Elevation gain 548 m

Elevation loss 444 m

Total distance 64 km

Soon after leaving town, we are directed onto a grassy track, which soon becomes another mostly dried mud trail that has been passed over by many hooves and left with deep ruts for me to twist my feet on.

A lot of the path is barely discernible, covered in weeds and I imagine, with another few weeks’ growth, will have completely obliterated the path.  I can’t see how these tracks will be visible with so little foot fall keep them trodden down. 

After a kilometre of downs and ups through the weeds, we are back on the road.

I see sheep for the first time with lots of lambs bouncing across the hillside.

Whenever the path dips there is likely to be a muddy bog to navigate – we’ve had a few! But for the most part the track is dry which is an absolute blessing, because it would be horribly muddy in wet conditions. Today at 08:30 the sky is hazy and the track is mostly shady so it’s nice cool going.

Urgh – I spoke too soon, now we have a wet and boggy narrow stretch that we have to walk through. No way around. And the result is very muddy boots for me and wet feet for Nina. 

There are lots of big barky dogs today but all safely  behind fences.

We reach the small town of San Pablo de Buceite  at 09:30 after walking 8.5 km and stop for a hot drink and a bit of shopping. 

After San Pablo we’re ‘ on the road again’ with avocado plantations as far as eye can see.

11.75 km we reach the notorious gates to Los Lirios finca. These can be locked, blocking the right of way to the path that runs through this vast estate.  The gate gods are on our side this morning and they are open and inviting us to pass through. 

A concrete track leads up past the finca homestead which looks to be occupied. And soon after there is another set of gates but as we get close we can see these are just tied up the string. The dirt track on the other side is very uneven and very steeply rising with olive trees either side and lots of scrubby plants.

The extra weight of the shopping in my pack is not helping in my struggle to tackle this hill and I know from the reports of others that it goes on for a very long long time.

There are fresh signs of cattle having used this path but so far we haven’t bumped into any.

We reach the top of first leg at 11:30, 13.5 km and 311 elevation gain and stop for a break and a bite to eat under a shady tree. 

By noon the sky is a bit less hazy but nowhere near blue, although the sun has put in an appearance and it’s really quite warm. Luckily this path has some degree of shade which is very very welcome.

I find a perfect spot for a break in the shade of an algarrobo tree where someone has piled some rocks to form a perfect bench – my slice of camino heaven for the day. 

After my luxurious rest the track changes into a glorious shaded tunnel with trees on both sides.  

I see this little chap going about his business and when he realises he has company he stops and runs away so I walk a few paces and he turns around and goes back to his job for the day. 

At 16.5 km I hear the sound of a  fuente. The water in the trough doesn’t look very appealing but the gush of water coming from the pipe is wonderful to wash my hands in and refresh my pole handles .

After the fuente there is practically no shade and we’re walking on a wide gravel agricultural track – the brightness of it is quite glaring to the eyes. 

At 18.5 km we emerge onto a winding  road, but it’s not long before we are directed to pass through a field with another narrow track, this time full of loose rocks to test our tired legs. We walk steeply downhill over this rough track for more than 1.5 km but it was far better than walking on the turnpike road. Just before we exit we come across a group of cattle but they aren’t at all interested in us. 

We pass over the wide and fast flowing Rio Guardiaro and then we reach our destination. We stop at the first bar for a cold drink and then climb some more to find our lodgings for the night at Hostal Los Buiteras. Very nice indeed with lovely gardens and swimming pool (€65 for a twin room). We eat in the restaurant and the food is delicious and very reasonable