bjorgts
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- In Spain, France, Portugal, Germany since 2003
Some information from our walk on Camino Sur, Huelva – Zafra, two months ago. We had a nice walk, with nice weather. That means a lot to the impression.
The camino is quite flat in the beginning, and more hilly later on. There are a few stretches of asphalt that are not so nice, but there are also many very nice stretches. (See below.) It is quite well marked; better on the last part than the first. Sometimes the arrows stood between the places where one had to choose the direction. Since one of us has problems with a knee, we did not walk long distances if we could avoid it. The longest stage is Trigueros - Valverde (28 km).
Huelva: The old English shipping port is interesting and the surrounding area is a nice recreation area. Also, you can take the bus to the Columbus center. There are copies of the three boats that he used when he “discovered” America. There is also a museum. The houses of the English colony are also worth a visit.
From Trigueros to Minas de Ríotinto, you mostly walk on a Via Verde. Earlier it was the railway which transported minerals from the mines down to the shipping port in Huelva. This means that you walk relatively flat even though the landscape around is not flat. Agriculture, shrub landscape, livestock. Nice.
Between Trigueros and Valverde del Camino there is a restaurant at a gas station after about 20 km. It was very suitable for a rest and Menu.
Minas de Ríotinto has an interesting museum with the history of mining. As you move on, you walk along a very large open pit of mining. From Minas de Ríotinto to Campofrío you walk (10 km) along a fairly busy main road. A lot of turns make it not good to walk there.
From Campofrío to Aracena, the marked route runs along a paved road with some traffic all day. One can read here on the forum that there is (has been) an alternative route that goes into the terrain. I had this route on the GPS and we chose to walk it. Note: It was quite clear that this is not an alternative route anymore! There are NO yellow arrows. We didn't see a single one. A high fence has been set up that one must climb over when going into the area, and the same when going out again. (I think we walked for about two hours in this fenced area.) But the scenery is very beautiful, and it is sad that the pilgrims will have to spend a full day on a busy road instead.
From Aracena to Zafra there are many nice stretches of small roads, grazing livestock, beautiful stone walls and cork oaks.
In Cañaveral de León there is accommodation in polideportivo. Someone told us it was a Casa Rural too. But one gets so well received, and we got so good food at the restaurant that overall it was a nice place to stop.
When you leave Cañaveral, you get a choice between two routes. One can continue on the road (to the right) or take off on a dirt road. The place and options are well marked. We chose the option called something like “Camino de las Montañas”. It is 3.5 km longer. I have a clear advice: Choose this option! It is a very nice route and it is very well marked. We didn't have this option on GPS, but had no trouble finding the way.
We had a nice Camino. Video is on YouTube. (Camino del Sur, Huelva - Zafra, Camino de Santiago.) https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...-huelva-zafra-this-spring-a-photovideo.62739/
The camino is quite flat in the beginning, and more hilly later on. There are a few stretches of asphalt that are not so nice, but there are also many very nice stretches. (See below.) It is quite well marked; better on the last part than the first. Sometimes the arrows stood between the places where one had to choose the direction. Since one of us has problems with a knee, we did not walk long distances if we could avoid it. The longest stage is Trigueros - Valverde (28 km).
Huelva: The old English shipping port is interesting and the surrounding area is a nice recreation area. Also, you can take the bus to the Columbus center. There are copies of the three boats that he used when he “discovered” America. There is also a museum. The houses of the English colony are also worth a visit.
From Trigueros to Minas de Ríotinto, you mostly walk on a Via Verde. Earlier it was the railway which transported minerals from the mines down to the shipping port in Huelva. This means that you walk relatively flat even though the landscape around is not flat. Agriculture, shrub landscape, livestock. Nice.
Between Trigueros and Valverde del Camino there is a restaurant at a gas station after about 20 km. It was very suitable for a rest and Menu.
Minas de Ríotinto has an interesting museum with the history of mining. As you move on, you walk along a very large open pit of mining. From Minas de Ríotinto to Campofrío you walk (10 km) along a fairly busy main road. A lot of turns make it not good to walk there.
From Campofrío to Aracena, the marked route runs along a paved road with some traffic all day. One can read here on the forum that there is (has been) an alternative route that goes into the terrain. I had this route on the GPS and we chose to walk it. Note: It was quite clear that this is not an alternative route anymore! There are NO yellow arrows. We didn't see a single one. A high fence has been set up that one must climb over when going into the area, and the same when going out again. (I think we walked for about two hours in this fenced area.) But the scenery is very beautiful, and it is sad that the pilgrims will have to spend a full day on a busy road instead.
From Aracena to Zafra there are many nice stretches of small roads, grazing livestock, beautiful stone walls and cork oaks.
In Cañaveral de León there is accommodation in polideportivo. Someone told us it was a Casa Rural too. But one gets so well received, and we got so good food at the restaurant that overall it was a nice place to stop.
When you leave Cañaveral, you get a choice between two routes. One can continue on the road (to the right) or take off on a dirt road. The place and options are well marked. We chose the option called something like “Camino de las Montañas”. It is 3.5 km longer. I have a clear advice: Choose this option! It is a very nice route and it is very well marked. We didn't have this option on GPS, but had no trouble finding the way.
We had a nice Camino. Video is on YouTube. (Camino del Sur, Huelva - Zafra, Camino de Santiago.) https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...-huelva-zafra-this-spring-a-photovideo.62739/
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