Camino Via de la Plata - Seville to Guillena Day 1

The night was as bad as the first night. People talking at the tops of their voices outside our window until 2am, people coming and going in the room with plenty of door slamming. Also it is hot in the room and even a sheet is too much. All this had even me challenged to get much sleep. I had set my alarm for 6:00 but a girl across the room had set hers for 5:45 and couldn't find how to turn it off! It made my early start easy and I finished my packing, brushed my teeth and went to see there was coffee and toast yet since breakfast is normally from 7:00 am. I was in luck and was ready to leave by 6:30 am.

It was still dark but I knew the way to join the Camino in the city and by reading my guidebook under street lamps and following the Camino arrows I made my way out of the city.

The way was well marked and it first went through an area that was farmland at one time but now has abandoned buildings and scrubland along a canal. It was all rather depressing. I was also aware that about a year ago a pilgrim was robbed at the point of a knife in this area so I had taken precautions not to have all my money in one place and to split credit/debit cards into more than one place. Nothing unforeseen happened and soon it was daylight with sun coming over the horizon. It promises to be another 99°F day.

I had over 2 liters of water with me today but that adds a lot of weight to my backpack. I hoped it would be enough. The container will hold up to 3 liters but this adds more than 6lbs, at least until you drink it. After about 45 minutes I caught up another peregrino. He is from Italy and started a week earlier in Cadiz. We walked together for a while and then he stopped for something but since the heat was building I kept going. I didn't want to wait for the sun to get higher if possible.

The days distance to Guillena is about 22km but feels like much more due to the heat. I kept a steady routine of drinking but I decided moving slowly and steadily was the best plan.

Soon after Seville we came to the little town of Santiponce. There are some extensive roman ruins there which my book told me are worth a visit. The emporors Trojan and Hadrian were born there, but it is closed on Mondays. We walked right through the town where the street was lined with orange trees with quite a lot of fruit on them. I suppose they are Seville (bitter) oranges but none were low enough to pick and sample.

It wasn't long before the Italian caught up with me again and then overtook me. We spent some time walking along the side of a busy road with no shoulder so had to constantly watch for traffic and breath the dust. By now the sun was well up in the sky and there was no shade. Finally we left the road and started down a long farm road. There was wheat, barley and sunflowers in very large fields. The wheat and barley looked ready for harvest but the sunflowers were not quite out yet. This road seemed to take forever. Dead straight with ups an downs and not a tree in sight. I had heard from others that there are streams to cross that sometimes are too deep and necessitate a detour, but I saw no water even though I crossed several channels that might have been full until a few weeks ago.

At one point there also olive trees. Is this called an olive orchard or an olive grove - help please!

Finally I arrived in Guillena, a small sleepy town of less than 8,000 inhabitants whose main business is farming. There are two Albergues, a municipal one and a private one. I chose the private one which the book said was nicer. It is small with only 13 beds in 3 rooms. I checked in, got my stamp, paid my €12 which includes breakfast and clothes washed and was shown to a room with 5 beds. I chose the single (not bunk), took a shower and sat down to recover in the cool air conditioned house. What luxury! I then went and found a supermarket to get some sports drinks (called Aquarius) which seems to be the Spanish equivalent of Gatorade but without color, and a couple of bananas. I had some leg cramps last night which can be relieved by whatever is in bananas and since I haven't eaten fruit or salad since I arrived in Spain I bought 2 bananas and ate one as soon as I got back to the Albergue, and the other one later.

I was still the only one here and the señora told me she was going to lunch since it was now 1:15 and she didn't expect any more peregrinos. She also told me where I can get a 3 course meal for €6. I decided to try it later since she said the place "Hogarth Del Pensionista" is open from 9:00 am to 10:00pm. When the weather is hot they always arrive early. I was now in charge! Fortunately no one showed up while i was alone but she came back from lunch with 3 more people who just need to meet at the door and who she assigned to a different room so I still have a room to myself unless more show up (unlikely). One from Quebec, one from Koblenz, and the other from Berlin. So now my German gets used as well

Soon I was ready for lunch, the others were still resting so I went for my €6 meal. It started with salad, then grilled pork, and finally crime caramel along with 3 beers. All was good and I didn't need any more. While I was there Sabine (Berlin) showed up for lunch and after she finished the other two as well. We sat on the terrace and although it was hot there was a breeze and no humidity.Back to the Albergue to start the blog. I also called Christa and we had a nice chat.

Delicious olives served withe beer.

Sorry, I forgot take a picture of the flan.

The day was a hard one even though we only walked 22km but I think the heat and the last 3 weeks without much training along with an extra 4lbs in my pack all have played a part. Tomorrow looks to be easier and is slightly shorter. Perhaps we will also find some shade. We are all optimistic and decided we would plan to leave at 6:30.

Now the Hostaliera has left and we will not see her again but she gave instruction for making coffee and showed where the bread, butter and jam is to make our own breakfast. We were told to shut the door behind us.

 

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