Mérida to Alcuécar - (electric wheelchair style)

This is the albergue in Mérida in evening light. It’s an old building constructed over a tributary of the main river and having the water flow beneath it. I was treated to a melon breakfast by the 3 Spanish cyclists I shared food with the previous evening.

After many detours caused by roadworks I found a way out of town heading north. 6km out is a waterbody that I think is a Roman reservoir. An early morning swim was surprisingly warm and with outside public showers it couldn’t have been better. 

I met my three cyclists again at Aljucén for breakfast. I understand I am the talk on the Camino, the Jersey man cruising north like lightning on his crazy wheels - great.

Still olive trees and vines but the landscape is definitely getting hillier. I think the route gains about 250m and we are now at altitude 480m.

Alcuécar has a pretty old centre built on a hill. I imagine it to be similar to those beautiful Tuscan hill-top villages but with less attractive urban edges. The albergue is the classic big old ex-monastery or convent that runs on a donation only basis without a set cost. It’s minimal but everything you need. I think I’m the only guest.

Torremejía to Mèrida - (electric wheelchair style)

Europe must have an enormous time zone from east to west. It’s June 9th here in Spain and the sun is rising just after 7:00 but doesn’t set till 21:50. This means one of the joys of the Camino is seeing daily sunrises.

Today’s landscapes were similar to yesterday’s with vineyards and olives. Less intensively farmed here and probably less water as there is very little green grass. Wonderful huge thistles though.

Today’s destination Mèrida sat on the horizon for many km however there was no sprawling urban suburbs, you just come across some trees and the river Guadian, then the Puente Romano de Mérida, the 792m long arched bridge.

Mérida is an ancient Roman town built on the river in 100BC. There are no end of buildings, theatres, aqueducts, homes, graves…

The amphitheater

Theatre

What is called ‘Circo’ or circus but which is where chariots used to race. It’s huge at 433m x 114m and can accommodate 30,000 spectators. Of course I did a lap of honour.

My favourites are the aqueducts that kept the city in water. Remnants of them span the city but they brought water from up to 75km away.

Development here must be a nightmare. There are buildings built on stilts to avoid destruction of the underlying archeology that seems to be everywhere.

A ticket for accessing all of these historic places was a mere €8. I spent hours exploring and will add more details in due course. I have additional photos to include but they will have to wait till I'm at a pc.

Zafra - Torremejía (electric wheelchair style)

The route today was olive trees and vineyards.

I have again leapfrogged stages covering 48km. 

I found some street art at last. The Camino Francés has loads of murals and sculpture but the Via de La Plata is a bit barren artistically. 

Down to 2 bars on the battery indicator but I did the last 25km at a faster pace.

The guide is disparaging about today’s journey. It talks about the “monotony of today’s long, flat stage”. It was long and often straight, with very little shade but such a joy to ride on my wheels. 

Eventually the small town of Torremejía comes into view with some hills behind it.

I’m struggling to find some positives to say about Torremejíaits as it’s rather characterless. I imagine it is a town suffering from outward migration. There is a school here but I can’t imagine any young person staying here when they have finished their schooling. The streets are generally empty with skips and wheelie bins as central features.

I’m here for the night and will enjoy putting my feet up but will spend the time planning my escape to Mérida, tomorrow’s destination with its many Roman treasures. 

Monesterio to Zafra - (electric wheelchair style)

Today’s journey was another stretch due to uncertainty of water on the Camino. I covered 2 day sections totaling 44km. People I have met here in Zafra confirmed that there were crossings to be made.

Leaving Monesterio in the dark I took a quiet “B” road hugging the hard shoulder. Traffic was quiet and the going was fast and easy. I completed this section having used a little over 1/2 battery capacity.

The wooded Savana landscapes of yesterday opened into dry rolling hills with occasional vineyards. 

The iconic bulls seen on Spanish roadsides are adverts for the Osborne sherry and brandy company.

When laws prohibiting the advertisement of alcohol on roadsides came in, the Spanish Supreme Court declared the bulls to be a permanent part of the country's cultural and artistic heritage. Today, they serve as unofficial symbols of national identity.

Zafra’s outskirts are marked by industrial warehouses and a vehicle breaking yard however the actual old town is beautiful. White painted old buildings, and cobbles on winding streets make it charming. 

Today was Corpus Christi parade decorated the streets with flowers and colored sand paintings.

Today’s albergue is a delight. A big old wooden door opens into a large welcoming hostal. An inner courtyard is full of plants and I think the design of small windows and an airy open atrium cools the space. The Camino is quiet and I think we will be less than 10 pilgrims tonight.

El Real de la Jara to Monesterio - (electric wheelchair style)

Today started with the problem of getting my 90kg electric wheelchair down a small flight of steps.

This small sleepy town was very quiet at 8:00 this morning. I wandered around looking for help and found a builder working up the street. In my poor Spanish I asked for assistance saying that we needed 2 strong men. He magically hailed a passing car and within minutes I was sorted.

This little story says a lot about humanity. Don’t we love to help? Isn’t it intrinsically human to assist others? Maybe this stuff happens more as a pilgrim, where our vulnerabilities are more apparent. Whatever it says it made the world a better place for us all I think. 

Today’s path started as a cruise. Big wide meandering track through Savana landscape. Hills, castles, holm oak and broom. Lots of grazing cattle but low density, free to wander.

Yesterday I left Andalusia and an now in Extremadura, they call this type of landscape “Dehesa”, a unique, ancient agroforestry native to southwestern Spain and Portugal. Here it seems to be all about the Iberian pig which seems to be the main commercial activity here. After securing my accommodation I visited the Museo del Jamón which was fantastic. 

These pigs thrive on acorns, particularly those of the holm oak which thrives here.

Once again a lovely small town with storks on the church’s bell towers

Looking forward to food tonight - it’ll need to be local pig 😊

Castilblanco De Los Arroyos to El Real de la Jara - (electric wheelchair style)

After yesterday’s concerns re avoiding stepping stones, marsh and streams, I stuck to the road for this leg. 

Once again I cruised it, finishing by about 9:30 so decided to push on. The 2nd leg after Almadén was also part of the Sierra Norte de Seville National Park and very beautiful in a harsh and rugged way. My pictures will show the type of habitat and scenery. I can imagine it covered in snow as well.

Most of the terrain was vehicle width tracks which work for me. In places where it is very steep, loose or eroded, I get off and push. Segway’s have a self-powered mode that kicks in when you aren’t sitting or standing on them. This keeps my wheels upright and if I press the seat down, it is in drive mode without me on it. If you know what you are doing and are careful, this provides the energy to negotiate difficult terrain. Im sure it’s not in the how-to handbook but it works for me.

Decent from the highest point had a section requiring this technique. I would call it a steep downhill scramble for about 100m. It took a while but I made it zigzagging on and off the path. Down to the last bar on the battery level indicator - unknown territory😳

Made it to El Real de la Jara only to find the albergue was full so back on my own again and €30 for a quiet hotel room. It has advantages but also a good set of steps to negotiate before I can charge my wheels.

This is a nice town, clean streets and smiling people. The pavements are shaded with orange trees, there is a castle on the hill and a church with storks nesting.

Seville to Castilblanco De Los Arroyos - (electric wheelchair style)

Camino Via de La Plata’s 1000km start here. Up early I returned to the Cathedral’s west gate which is the official start of the VDLP. 

Seville at 5:30 was full of the people and machinery that keep a busy city clean. They were also lining the street adjacent to the Cathedral with chairs so I guess it will be procession day in the city.

The route takes you across a bridge and out of town heading north. There was little to see, especially as it was dark.

I joined 2 day stages into 1 again and after a BRIEF breakfast stop in a town called Guillena I clocked my first other pilgrims. I had felt like the only pilgrim on this Camino so meeting other pilgrims was a welcome treat. Without the community of other pilgrims it is isolating. I'm fine travelling alone and sometimes, a single room especially with a bathroom, is just what I want. Today I'm happy to be sharing a room with others, although the 3 Belgium blokes next to me snore.

Lots of urban roadside becoming scrubby Holm oak  savana today. Much dryer and hillier away from what had been the costal planes of Andalocea.

My route tomorrow is half road followed by the Sierra Norte de Seville National Parke. Its meant to be stunning with Cork oaks an a list of wildlife. The guide rates it as "very hard" at 29.5km with 605m of assent, 480m decent. It also mentions bridges and "stepping stones".

Stepping stones could be a complete no go for my wheels. In preperation I made an post on the Camino forumn asking for photographs. I got a number of replies and some opinions. It seems like there is a section that ponds or maybe its a seasonal stream.

I ended up with a number of different possabilities that seem to be different locations to me. I have decided to unfortunately skip the National Park bit staying on the road. If inspired to I could backtrack from the Almaden De La Plata (the destination) back into the Park.

Utrera to Seville - (electric wheelchair style)

My guide tells me it’s 35km to Seville, now classed as a modest day on my wheelchair Camino.

I’m still checking out the capabilities of Genny with its new high capacity batteries and yesterday I finished with 2 bars left out of 8 on the charge indicator after 53km. It’s not a linear scale, so 1 bar can mean different things depending on terrain, speed and how aggressively I drive. I now feel very comfortable to expect 50km on 1 complete charge.

I’ve also got my navigation well sorted. There is little detail on the Camino Via Augusta and the signage is sparse or just not there. Also the downloadable mapping files are out of date or wrong. In places I am completely making it up. Saying that it did get better approaching Seville.

I have used mobile mapping tools in my work monitoring bats. On my wheels I have a dedicated android phone with the route showing over a downloadable map. It displays speed, time,  distance to destination and % of route covered. This takes a bit of the stress out of navigating. I just need to concentrate on the kerbs and pavement ramps which are often not there.

Scenery changed a lot today starting from big old olive groves in the rising sun, to huge open fields filled with sunflowers. Closer to Seville the big suburbs are filled with traffic. Bit of a shock from the deserted Camino.

The city is currently mobbed with more English on the streets than Spanish. Big snaking tour groups everywhere, horse and cart rides , the usual.

I found accommodation on the 3rd attempt in an albergue full of young city visitors. Doubt if there are pilgrims here but will check. The building has a great roof terrace with a small pool, lots of shade and a bar. Will need to come back here as too much to see in the hot sun of early summer. Plan to start the Camino Via de La Plata in the morning, 1000km… I may also just fly home.