Rain was forecast for the whole of this week excepting Monday, and the prophesy was not wrong. We have had days and days of downpours. Not the odd spot here and there, but determined great dollops of the wet stuff pounding down and coursing like mini rivers all around us. The good thing about living on a mountain is that we are unlikely to get flooded.
Why the powers that be cannot organise the rain to fall evenly throughout the year is most frustrating, for nothing is surer than we will have nary a drop for several months over the summer when it is most needed.
So, as a consequence of the weather forecast we chose Monday to walk the final leg of my Camino Mozárabe ‘prequel’ into Málaga.
The timetable for the three daily buses from the village into Málaga did not enable us to take this form of transport in both directions so we once again called upon the good nature of David to drive us to our previous stopping off point at Rincon de la Victoria, where he dropped us at around 13:15.
I don’t really know this area, and the town of Rincon does not look particularly appealing when driving through, but the beaches are magnificent, long deep swathes of beautiful soft, flat sand, combed to perfection by an early morning tractor. It seemed a crime to spoil the patterns in the sand (like being the first person to put a footprint in the snow), but someone had to do it, and on this occasion it was my job.
Leaving Rincon, there is a lovely coastal path that alternates between a paved foot/cycle track with tunnels that cut through the cliffs, and a fenced path along the very edge of the cliffs. We passed by the monstrous cement factory and onto another beach.
I discovered a new flower (new to me that is, I am sure others have come across it before me!) It looks like some kind of orchid – growing abundantly around the tower at Rincon.
And then we were in the outskirts of Málaga, with probably five or six more km’s to walk but in a very vibrant area with a lovely promenade alongside the beach with dozens of seafood restaurants lining the way, some bursting at the seams with diners – not bad business for an out of season Monday afternoon.
And soon we reached an area I was more familiar with, although I haven’t walked it before. We varied our path between the beach and the promenade, and it was quite delightful. We reached the city, passed the new marina area (which I have yet to explore) and made our way past the beautifully planted park, towards the cathedral and on to the church of Santiago, which is the starting point for the Camino Mozárabe from Málaga.
After a chat with a church warden about opening times for the first stamp in my credencial (pilgrim’s passport), we found a nice bar in the old town and shared a selection of tapas before catching the 18:30 bus back to Cómpeta.
The walk from Rincon de la Victoria to Málaga was, according to wikiloc 15.9 km and according to mapmywalk 16.75, so probably somewhere inbetween.
It was a delightful walk and I would definitely like to go back and sample the wares of some of those seafood restaurants some time. Maybe we might stop off next Tuesday when we will drive to Málaga to pick up my credencial from the Asociación Jacobea (the pilgrims’ office) which is open only on Tuesday evenings from 19:00 for a couple of hours. This is very easy for me to organise but rather more difficult for the majority of pilgrims who will be travelling from far away.
I would like to thank my great friend Renate who has accompanied me on all stages of this pre-camino. We were hoping that she would accompany me From Málaga to Córdoba, but alas her busy life no longer allows her to do this. But who knows, maybe she can join me for a while further along the route – I hope so!
Trepidatious traveller - camino blog 
The flower looks like a wild Iris. We had then all over western Washington, USA
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Yes, the flower does look like an iris, but it’s growing habit was very different. Only about 10 cm tall and just a couple of orchid type leaves low down. We have a few different varieties of orchid in these parts but not sure about this one!
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Wonderful to see your post and fantastic pictures. North America looks dull compared to European cities, towns, beaches and life in general. I look forward to following your walk again this spring. I wish you much success, Maggie. ❤
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Málaga is a fabulous city, with so much to see and do – and so much I haven’t seen or done yet! I hope you are enjoying your break. I’m really looking forward to your company on my next camino
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Thank you. I look forward to come along on your travels again. 😀
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You kept up a pretty good pace to do 16 km in 5 hours AND have time for tapas. Isn’t that flower some sort of iris? I’m looking forward to the long walk “with” you,
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Actually we had loads of time left before catching the bus, the sand slowed us down a bit, but we kept a fairly good pace. The flower does look like an iris, but the growing habit is more like our local orchids. While you start your next camino where you left off – or go back to the beginning?
Looking forward to your company on the Mozárabe.
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I’m planning to start in St Jean Pied de Port again.
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I shall equally look forward to following your journey Clare.
Buen camino!
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Haven’t been on here much recently and almost panicked when I read the headline – I thought I’d missed the start of your camino! Great to see and hear you back walking and I too was enjoying
the weather yesterday on the east coast of Scotland. Look forward to your adventures . I’m planning to walk for a month at the end of July. More to follow! N
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Haha, love your comment. Have to admit to being close to panic myself at the rate this camino is looming. I’m not over-preparing this year – just assuming I can do it.
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Sounds like a wonderful walk! And such nice blue skies! My friend’s posted some pix of Maine (where they live) and it is pitch WHITE! Lucky for some spring comes earlier…
Enjoying the walk with you even if it is only on paper!
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We’ve had our share of dark skies this last week, but the blue is due to return this afternoon for the foreseeable future.
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We’ve been having that rain since November in the North…hope you have a SECO camino along with buen camino!
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Yes, I’m hoping we have now had our share of rain – there are lots of rivers to cross on this route and many get impassable in wet weather. Vamos a ver!
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Maggie, your latest adventure is very inspiring to me. I always enjoy the stories you tell along the way and the great photos that accompany. We get a lot of rain over here on the west coast of Canada too but hopefully it won’t be so bad in Portugal in May. I’ve got my rain jacket and the pack cover and am as prepared as 2 years can get me. When do you set out? I’ll be following your footsteps May 10 but from Azambuja – avoiding the industrial area and no shoulder roads heading out of Lisbon. It’s a fast forward kind of start :o)
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Hi Sandy. You just be getting excited about your caminho. Wouldn’t it be great if we could coincide – who knows? Let’s keep in touch along the way. Very best wishes to you.
Bom caminho!
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What a very interesting read! I spent a week in Nerja over Easter and on the Monday completed this walk in the opposite direction. I was tackling Stage 1 of the Great Malaga Path, starting on the far side of Malaga and finishing at the entrance to Cala del Moral. I drove my hire car to Cala del Moral then caught the bus into Malaga. This section of the walk is 15.6km but given that I got off the bus at the port I think I walked another 3km to reach the starting point! I did however have a nice salad for lunch in one of the delightful chiringuito’s before setting off. Rincon to Velez Malaga will be the next part for me but as my next visit is in July I may split it into 2 smaller sections. I haven’t yet read your Camino entries but look forward to doing so….hope all is going well for you.
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