Today was a unique day as it was almost completely on a Via Verde, a trail converted from an old railway into a pedestrian & bicycle path running from Olvera to Puerto Serrano. The whole length is 36k with 30 tunnels; I’ll stay on for 22k as far as Coripe. I left just before 8am … Continue reading Day 11: Coripe

Seeing Setenil de las Bodegas yesterday was a must for me so I broke the 32k stage into two days. 20k yesterday, a short 15k today (plus to&fro kms). Besides, like my legs, the days here are short and neither are long enough to spend so many hours on the road! Instead of walking the … Continue reading Day 10: Olvera

A later start today as my Ronda hotel included breakfast which I wasn’t going to miss my coffee and it was just 30° outside! I was in no hurry to start walking…. Camino heads into the distance directly across The Camino headed out of Ronda, curving around the big circular escarpment that made the city … Continue reading Day 9: Setenil De Las Bodegas

It was a chilly 38°F when this intrepid adventuress stepped out to explore Ronda. As luck would have it today is a fiesta so absolutely everything is shut which made for very quiet streets - just the odd tourist like me. I wandered down to the Puente Nuevo, “new” being built in 1793 after the … Continue reading Day 8: Ronda

Leaving Jimera A very good day of walking today. Started with several miles of rolling trail, once again running above both the river and railway. It was chilly in the long shade created by the steep gorge, probably low 40’s with a brisk wind. I encountered several couples hiking today, I realized that even though … Continue reading Day 7: Ronda

Back on a “trail” again! I was away at first light (7:35a, lol). Today’s a big, beautiful day of walking, canyoning, and photography. The guide suggests breaking it into 2 days as transversing the canyon could be considered arduous but that didn’t fit my schedule! The gorge itself is a narrow section of the Guadiaro … Continue reading Day 6: Jimera de Líbar

Well, the forecast isn’t as bad as expected, supposed to be clear until 1p so I set off early, 7:45a which is really like 6:45a except that Spain’s on the wrong time zone, and immediately had to put on my quasi pack/poncho as it was raining! The rain didn’t last long, just enough to make … Continue reading Day 5: El Colmenar

Today was a day completely on the road - gravel farm track for the first half, then along the edge of a 2-lane road for the 2nd half. Luckily the scenery was pretty…. I started walking by groves of oranges; then fields of horses, cows, donkeys, bathtubs, and up into a wind farm…. 6k - … Continue reading Day 4: Jimena de la Frontera

Found my starting arrow! I returned to San Roque on the 8am bus and with Googles help found my way back to the Vía Serrana. A chilly morning, I was hugging my new hiking poles closely as they were useless on the 3k of a minor road I had to walk before it transitioned to … Continue reading Day 3: San Martín del Tesorillo

The reason I’m in Spain in the winter is to attempt to walk a new Camino, the Via Serrana, from Gibraltar to Seville as indicated on the map above. This is a fairly new route, it’s only been marked for about 10 years and has only gained a modicum of popularity in the last 3-4 … Continue reading Day 2: The Camino Begins…kinda