Albergue whinge – we stayed at the Albergue Luz del Camino in Guillena last night. The host was very welcoming but the albergue left a lot to be desired in my opinion. We were allocated a room with three bunk beds. We were first in so both chose bottom bunks. A quilt was supplied but I definitely didn’t want it touching my skin so used my silk liner for the first time on this camino.

Whinge 1 – Between six occupants there was only one electrical outlet in the room.

Whinge 2 – there were beds for 14 in total on this floor. And there were two bathrooms. Two complete bathrooms with shower, basin and wc. So if two people decided to take a shower at the same time then no one else had use of the basin and wc. The space should be configured with two shower cubicles, two wc cubicles and two basins so that any one of these amenities can be used at any time. Added to this the bathrooms were full of black mould, the shower curtains were absolutely disgusting and I contorted myself to avoid touching it, and the wc seat was ancient and wooden and must have carried a myriad of germs. So gross!

Now on with today…

Elevation gain 377 m

Elevation loss 83 m

Total distance walked 232 km

After a bit more than 1.5 km walking through this surprisingly sprawling town we cross the bridge over the Rio Rivera de Huelva. And a short while after that we leave the road and turn onto a sand track

At 3.5 km we have to leave the trail and pass through an industrial estate. In a field tucked between some commercial units there’s quite a large herd of sheep, which seems rather odd.

We are soon enough back on a track flanked by citrus on one side and olives on the other.

Our first mudfest starts soon enough and almost instantly our boots are caked with a thick layer. We find a spot where we can divert into an olive grove where at least there’s some low growth of dew covered weeds that we can drag our boots through in an effort to dislodge some mud.

The path is mud-caked for several kilometres but we manage to avoid a lot of it by walking through the olive trees. Eventually we can see that the path had reverted to sand which is a massive joy.

There is something going on in the adjoining fields. A huge expanse has been cleared, there are a couple of pile drivers and lots of extremely sturdy posts sunk into the ground – you don’t need those to support young trees! Up on a hill there are rows of digging machines and lorries lined up ready to start work on Monday. There are also piles of equipment waiting to be unpacked and I have a feeling that this area will be a gigantic solar farm. Whatever is going on in this vast area, this track will have a very different outlook in a year or so.

Soon enough the path becomes a via pecuaria with the landscape of a dehesa – a variety of trees dotted about and beautiful wild flowers in all directions.The purgatory of the last few kilometres is wiped clear with these new surroundings

We find some well placed rocks to take a break at 8.5 km. when we get going we pass at very close quarters to cows with very big horns, but they are much too interested in grazing to bother looking up at us.

At around 14 km we reach the end of that beautiful path and are now walking on a wide compacted agricultural track through similar surroundings but somehow they don’t feel quite the same anymore. After this we are on a track alongside the road that leads to our home for the night.

We are staying in Casa Salvadora, a large townhouse with single, double and twin rooms. Singles are €17 and our twin is €30. We can use the washing machine and dryer for €10 which we’re sharing with another guy.

Luckily there’s a decent sized Carrefour up the road so I can stock up on food for tomorrow’s long stage with no facilities.

Today’s birds…

Barn Swallow

House Sparrow

European Goldfinch

Zitting Cisticola

Great Tit

Corn Bunting

European Serin

Eurasian Linnet

Common Chaffinch

Sardinian Warbler