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Camino Mozárabe

September - October 2022
A 32-day adventure by Andrew and Rachel Read more
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  • 32days
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  • TravelerCamino Mozárabe
    Day 1

    Málaga

    September 19, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    A trip has to start somewhere. Ours starts in Málaga, where we spent 10 wonderful days with our family.
    We're taking a bus to Almería, from where we'll start our Camino Mozárabe.

  • TravelerCamino Mozárabe
    Day 1

    Almería

    September 19, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We arrived a little after noon in Almería. Our accommodation is not far from the Calle de la Almedina, and with our map of the city, we went exploring. We first had lunch at El Quincho. Monday means most places of interest are closed, so we followed the Almería Cristiana walking path, and spent some time visiting the Iglesia Convento de las Puras, and the Cathedral. We also saw our first Camino arrows.Read more

  • TravelerCamino Mozárabe
    31
    Day 2

    Almería, day 2

    September 20, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    We thoroughly enjoyed our visit of the Alcazaba de Almería. What we found amazing was the water flows and fountains. The Arabs had an a great system with their aljibes. The views are amazing from the Alcazaba walls.
    We didn't see the time go by, and after 12 pm, we got a message from Nely, a member of the Asociación Jacobea de Almería-Granada. We had lunch with her, and she took the time this afternoon to show us her beautiful city.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino Mozárabe
    Day 3

    Almería, day 3

    September 21, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    It was raining lightly when we left our accommodation this morning. We thought it might be an idea to stay out of the rain, and see the Refugios de la Guerra Civil Española. Our little info sheet from the tourist office said: "Se recomienda comprar la entrada con antelación", which we hadn't done.
    So we followed Nely's advice and went to see the Mercado Central. Very interesting!
    Then, as there were still a few drops of rain, we went to the Centro de Interpretación Patrimonial, in the Plaza de la Constitución. At every level, there is information about the various stages in the history of Almería. Our only disappointment was that the terrace on the 4th floor was closed. Apparently, the view up there is great.
    The sun came out and we decided to see the area around the harbour, the Cargadero de Mineral "Cable Inglés", and the old train station.
    Tonight, we're going to the cathedral to get our first stamp, and a pilgrim's blessing.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino Mozárabe
    1
    Day 4

    Almería - Rioja 16km

    September 22, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We started in front of the cathedral at about 7:30am. The way out of Almería is very well signposted.
    In Huercal de Almería, we did wonder how we had to cross the street... 😄
    We received our first stamp for the day at the Ayuntamiento in Huercal de Almería. The staff were very helpful.
    When we arrived on the rambla, there was a stream of smelly water, but thankfully the workers showed us a way around.
    In Pichena, we had a break and ate ice cream in the little park. We got our second sello at the Ayuntamiento.
    Another stretch on a rambla, and shortly after the bridge we walked into Rioja.
    The albergue is simple, with 5 bunk beds, one baño, and very limited cooking facilities. We weren't quite prepared for lunch, as we were expecting an open tienda (it wasn't). So we went to the first bar available, the Bar de la Oficina, which was very quiet . Tapas, un tinto de verano, un zumo de piña was all we needed for lunch, even if it was basic. Then we found out about the bar Los Pirineos, which was much busier and looked like there was better food. We might eat there tonight.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino Mozárabe
    Day 5

    Rioja - Santa Fé de Mondújar 8.7km

    September 23, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    A short stage today, with a pleasant walk along roads between Rioja and Santa Fé de Mondújar. A section of the road between Rioja and the bridge to Gádor is posted as "Ruta saludable por la Vereda de Quiciliana". In other words, a healthy walk!

    Entering the municipality of Santa Fé de Mondújar, the road goes up and down, nothing severe, along the Andarax rambla. We could see Santa Fé in the distance, with its two bridges.

    Santa Fé is nice little town. We chose a very comfortable apartment, which is managed by the same lady who runs the albergue.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino Mozárabe
    Day 5

    Los Millares

    September 23, 2022 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    As we had a short stage, we decided, on Nely's advice, to visit the archeological site of Los Millares.

    Los Millares is the site of a Copper-Age settlement which was occupied between 3200 and 2200 BC. On the site there is a necropolis, and several fortified walls. On the side of the site, there is a re-created portion of the settlement, showing how the buildings and walls may have been.

    It was an interesting visit. On the way back to Santa Fé de Mondújar, we had some great views of the town and the two bridges.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino Mozárabe
    Day 6

    Santa Fe to Santa Cruz 13.4km

    September 24, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    We were glad we stayed in Santa Fe de Mondújar: we had a few ascents and descents, some steep, and we wouldn't have managed if he hadn't started fresh as we did this morning.
    At one particular point, there is a choice to stay on the winding gravel road, or to take a path that went straight up to the ridge. We took the path up the ridge 😊

    When the track crossed a road, we cheered on some cyclists, who in turn cheered us on.

    Just after that, there was a steep descent. All we could see was a very gravelly path that went straight down. We could just see ourselves falling and sliding down (5th photo, taken from the other side). Thankfully, the Asociación Jacobea had created a zig-zag path down to the bottom.

    We stopped in Alhabia to buy some supplies for tonight, as there is no tienda in Santa Cruz de Marchena. There are two tiendas in Alhabia, one near the church, and another 100m further up. We couldn't find what we wanted in the first one, and we went to the second one. As we're paying, the owner adked us if we were walking the Camino. He said one of his best friends was in Granada today, walking the Mozárabe too. And when he found out we were from Australia, he wanted a photo taken, and offered us drinks.

    After a picnic stop in Alsodux, which has a nice shaded square in front of the church, we arrived in Santa Cruz de Marchena. The albergue is more comfortable than the one in Rioja, and has a fully functional kitchen! Two rooms, with two single beds each, where we're resting now 😄    Read more

  • TravelerCamino Mozárabe
    Day 7

    Santa Cruz to Nacimiento 11.3km

    September 25, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    A beautiful day, broken up into 5 parts.

    We left Santa Cruz de Marchena at day break and crossed the río Nacimiento, which was flowing nicely. We then walked to Alboloduy along the road bordering the río, enjoying the plantations. In Alboloduy, the river was wider than we expected, so we took the footbridge across, starting the game we were to play in the second part of our walk.

    A little bit out of Alboloduy, the río was winding it's way between its banks and we often had to cross from one side to the other. So we decided to see how often we could cross without getting our feet wet 😄 We nearly won, but on the very last crossing, the water flow was just a little too wide...

    The last crossing was the start of a steep but exhilarating climb out of the valley for the third part of our walk. Amazing views, and a sighting of what we think are "capra montés hembra".

    At the top of our climb we got to a carretera, where motorcycle riders were revving up and down. The views were still stunning, but we had to watch the traffic.

    Last night, Nely sent us a message, saying that the last section of the río into Nacimiento was very wet and muddy. She suggested we contact Santiago who owns the only bar in Nacimiento. He came to pick us up at the point where we would have clambered down to the river.

    At the bar, we had tapas for lunch, and for dinner. It's interesting watching the people of the pueblo coming to the bar, and chatting to each other. Everybody knows everybody in these sort of towns.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino Mozárabe
    Day 8

    Nacimiento to Abla 16.5km

    September 26, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Santiago's wife served us the usual Spanish breakfast. No sooner had she opened the bar that men from the village came in for their morning coffee.

    Last night, as we walked around Nacimiento, we noticed that all the water downstream was coming from Nacimiento. Upstream from Nacimiento, the river bed was dry. So we had no issues walking down to the río in the morning, on our way to Abla.

    Most of our walk today was on the riverbed.

    Our first stop was in the tiny village of Los Gregorios. There was a bench, some shade, and we stopped to let our feet rest.

    We continued on, and at Doña María, we stopped at the Ayuntamiento to get our first stamp. Doña María is nice little town. Just before we got to the Ayuntamiento, there was a fountain with drinking water. There is also a bar, but we didn't stop.

    The next town, Ocaña, has a large elderly people's home. As we arrived in the town, two ladies were sitting on a bench and called out to us. One of them said something along the lines that if you have good legs, keep using them. We stopped to have a chat, and when we told them we were from Australia, the other said her daughter was currently in Australia on a contract.

    Just after crossing under the autovía before Abla, we came across an aqueduct with seven arches. There was a sign with the name "Acueducto Molino los Arcos". The scant information we found about it indicates that it may have been built in the 16th century. It fed a flour mill.

    We arrived in Abla at about 1:15pm. Knowing that everything closes at 2pm, we hurried to get groceries at the local supermarket, and then walked to the Ayuntamiento to get another stamp. The town is built on a hill, with the main streets running parallel, and any streets connecting them being either steps or a very steep inclines. The albergue is at one end of town, on the other side of where we entered the town. It is comfortable and well equipped.

    By the time we had settled and went back into town, the only bar closest to us, at the Plaza Mayor, had closed. So we walked all the way to the other end of town to have lunch at the Restaurant Mirasierra.

    After lunch we walked around town. We had returned to the albergue, and were getting ready to have a shower, when the door of the albergue opened and someone called out. Nely had told us that we would be the only ones in the albergue tonight, so we wondered who could it be who knew the code to get the key. It turned out to be two volunteers from the Asociación Jacobea de Almería-Granada, who had come to clean the albergue.

    A nice day, meeting nice people.    Read more

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