions to one of the roads mentioned in the Guide, Av. de Nueva Jarilla. It was only a minute’s walk away and immediately I started to find arrows.
There is one tricky aspect of this part of the route. The arrows take you over a bridge across a motorway and you can see a track running parallel to the motorway. It is very tempting. However you should walk on for another 2K to another bridge over another motorway and find a track on the oppose side. Take that track. There are arrows which direct you from the first bridge to the second but it is easy to loose faith in them as the second motorway cannot be seen from the first.
From this point until El Cuervo the only possibility of food, drink etc is a service station on the motorway. A fence separates the track from the service station but in one place it is broken and it is possible to scramble through. Do so and stock up on drinks and foods. The track follows the motorway almost all the way to El Cuervo and it is almost impossible to get lost.
About 3K before El Cuervo arrows direct you to an underpass under the motorway to the western side and shortly afterwards more arrows send you off to the left (west). At a T junction near a disused quarry turn left (there is an arrow) and you will soon find El Cuervo. Follow the arrows to about the mid point in the town.
The Hostal Santa Anna is on the main road which goes through El Cuervo and is to the west (left) of the Camino. It’s very cheap at €15 and the room was fine but there is a very noisy road outside. I had a room at the front of the building, overlooking the road and found it impossible to sleep. There may be other hotels in the town or a room at the back may be a better option.
El Cuervo - Lebrija - Las Cabezas de San Juan (28 kms.)
In the morning I retraced my steps back to the last yellow arrow I had seen and then followed the arrows as the zig zagged through the town. The route passes to the left of a large secondary school so if you loose the arrows it might be worthwhile looking for the school or following pupils as they go there.
The walk to Lebrija is pleasant, partially on road but mainly on tracks with adequate signing.
The route through the town is just about adequately signed. If you get lost ask for the Bar Renaul mentioned in the Guide.
After the town there is a pleasant walk along by a lake before you head out into flat planes, eventually walking beside an irrigation canal. After a couple of hours Las Cabezas de San Juan appears on a hill off to the right. Arrows direct you down from the canal bank into a featureless plain with various tracks. Then the arrows stop. By this stage you know where Las Cabezas de San Juan is so its just a question of picking the track that seems most appropriate and following it. There is one tricky aspect. To get to Las Cabezas you have to cross a ring road by way of a pedestrian bridge so your choice of tracks across the plain could be important. I passed to the right of a dump and a sheep farm and then to the left of some stables and when I reached the ring road the bridge was 100M to my left.
The Guide and the arrows direct you to the Church of San Roque, which is on a small plaza. Beside (or really behind) the church is a bar which rents out apartments. Highly recommended at €25. The apartments are actually located above another bar across the street.
Las Cabezas de San Juan - Utrera (28 kms.)
I waited to see if the bar would open so I could leave back the key of the apartment but when it had not opened by 8.00 I gave up, left the key in the door and headed off. I got lost in the town but that was due to my stupidity. The guide talks about a petrol station and I assumed it was located out of town. In fact it is within 100M of the bar. If you walk from the church to the bar which rents out the apartments and immediately turn right you will find it. Had I gone to that petrol station I would have saved myself a bit of wandering. I eventually found a road towards El Torbiscal and when that road crossed a canal I saw the arrows.
It’s a fairly boring walk along by irrigation canals for about 8K. El Torbiscal seems to be just a large farm, the only two storied building in sight. About 500 meters before you reach it you cross a road and head to the west for about 500 meters or more to the railway, turn north (right) and find yourself following another canal for a further 8K or so.
Eventually the arrows take you away from the canal and across flat featureless ground until eventually to you get to Utrera. As there are no services at all on this stage you need to bring plenty of liquids.
I checked into the Hotel Vera Cruz (€49 including breakfast). Recommended.
Utrera – Dos Hermanas - Seville (32 km)
(Note there is another route to Seville via Alcala de Guadaira but it is a couple of kilometres longer and I did not take it).
My hotel is almost opposite the Calle Vera Cruz which leads to an underpass. Immediately after going through you go up a flight of steps to your right, turn right at the top to cross over and find another set of steps down to your right bringing you to a track to the left of the railway.
The first 8K or so were probably the best of the entire trip. Soft ground, shade, rabbits, etc. Then there’s a choice between a road directly ahead to Dos Hermanas or the waymarked route which goes by way of a road bridge over the railway and leads to a track beside (to the East of) the railway all the way to Dos Hermanas. I took the second option. About half way to Dos Hermanas there is another option which goes under the railway but I did not take it. I continued following the track beside the railway until I arrived in a railway station in Dos Hermanas. The Guide was a bit unclear at this point. Just outside the railway station you need to take a road which goes under the track. At the next junction the arrows reappear. They are infrequent but just about adequate to get you through the town, including a dangerous section where you have to go over a flyover with very little space to avoid the traffic rushing past.
A footpath beside a major road leads to the Hippodrome on top of a hill. From there you can see Seville. The cathedral is clearly visible. The camino then leaves the road, heading to the left (West) at the roundabout nearest the Hippodrome. At that stage I was tired and decided to quit so I followed the road for a couple more kilometres and then took a taxi to my hotel (Hotel Zaida, €65 for 2 nights, near the city centre).
Summary
The arrows are adequate. Sometimes they only appear when a change of direction is needed. I like the reassurance of frequent arrows, even if they are not strictly needed.
In 2009 Lovingkindness had to go through a tunnel in the face of oncoming traffic and on another occasion she had to wait for a farmer to unlock a gate. The route has improved since 2009 and I had neither of those experiences. I did get lost a couple of times but on each occasion the fault was mine and I found the route again very quickly.
Because the land is so flat the scenery is not great but I was very happy to spend time in Cadiz, Jerez and Seville. Evenings in the smaller towns, especially Puerto Real, were also very pleasant.
My thanks to the Amigos in Cadiz for opening up the route and especially to Lovingkindness for leading the way.
But am not a big fan of walking next to busy roads (which is what I heard)...
