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Via Serrana, summer 2018

danioku

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
https://unapasseggiata.org/bios/daniele/
Hello,

I want to share the experience I did walking on the Via Serrana last summer.
I apologize in advance for my poor English :)

I hope this Camino will get more popularity because the landscape, the villages, the food, the people as well are really interesting and amazing.

I walked alone, starting from La Linea de la Conception. I used the GPS tracks that the Asociacion Gaditana Via Augusta did in the year 2016 for most of my walk, sometimes I even used Google Maps to find the path to the next village.
I found some arrows especially in the first part of this Camino but it's not something you can really rely on.
Even the GPS tracks are not 100% accurate. Sometimes the GPS leaded me in the middle of fields with "ganado bravo" that means cow and bulls free in the wild. This scared me. Some other time I found fences on the path or simply a wall of thorn bushes and I had to find the way to go over by my own. What I want to say is that if you walk this Camino you have to take into account some "adventure" and to get ready to solve the problems you will face for sure. It still needs some maintenance and, of course, more popularity and people walking it. I never met a pilgrim till Sevilla :)

On the other hand, this was what I was looking for, so to me was ok. Probably it can be similar to the Camino Frances 100 or more years ago.

I slept where I found a bed, Casas rurales, B&B, hotels, hostels. I managed to find a place to sleep every day even in the smallest villages. Booking.com helped me and when there was no option I went to the town hall or to some bars to ask for an accommodation. I never slept outside. People are very warm and willing to help. They are not used to see many pilgrims.

The nature on the way is amazing. It's a not very known part of the Andalucia and very different from the Andalucia everyone has in his mind. Here there is a lot of water, it's hilly, green, full of cork and oak woods. To be honest most of the path runs around and into the Sierra de Grazalema (500 - 1000m above sea level).

Villages are wonderful too. They stand over the hills and they are completely white. I didn't find many old churches. I thought that's because the Moorish empire held this part of Spain till the XV sec. The remains of the moorish are everywhere, in the names of the places and villages, in the architecture, in the food, in the culture too, I guess.

I've been many times in Spain but I never ate some dished I tasted here. Like the Zurrapa for breakfast. It's my opinion that food is amazing in the whole Spain and here in the Sierra de Grazalema, even more. Genuine, authentic mountain food. Forget any kind of menu del peregrino.

There are also some bigger towns on the way like the beautiful Ronda that worth a visit even as a tourist.

I loved this Camino and I hope more people will have the time and chance to walk it. Totally worth.

Once in Sevilla i didn't walk Via de la Plata, I just headed to Lisboa by foot and that was a really uncommon and unique "Camino" too. Then Camino Portuguese to Santiago.

I wrote some diaries on my blog and, of course, I took photos of Via Serrana and of the rest of my Camino from Gibraltar to Santiago.

You can find it here:

- Day 1: Gibraltar - Jimena de la Frontera
- Day 2: Jimena de la Frontera - Benadalid
- Day 3: Benadalid - Ronda
- Day 4: Ronda - Coripe
- Day 5: Coripe - El Coronil
- Day 6: El Coronil - Sevilla

- Considerations, advices, a mini-guide to the Via Serrana here

Thank you for reading :)

Daniele
 
Last edited:
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Thanks for posting this. Look forward to reading your blog. It's always good to hear about new paths (at least new to me).
 
Hello,

I want to share the experience I did walking on the Via Serrana last summer.
I apologize in advance for my poor English :)

I hope this Camino will get more popularity because the landscape, the villages, the food, the people as well are really interesting and amazing.

I walked alone, starting from La Linea de la Conception. I used the GPS tracks that the Asociacion Gaditana Via Augusta did in the year 2016 for most of my walk, sometimes I even used Google Maps to find the path to the next village.
I found some arrows especially in the first part of this Camino but it's not something you can really rely on.
Even the GPS tracks are not 100% accurate. Sometimes the GPS leaded me in the middle of fields with "ganado bravo" that means cow and bulls free in the wild. This scared me. Some other time I found fences on the path or simply a wall of thorn bushes and I had to find the way to go over by my own. What I want to say is that if you walk this Camino you have to take into account some "adventure" and to get ready to solve the problems you will face for sure. It still needs some maintenance and, of course, more popularity and people walking it. I never met a pilgrim till Sevilla :)

On the other hand, this was what I was looking for, so to me was ok. Probably it can be similar to the Camino Frances 100 or more years ago.

I slept where I found a bed, Casas rurales, B&B, hotels, hostels. I managed to find a place to sleep every day even in the smallest villages. Booking.com helped me and when there was no option I went to the town hall or to some bars to ask for an accommodation. I never slept outside. People are very warm and willing to help. They are not used to see many pilgrims.

The nature on the way is amazing. It's a not very known part of the Andalucia and very different from the Andalucia everyone has in his mind. Here there is a lot of water, it's hilly, green, full of cork and oak woods. To be honest most of the path runs around and into the Sierra de Grazalema (500 - 1000m above sea level).

Villages are wonderful too. They stand over the hills and they are completely white. I didn't find many old churches. I thought that's because the Moorish empire held this part of Spain till the XV sec. The remains of the moorish are everywhere, in the names of the places and villages, in the architecture, in the food, in the culture too, I guess.

I've been many times in Spain but I never ate some dished I tasted here. Like the Zurrapa for breakfast. It's my opinion that food is amazing in the whole Spain and here in the Sierra de Grazalema, even more. Genuine, authentic mountain food. Forget any kind of menu del peregrino.

There are also some bigger towns on the way like the beautiful Ronda that worth a visit even as a tourist.

I loved this Camino and I hope more people will have the time and chance to walk it. Totally worth.

Once in Sevilla i didn't walk Via de la Plata, I just headed to Lisboa by foot and that was a really uncommon and unique "Camino" too. Then Camino Portuguese to Santiago.

I wrote some diaries on my blog and, of course, I took photos of Via Serrana and of the rest of my Camino from Gibraltar to Santiago.

You can find it here:

- Day 1: Gibraltar - Jimena de la Frontera
- Day 2: Jimena de la Frontera - Benadalid
- Day 3: Benadalid - Ronda
- Day 4: Ronda - Coripe
- Day 5: Coripe - El Coronil
- Day 6: El Coronil - Sevilla

- the whole Gibraltar to Santiago diaries

Thank you for reading :)

Daniele
I have just walked the Via Serrana,,, and I agree, was fantastic,,, I took 11 days to Seville,,, and met 1 other Peregrino,,,
 
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How the way was this year? Did you follow any GPS track? Where did you stop to sleep, which villages ?
Thank you for the answer, buen camino ^^
Hi,,, I followed Johnnie Walkers Guide that is a PDF,, available on the CSJ ( Confronternity of St James) .org.uk ,,,,it's a bit hard to find on that site but it's there under the online guides
And the way is signed with the yellow arrows and sometimes even the tile,,,Camino de Santiago Via Serrana,, so had no GPS tracks,,, the do use a GPS map offline that does show me where I actually am
 
I found it impossible to find the Via Serrana guide mentioned above from within the CSJ site. Eventually found it by doing a Google search. For reference here's the link:

Guide: CSJ Via Serrana Guide
GPS (10 stages*): wikiloc GPS

Guide Author: Johnnie Walker dated 2018
GPS By: Gaditana Jacobea Association

*last stage listed under Via Augusta
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
I found it impossible to find the Via Serrana guide mentioned above from within the CSJ site. Eventually found it by doing a Google search. For reference here's the link:

Guide: CSJ Via Serrana Guide
GPS (10 stages*): wikiloc GPS

Guide Author: Johnnie Walker dated 2018
GPS By: Gaditana Jacobea Association

*last stage listed under Via Augusta
And now the free app Windy Maps has the route already on it ,, has virtually every Camino (OK,, most walking tracks anywhere) on it,,, and can download and use off-line,,, GPS only!!
 
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