Elevation gain 24 m

Elevation loss 19 m

Total distance walked 212.5 km

We were serenaded last night and this morning by the spotless starling – what a strong and beautiful song – apparently they are good mimics. I hadn’t heard of it previously, like a few of the birds on my list.

More rain is forecast for today but not too heavy – whilst at home they are basking in wall to wall sunshine!

We have a very tardy start today because we want to visit the Roman theatre and amphitheatre of Itálica dating from 206 BC which doesn’t open until 9 am. In fact the theatre didn’t open at all but we paid a visit to amphitheatre. Check out the link here

It cost me huge sum of €1.50 to get in and Nina was free because she has a discount card. Sadly we couldn’t access the full site, maybe because of the wet conditions the uneven nature of the site is deemed a health and safety risk. Apparently there is also a museum in the town but we didn’t realise in time to visit.

We are togged up in our rain gear – looking amazing – but by the time we leave, the rain has more or less stopped and after a quick hot drink in the bar across the road we set off. Ideally of course we would have visited these attractions yesterday evening when it was bright and sunny and I could have taken some lovely photos, but we were too busy drinking wine. Hey, ho!

On leaving town we are on a road with a bit of a shoulder but it’s covered in a thin layer of particularly slippery mud – the type that almost landed me a cropper yesterday – so I am steering well clear. But it’s very quiet being a Saturday morning and the drivers seem very courteous and give us plenty of space.

After a little less than 2 km on the road we are on a track not yet muddy, and some time later still not muddy. Yay! It’s a sandy gravelly track and although it must be very damp, there is absolutely no clinging involved.

The sun has now come out in full strength. And what comes after rain? Why raindrops of course. And I’ve been dawdling along trying to catch some raindrops twinkling in the newly appeared sun.

The track is lined with fabulous wild flowers, mostly bright yellow dill. Until it isn’t, where they must have been sprayed and are brown and dead

A very peculiar creature just crossed the path ahead of me. I would judge it might’ve been the size of a badger but very very low to the ground with a very long tail sweeping the ground. Brown coloured, rather like the shape of a chocolate mouse – narrow and pointy at the head end building up to more bulk at the hindquarters and then back down to ground level at tail end. When I caught up with Nina and described the creature she immediately said a beaver. And of course it must have been, but I’d never seen one in the wild before (and I wasn’t wearing my specs!). Mystery solved.

Once the beautiful wild flowers have disappeared from the side of the track we can see what lies beyond – currently freshly ploughed mud – just mud almost as far as the eye can see.

I passed some grazing horses and a pen containing a huge great bull and countless younger bullocks. I can see a stork soaring in the air and then coming down to land. It’s all rather pleasant.

But our hearts sink as our yellow sandy path turns to brown ahead. But luckily there is enough grit in this mud to prevent it from clinging to our boots. Let’s hope I’m not speaking too soon.

Eventually we come to quite a long stretch where there are stone walls built either side of the narrowing track and so there is nowhere for the water to run and it’s become very muddy and very unpleasant and very clingy. It lasts long enough to completely cake our boots.

And then rain starts again, a heavy downpour so we get our gear on again and drip out way to our stage end. We’re staying at Albergue Luz del Camino, €15 per bed with fairly grotty bathroom facilities – we are now entering true pilgrim territory – we’ve been spoilt by our mostly excellent lodgings thus far – now it’s time to suck it up!

Today’s birds…

European Serin

House Sparrow

Common Nightingale

Zitting Cisticola

Crested Lark

European Goldfinch

Western House-Martin

Common Swift

Thanks to everyone who has commented on the blog. I love reading all comments although I’m not getting as many this year. I want to especially thank @alanlamp whose regular comments always make me smile 😄