- Time of past OR future Camino
- Ingles, F+M, Salvador, Norte, V.Serr., Fr.Leopoldo
For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here. (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation) |
---|
You must have walked during the longest period of wet weather in South Andaluz recorded history, an exceptional but much needed deluge. Rest assured you've experienced the worst S Spain can throw at you, it won't happen again in our lifetimes
Maybe I could add that any peregrinos presently on this camino are probably complaining of the unseasonal heat. In Estepona today and it's scorchio.
I had forgotten all about that part until you jogged my memory. Yes, it was tough. And I think for part of it I was actually somehow off the trail and in one of those open fields on the other side of the fence (to the left), not really knowing if I was on the right path or not.Boy, it was tough. ... To the left and right there were open fields. But behind barbed wire.
I'm enjoying every word of your stories! Thanks so much for taking the time to put these up. As someone who has also walked in this area during an unusually rainy period, I can picture it all. Hurray for sunny breaks in the weather!Stage 3: Jimena de la Frontera to El Colmenar/Estacion de Gaucin (18 km)
Yes, that much-used, much-loved bridge was swept away by a dramatic storm in the fall of 2018. Normally, the bridge stood many meters above the high water mark and withstood years and years of bad storms, but that fall, areas upstream were inundated with as much as 396 liters of rain per square meter over a 24 hour period. The bridge and much of the railroad bed were gone in one night. It took years to get the railroad up and running again. I wonder if the bridge will ever be replaced.Stage 6: Jimera de Libar to Ronda (16 km)
Passing the place from the other side, I saw that there was no bridge at all. The Wikiloc map obviously is not perfect. It was now 4pm and there were about 8km left.
I was afraid of that. Given how much rain there is in the winter and spring in that area, the stones are probably underwater a lot. I wonder what 5 years without a bridge has done to businesses in the station area. I'm hoping you had better luck with rain and dogs on the rest of your walk!When I passed the dam area the rocks were not visible because of the high water level.
I think of the camino as unfolding in three distinct parts:
Part 1 (my days 1-3): La Línea to El Colmenar
Nice but unspectacular, more like 'setup' for the stages to come. Gibraltar is fun as a side trip from La Línea. Jimena de la Frontera is really the only historic town on these stages, with a castle and a nice town centre. The trail is rural and without much asphalt (IIRC), the views back to Gibraltar on the first day are great but other than this, the scenery is perhaps just 'pleasant', especially compared with what's to come.
Part 2 (my days 4-7): El Colmenar to Coripe
These are the queen stages of the Vía Serrana and I think they would stack up pretty well with the best four consecutive stages on any camino. The scenery is spectacular, starting with the canyon and continuing with mountains and olive groves and lots of panoramic views on all four days. Ronda is a fantastic city and well worth exploring. The other interesting things are the Roman theatre (requiring a detour), the town of Olvera and the abandoned railway tunnels between Olvera and Coripe.
Part 3 (my days 8-10): Coripe to Sevilla
These stages are on flat plains as the mountains recede into the background, so IMO it's the least interesting scenery of the camino. The path tends to be either on road or through fields, which were brown for me in December. On the plus side, there are several castles along the way and Utrera and Alcalá de Guadaira are historic towns with things to see.
Yep, there is a bridge east, it is a kind of tow bridge with planks to step on, will never get flooded as it is two meters above the water…. Sorry to tell.. (G) To add to what my partner, G, just said, be aware that there are some dicy parts of the bridge that could use repair (loose and broken planks, a broken wire support, lots of rust on the wire supports), and do not inspire confidence. It is do-able for now, although I would not want to challenge it with a lot of weight or force. Another place where the VS could benefit from regular maintenance. (debi)Stage 1: La Linea to San Martin de Tesadorillo
(usually 27km, but due to unfortunate circumstances 37km for me)
Sunrise was at 8:30am, sunset at 6:15pm. With 27km to go I decided to start at 9am. I'm not an early riser and I hate walking in the dark. I figured that at my usual pace, I shouldn't have a problem getting there on time in daylight. I had downloaded the wikiloc data of all ten stages set by the official Asociación Gaditana Jacobea. This made me fairly independent of missing or misleading arrows.
What could possibly go wrong?
The first raindrops fell as I passed the last houses of La Linea on my way north. The dirt path went slighty uphill and streams of latte-coloured water came down. Thankfully there was enough space so that I could avoid walking in the coffee stream. After two mostly wet hours with occasional free-roaming cattle (I had to open and close a few gates to keep them in their designated areas) San Roque emerged, the only town on this stage.
I immediately thought of a verse I had learned over 30 years ago, when my Spanish teacher desperately was trying to get me to pronounce the Spanish letters R and RR correctly.
El perro de San Roque no tiene rabo, porque Ramón Rodríguez se lo ha cortado.
Well, to this day I still can’t properly roll that letters. Instead of meeting that cruel Ramon or his poor tailless dog, I walked past the empty center of town and stopped for tea at a small café next to a large Mercadona supermarket. I had just started walking again when hell broke loose. A thunderstorm poured out masses of water. For 20 minutes I stood under a small canopy of a kiosk and watched the road turning into a stream with constant rumble of thunder overhead.
Maybe it’s time to take the train?
After a few hours on the first day? No way. That wouldn’t have worked anyway, since San Martin, unlike the latter villages on the Via Serrana, is not on the railway line to Ronda. As the rain eased, I pushed my inner voice aside, took a deep breath, and walked on, hoping for the best. After walking on tarmac through some of the outskirts of San Roque, the trail soon turned into fields of strange dried plants. The sun made an appearance, I saw horses, a small lake and finally entered a forest. Lovely landscape. But as I walked on over a hill, I realized I was heading towards a dark, dramatic sky again. As jungleboy had predicted I had to climb over a gate.
Why is it locked on the camino? There is no cattle behind it. All other gates could be opened and closed easily. Strange.
When it started raining again it became difficult, as the camino was going downhill. It was slippery and getting increasingly muddy. I had to avoid big puddles by walking on the edge or even beside the path. Once I slipped and landed in the mud butt-first.
Now I am looking like the swamp thing from the 80ies horror movie.
But then the rain stopped. I was nearing the end of this stage. Only 4 km left. I was already thinking about the bathtub for me and my pants at the hostel, jungleboy had mentioned two weeks ago. I had booked it too. Then suddenly after a bend I came across this setting:
View attachment 140303
The Rio Hozgarganta had swelled and swallowed the bridge. I was shocked. It looked deep with a strong current in the middle. Could I try to cross this?
Who are you, Indiana Jones? It’s too dangerous. Not even a car would cross here.
It was 5pm with a bit more than one hour daylight left. What now, call the hostel?
Sure, they’ll send their helicopter in right away.
I looked at wikiloc and my maps app. No alternative crossing in the east. But there was a roadbridge to the west. The only safe option. But it was a 9-km-detour! I refused to believe this.
Doesn’t help, move your legs, the clock is ticking.
And this time I followed my inner voice and went west on a flat dirt track near the river. My mood was gloomy, I met two horses along the way and reached the roadbridge at exactly 6 pm. I ate a chocolate powerbar and a mandarine because I knew I would need all the energy I still could produce.
Dusk started slowly. On the other side of the bridge was a country road with no shoulder. I turned on my headlamp on at 6:30, as it got visibly darker. It was a strange experience, a car appeared every few minutes. I walked on the left side, only changing sides (and putting my headlamp to the rear) when the road turned left. Around 7 pm I had almost reached the area where I should have been 2 hours earlier if the small bridge had been passable. A few minutes later it was pitch black. I kept my nerve, but of course, this was a nightmare: walking at night against the traffic on a road with no shoulder.
Note to myself: next time start earlier in the morning like most pilgrims do.
Later I asked myself: Why on earth I didn’t hitchhike? More than a dozen vehicles drove by in the 30 minutes after 6pm, while it was still light. It just hadn’t occurred to me. Of course, as a little boy, I was told never to get in a car with strangers. Well, that should change. At 7:25, still more than 2,5 km to go, a car suddenly stopped and a guy shouted at me to get in. He was a resident of San Martin and had been a pilgrim on the Camino Frances. He was on his way home to watch the Netherlands vs Argentina football match and was happy to help a fellow pilgrim. I was of course very grateful, he even took me directly to Hostal Sabana (40 Euro).
I checked in, took a long hot bath and enjoyed dinner at the hostel's restaurant. It was packed as locals were there to watch the game. When I paid my check, Argentina had won on penalties. I was really tired, I had hiked almost 37 km instead of 27 km. If the friendly local hadn't saved me, it would have been 40km! I have never walked more than 34km on a Camino and that was a day I will never forget.
Days later I discovered that indeed there was an option east of the flooding. Even close! The JW Guide of 2018 had described it and it can be seen on Google maps (if one looks very closely):
(...) where a chain prevents vehicle access, go Left, then Right, to a “bump” in the path, over the Hozgarganta river. Cross carefully when dry or in shallow water. Caution: slippery moss underfoot. [In wet weather the water here could reach up to 1m. If this is this case, go back a little – to where the chain prevents vehicle entry – to go by the road]. KSO till the houses at the main road, the CA-513 (...)
Maybe that really small pedestrian bridge was also flooded? I don’t know. It would only have taken me 10 minutes. It could have saved me 9 km and a nightmarish night walk.
Note to myself: If you chose a remote camino in winter and there is a written guide, don’t just rely on wikiloc alone and better read it in detail! In Advance!
Anyway, I survived. I knew I would pay the price for the extra long distance the next day. Little did I know there was another Indiana Jones moment waiting for me.
To be continued…
View attachment 140298View attachment 140299View attachment 140300View attachment 140306View attachment 140302View attachment 140301View attachment 140305View attachment 140304View attachment 140307
Yep, there is a bridge east, it is a kind of tow bridge with planks to step on, will never get flooded as it is two meters above the water…. Sorry to tell..
Hallo UmwandertStage 6: Ronda to Olvera (28 km)
I felt ready for the second half of the Via Serrana and had booked accommodation for all 5 remaining days. Longer stages, after 3 stages with only small daypack, walking again with a full backpack and hopefully sunny days at last. Well, not yet. This day was the last one affected by “Efrain”, the forecast was mixed but it would not rain all the time. So, for my standards, I started early at 9am under dark clouds heading west. There were wonderful views from elevated Ronda down into the valley and surrounding landscapes.
When I left town the arrows didn't match my wikiloc, I think the arrows wanted me to stay on the ridge a little longer. There was a very prominent rainbow that looked like it had been rammed into the hills. The path was gravel at first, then soon asphalt as I followed small country roads.
View attachment 140737
And then, fairly early on, a new Indiana Jones-style ordeal began over the next few hours.
The dog incidents deserve to be described in police log style:
Km 3,5: Pilgrim passes open gate of a residence. Dog A (bulldog) runs out and attacks. At the last moment, the owner calls the dog back. Pilgrim is shocked and recalls a warning in the JW guide to this particular section. Pilgrim seeks and finds a wooden stick just in case.
Km 4.3: Soon the pilgrim approaches some houses before a tunnel under a road. Pilgrim is passing a neighbor with a poodle on a leash when Dog B, a free-roaming German Shepherd, suddenly appears. Dog B attacks the pilgrim, who keeps him at a distance with the stick. The situation is complicated by the fact that neighbor yells at the aggressive dog (stop attacking) and yells at the pilgrim (hit the dog). Poodle gets hysterical too. Shocked pilgrim walks on, refusing to shout or hit. After 5 minutes pilgrim disappears into the tunnel. Dog B gives up.
Km 5.7: After a short pause, pilgrim sees medium-sized dogs C and D occupying the path near a farm and barking at him from afar. Pilgrim stops, watches, and identifies the dogs as “Angstkläffer”. In fact, they immediately hide from the pilgrim as he approaches.
Km 6.8: Pilgrim passes a small, deserted looking village, but with many dogs behind fences. They all start a loud cacophony of barking at the same time. Annoyed pilgrim loses his nerve, confronts dog E, a large great dane, and yells at it, "Halt’s Maul, ich hab’ das blöde Gekläffe satt!" Dog E is stunned by the outburst and immediately stops barking. Pilgrim is also stunned and considers using his mother tongue as a weapon more often in stressful situations.
Km 20,4: Hours later, the pilgrim spots dog X from 100 yards away, a giant white quadruplet sleeping next to a farmhouse in the middle of the camino. No detour possible. Pilgrim had previously lost his stick and conveniently grabs half an olive tree lying around. As pilgrim tries to pass, dog X attacks vehemently. Pilgrim uses all sorts of dog commands like "Aus," "Platz" and "Pfui", but to no avail. Four little dogs appear and cheer on their big companion. Pilgrim uses the olive tree like a torero's cloth to prevent the dog from snapping at his legs. Owner calls from inside the farm, but dog X ignores this and attacks again. Desperate pilgrim manages to pass, but the dog follows. Pilgrim turns and walks backwards, using the olive tree as a shield while keeping an eye on dog X, who follows him at some distance for almost 1 km.
Ten minutes after dog X is finally out of sight, pilgrim stops and eats all the chocolate he carries in his backpack to calm his nerves.
The JW Guide says about this stage:
(…) The road climbs and then bends to the Right. 140m later, turn Right, accessing a path by the gates of La Hacienda del Conde. Pass some buildings on the left, then the Finca Shangrilah left and the Villa Nerea (with dogs) right. Later pass between more houses - with more dogs! (…)
Well, it was probably just bad luck. In the end no damage was done. But if it weren't for the huge olive bush, I would definitely have been bitten. As a dog person I could understand the dog. It protected its territory with great devotion. Certainly it wasn't used to passing pilgrims, which are rare on the Via Serrana.
Luckily, the view of Olvera, a white village with a castle perched majestically on a hill, quickly came into view and made me look ahead. But there were still 12 km to go. I had lost half an hour after leaving the camino due to a misleading yellow arrow on a building in the small village of Venta de Leche, apparently leading to Setenil (off-camino). When after more than a kilometer downhill I realized my mistake I had to climb all the way back.
But now the path was finally going downhill. Soon it was raining again so my poncho came out. I reached Torre Alháquime, which is built on a hill. The Camino only touches the town slightly on the edge.
You need more candy. It is absolutely necessary to walk straight uphill into town to a cafe, even if it is a detour.
I reached the cafe at 4:30 p.m. It was like stepping into a time machine back to the 80's. The decor and the waitress' hair looked to be from that period. And on TV Germany was shown against Argentina. The 1986 World Cup final. I'm no football expert but I know who lost that one. A large table was occupied by a family who had finished dinner some time ago. Another table with young girls in conversation. I ordered cake of the day, tea and Coca-Cola. A lonely guy standing at the bar took an interest in me and struck up a conversation.
He had never heard of Via Serrana and didn't quite understand what I was doing here, but he seemed friendly and offered to take me to Olvera in his car. Well, I had thrown out my don't-get-in-cars-with-strangers-principle into an emergency situation on day 1, but now, with over an hour of daylight and only 3km to go, I declined politely. A pilgrim must walk the camino alone, I explained, and I meant it.
View attachment 140742
Of course, as Olvera is on a hill, the rest of the trail was uphill but very appealing. While the road ran in serpentines, the path was more direct but beautifully laid out with wooden bridges like in a nature park. In Olvera I saw a quaint little church open and went in, attended half a mass and got a nice stamp from the office that was open. Passing a supermarket shortly after, I restocked supplies and finally, at sunset at 6pm, I entered the Olvera B&B Hostel.
Jungleboy was there too and I agree with him: not as nice as the hostel in San Martin at the end of stage 1. No one was there, I had been given a code to open the door and found my keys in a small box. Towels and hot water were also missing. Unacceptable. I took a cold shower. When the owner whatsapped me Todo bien? I answered no. Half an hour later she appeared and chaos ensued as she tried to get the water heater to work. Other guests arrived, an electrician had to be called and everything was hectic and noisy. I just retreated to my little room, cranked the air conditioner to maximum, and ate my dinner from the grocery store. At 9:30pm the water was hot again and she apologized but I wasn't interested anymore.
It had been a long and difficult day, after battling the elements the previous days I had to deal with bad tempered four legged friends and a cold shower.
With new ordeals every day, this adventure stays fresh, interesting and varied!
At least, I still felt confident and determined. The next day finally promised sun all day long!
To be continued...
View attachment 140736View attachment 140738View attachment 140739View attachment 140740View attachment 140741View attachment 140743View attachment 140744View attachment 140745
Yes, the stay at Lisa's place in El Coronil was definitely a highlight, and worth a bit extra money. A stunning building. She recommended that we eat at the hippy place -Stage 8: Estacion de Coripe to El Coronil (32 km)
Sunday morning. I hadn't booked breakfast and wanted to leave early with dusk. But the hotel owner said he wouldn't be back until 9am. So I had to close all the doors and put the key in a conspiratorial flower box. After climbing more than 2km to Coripe I had my standard breakfast at Coripe's only open bar and started out in a good mood to the sunny and dry 17 degree weather.
Of course, a week's worth of constant rain had left its mark. So there was a lot of mud on the sandy tracks on the way to Montellano, the only place on this stage, where I had planned to have lunch. I passed some sort of mining area and Castillo de Cote, an old prominent tower in the landscape. Again I had an unfriendly dog encounter, but this time the dog was small (although with great barking qualities, it didn't stop during my entire 10 minute break). I escaped unhurt. I met several groups of local Sunday walkers all walking the other way towards Coripe.
View attachment 140871
It's quite a long way to Montellano and I was craving for a cold drink, so at 1:30pm I sat down at the first downtown I came across and ordered tapas, which weren't anything special. Aside from the center (and a long queue at a bakery), the town was quiet. After lunch I was motivated to move on quickly as the stage is over 30km long and I hadn't covered such a distance since day one. But I did make time to snap some selfies with some larger than life superheroes like Spiderman, Superman, and Peppa Pig. The city had decorated some places with it.
The path led through an area with run-down looking garden houses, which apparently also served as garbage disposal. Then it went on dirt roads across fields and it was mostly ok. But just before I got closer to the tarmac road to El Coronil, there was another arroyo with more water than usual. So Indiana Jones came out again and I tried walking over rocks while using hanging branches for balance. Of course I stepped in the water inelegantly, so at least I lost the mud. Then, out of the blue, at 3:10pm a gas station (Sol in this case) popped up.
That’s a sign! Of course you gonna have an ice cream and some juice.
I took the opportunity to buy fresh water as well, as the water I got from the hotel tasted a bit strange. The next part of the stage was annoying as I had to follow the road with only a small shoulder. I was surprised that on Sundays there was so much traffic and the cars were going at a speed more appropriate for highways in my country. I fell into a rhythm, passing the perfectly flat remains of a roadkill cat and a lone sunflower emerging from the tarmac (the latter quite romantic).
View attachment 140875
As the trail branched off to the left, I had a déjà vu moment remembering Day 2. Should I stay on the road to have an easy arrival? No way, too much traffic. So I had the pleasure of visiting an old Moorish castle (Castillo de las Aguzaderas) and spent the last hour on dirt roads, which unfortunately became more and more muddy. With El Coronil in sight, I stepped so deep in the mud my boots were almost completely covered like chocolate muffins.
Perfect for entering a nice hotel!
When I entered El Cotonil I didn't see anyone, it was like a ghost town. Understandable, the World Cup final had already started, so I texted my hostess, Lisa, hoping she wouldn't get too hung up on soccer. El Cotonil has only 2 accommodations, both side by side. I decided against Hotel Don Juan (where Jungleboy had stayed two weeks earlier) and opted for La Casa Cuadrada, at 58 Euro a bit more expensive but with a washer dryer which I badly needed.
Lisa is an artist from Amsterdam and lives in Cotonil. She was very friendly when she met me at the door. I was on my socks and had my boots hidden behind my backpack. Again I was the only guest, this time in an old, beautiful and newly renovated house with shared bathrooms. She provided me with liquid detergent and fabric softener but was unable to explain the machine to me. As it was from a German manufacturer this turned out not to be a problem. So I stuffed all my clothes in the washing machine and took a long, hot shower.
What are you going to wear to dinner at the restaurant now? A towel? Think first, then act.
I didn't have a second pair of pants, which of course restricted my freedom of movement. So I ate what was left of my supplies and watched the World Cup finals online. My clothes were dry by 11:30pm and that seemed too late to visit the restaurant. Anyway, I was too tired then.
To be continued…
View attachment 140869View attachment 140870View attachment 140872View attachment 140873View attachment 140874View attachment 140876View attachment 140877View attachment 140879
Thanks a lot!I have just read this thread, months after you wrote it, and want to thank you for the excellent and entertaining account.
I do not have any idea how I could possibly missed this entire thread! It is now at the top of my reading list, and I look forward to digging in.
Thanks for quoting yourself on another thread, @Umwandert, or I might have never found it!
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?