Lenrija to Utrera - (electric wheelchair style)

Today was going to be a short one, 20km max to Las Cabezas de San Juan.

5 hours and 53 km later and I’m in a swanky hotel in Utrera. Still no other pilgrims, feels a bit dystopian out here in 36 degrees on the Via Augusta. 

I woke early thinking I may as well start and had reached my intended destination before 9:00 After breakfast at an early cafeteria it was either wait for a hotel check-in at 13:00 or continue - so I did. I clocked an abandoned building covered in house martin nests - see the photo showing just a small portion of the nests. 

The scenery today was low flat agriculture with well organised irrigation from a canal running parallel to the path. I used to work on farms many years back and love a good irrigation system but I’d not seek anything like this before.

Checking google the area is known as

Las Marismas del Guadalquivir — a natural region of marshy lowlands on the lower Guadalquivir River. Apparently the area produces 40% of Spain’s rice production.

Today’s trail also followed the mainline train route between Seville and Cadiz.

I haven’t explored the town yet apart from the tourist office and the church. Here are today’s images:

Jerez to Lenrija - (electric wheelchair style)

After a recuperation day in Jerez I set off pre-dawn looking for coffee. It’s gonna be hot with weather warnings showing on my phone app and my plan is to do the 36km to Lenrija.

I have chosen this destination as accommodation is less affordable on this Camino. Instead of the usual albergues found on the ‘Francés’, it’s just hotels and hostels. I have been booking in advance through booking.com which has worked for me, but the next affordable accommodation happens to be in Lenrija 36km away. At home I would think nothing of cruising 10 miles a day on my wheels which is 16km so 36km is not a lot more than double that.

I had to settle for vending machine coffee which was ok and the streets were all but empty at 6:30.

Via Augusta is deathly quiet now (late May - June) and I’ve not seen another pilgrim except a young German woman who was returning from a more northern route. A chance but welcome encounter. 

There are few direction signs so I’m navigating with GPX routes displayed through OruxMaps which works well for me. I have a dedicated phone mounted on my wheels  for the purpose, showing route, time, distance to destination and % of route covered. Love it 😊 

Although long, today went well traveling for about 5 hours. The path was generally good on agricultural tracks or small quiet roads. There was one complete section that had been washed out requiring radical maneuvering and a tricky fast road crossing with deep ditches and railings either side. I’m well experienced with such obstacles now and approach it dismounted and backwards on my wheels which seems to work ok.  

This little town turns out to be another lovely historic and cultural gem. It is actually classed as a city, and at times of higher sea level, Lebrija was coastal.

It has a very impressive tower known as “la Giraldilla”
(little Giralda) after the Giralda tower at the Cathedral de Seville.

It also seems to hold the most decrepit elderly population in Europe based on the amount of wheelchair users basking in the evening light under the orange trees. Oh and a fantastic sweet shop kiosk in the plaza.

 

Cadiz to Jerez de La Frontera - (electric wheelchair style)

After breakfast at an amazing cafeteria I left Cadiz on a small ferry taking me to El Puerto de Santa Maria. It was a quick trip but the only ferry available was at 11:15 meaning a very late start on the Camino. After the cool boat ride the countryside was dusty, agricultural and uneventful with the path often following aside busy roads.

With light and sandy soils, many of the plants I found were familiar from home like chicory and purple viper’s bugloss. After a couple of hours of hot sun I arrived and checked into my hotel and showered in cool water.

Had a prawn salad lunch then went to find the cathedral which is always the heart of small spanish towns. Unfortunately my wheels died on me in the hot afternoon sun. I was looking for a good place to photo shoot my wheels, on trying to start Genny again, it was having none of it. All of my confidence disappeared in an instant, leaving me with an immovable wheelchair in the baking sun.

I know a lot about how Genny works and there are some usual things that will stop it from working. If the ground is not level or for some reason one of the Segway footpads is stuck this will inhibit the legs from lifting. I could not find a logical answer but at one point it started working again and I made it back to my hotel.

With my confidence in tatters I have decided to stay another night here to reassure myself things are working properly. Things will always go wrong but to not know why is worrisome. My Genny is now 8 years old with 21,000k on the clock and I am nervous. 

My hotel is great though and the town is lovely, can’t wait to see more of it tomorrow.

Cadiz

Cadiz has been amazing. I only had a day here but it is full of interest.

The museum that is also a gallery, was a highlight. The early period exhibits are fantastic covering a huge time span from pre - Phoenicians to Romans, Moors and the Spanish. There was also a Picasso ceramics exhibition.

The town is full of history and has been a prosperous trading post for millennium including the Spanish American exploits.

It’s busy and noisy at night with bars, restaurants and music. My favorite was 

El café de Ana pictured below.

Buen Camino - Camino adventure May 2026 (electric wheelchair style)

The route shown on the following map starts in Cadiz following the Camino Via Augustao to Saville, Via de La Plata - Seville to Granja De Moreruela followed by the Camino Sanabres finishing in Santiago de Compostela. Additionally I have included the routes to northwestern coastal towns of Muxia and Finisterre.

This is my second wheelchair Camino and how much of the route I complete depends on lots of things including the time it takes, the weather starting late in May and how well my Genny Mobility wheelchair behaves.

I hope to post from time to time with updates and images so check out funkywheelchair.com for progress.

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The journey begins

Hi – Welcome to my site

I made this site to share my experience with my Genny Mobility, 2 wheeled, self-balancing wheelchair. I want to share the good and the more difficult experiences I am having. These chairs are a big investment and it was hard for me to envisage how Genny would fit into my life and how it would work for me

What I'm showing in my posts are things I wouldn't have done without my wheels

Postings on this blog may well be intermittent so if you are interested and don't want to miss things please sign up and "follow"

David xx

Camino de Santiago Week 3 summary - León to Santiago de Compostela (Electric wheelchair style)

Final section of the Camino Francés - León to Santiago de Compostela                        Map data ©2022 Google

I started my 3rd and final week of the Camino Francés late September 2022. I brought my Genny Mobility 2-wheeled self-balancing wheelchair to Spain in the back of my VW van which I parked on the outskirts of León before picking up where I left off in June 2022.

With a little over 300km to go and only a week to spare, I decided to complete the Camino rather than leaving a small section that would require a fourth visit at a later stage. This meant covering longer sections than I have previously done on my wheels and put a bit of pressure on my journey. In hindsight I should have given myself more time with my focus on where I was rather than making the final destination. For comparison, the general walking guide suggests León to Santiago with 12 stops, I was attempting it in 7.

This third session crossed from the central province of Castilla y León into the most north-western province of Spain called Galicia. Geographically the route starts in the north-west of the high central plateaux before crossing into Galicia with it's hilly green landscapes and temperate, rainy climate. 

In lots of ways this was a more challenging route than previous sections, often hilly with many parts unsuited for wheeled pilgrims. 

I had researched most of the route using Google Earth and a set of YouTube videos by John Sikora that showed speeded up video of the entire Camino. I was able to establish what was achievable on my wheels and where I needed an alternative route. This would generally be small sections where I would detour around steps or steep rocky terrain but in some places I decided to follow roads rather than an uncertain track that looked difficult for my wheelchair. Where the Camino ran immediately adjacent to a road, I would often be on the tarmac rather than the bumpy pavement for comfort.

One day I encountered another wheelchair pilgrim travelling in a very different style. A couple with her in a manual chair, pulled by her partner harnessed and leashed, pulling from the front - amazing. 

Traveling longer distances meant I lost out on some of the community that you build traveling at the more moderate walking pace. This did not isolate me but the casual friendly encounters were generally all new when you have outpaced others. To counter this I made a point of joining others when I could, sharing food, rests and generally hanging out.

Breather at a water fountain

This third section was also colder than my previous experience on the Camino. I appreciate weather is not a constant and had encountered rain way back in Pamplona but travelling light, I was carrying very limited clothing, not even a pair of socks. Additionally when travelling in the common European time zone spanning 2,500 km across Europe, the western part of Spain doesn't even get light until after 8:00 in the shoulder months. Mornings were cold and dark.

I completed the Camino within my timeframe and had adventures and many encounters along the way but unfortunately got increasingly sick towards the end. Unknowing I got Covid in the final few days days that floored me a bit. I had been Covid free entirely and was fully vaccinated and thinking I was immune, not so. Luckily I was able to get back to my van in Leon for safety and a route to Ireland that was my next port of call. 

Arrival a the Catedral Basilica de Santiago de Compostela

My completed Credencial del Peregrino

Camino de Santiago Week 2 summary - Logroño to León (Electric wheelchair style)

It was fantastic to return for a second week to the Camino de Santiago commencing in  Logroño where I had finished in October 2021 It was like home-coming in its familiarity and simple functionality. Your commitment is to the path, and following the yellow arrows keeps you safe and leads you to food, shelter, safety and ultimately Santiago de Compostela.

* Week 1 of my Camino journey is available HERE  

Once again my journey involved a long drive via Switzerland to Logroño where I garaged my VW van. Over the next seven days I travelled from Logroño to León, a distance of about 300km, on my Genny Mobility self-balancing wheelchair

Progress to date: 2021 Saint-Jean-Pier-de-Port to Logroño. June 2022 LogroñoI to León
Santiago de Compostela in the west as the ultimate destination                Map data ©2022 Google

This section of the Camino traversed different landscapes than my 2021 trip. From the satellite image above you can see the green woodland section west of Logroño that leads to the high agricultural planes of north central Spain. The section west of Burgos is called the Meseta, a high upland plateaux that is largely big open fields of cereal crops. Many pilgrims choose to miss this section, getting busses directly from Burgos to León and avoiding the long uphill climbs and days of open repetitive views

Although the landscapes are generally similar in this section, progress was easy on my wheels and the riot of wildflowers a delight. Travelling faster than most walking pilgrims nothing was arduous or unsatisfactory, rather insightful and meditative    

At times I would journey with others, getting better acquainted with people I had shared a meal with or met at some earlier point however mostly I would travel alone at my own pace. This could be faster or slower than others depending on the terrain and many times I would overtake people who would later catch me up at a steep hill or when breaking for coffee or lunch. Most days I was comfortable covering between 30 and 40km

The path ascending to the Meseta leaving Castrojeriz 

Early June was great weather with fresh early mornings getting hotter till early afternoon where I would settle into whatever albergue I was staying in. Often it was late afternoon or early evenings that was the hottest and I would rest, read and dry washing

   

There is much good art on the Camino

In my 7 available days I ventured as far west as the Cathedral city of  León. This was a journey of about 300km which I considered a real achievement. I had covered 13 day sections as defined in the guide in my 7 so approaching twice the pace of the average walking pilgrim. According to the guidebook I have 13 sections left to Santiago de Compostela

I am uncertain if I am rushing, keen to continue but also not wanting to finish. What I'm not doing is the various Cathedral visits or city break days to explore museums and galleries. This may be a missed opportunity but may also be a limitation of being a wheelchair user as often access to these old buildings and sites involves access limitations which can be really disappointing   

With these mixed emotions I have already booked a return of another 7 days this coming October

   

Santa Iglesia Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de Santa María de Burgos

From León I got a series of busses via Burgos back to my starting point in Logroño to collect my VW van

Camino credentials

- Buen Camino -

* To view all these posts in chronological order please scroll down or click HERE

Camino de Santiago 13 - Sahagun to León (Electric wheelchair style)

My final day on the Camino and I would complete the biggest stretch to date at 55km. My destination was León where I would bus it back to my VW van garaged in  Logroño

Leaving Sahagún early I encountered the stragglers from the previous evenings fiesta. The mood was good and I was cheered on my way

The morning after...

Starting through adobe villages and small towns the route was mainly adjacent to tiny roads through Bercianos del Real Camino, Mansilla de Las Mulas and Puente Villarente before entering the urban landscape of León

I ate up the miles on this increasingly urban route before rolling into León. This sort of journey is lovely on my wheels. Walking on hard pavements on a hot afternoon in town is not ideal with a heavy rucksack on your back however for my Genny Mobility wheelchair it is a natural habitat. One difference travelling by wheels is your dependence on pavement ramps. There is always a way up or down a curb however, with block after block and intervening streets the easiest way is not always the marked Camino route. Head down in a map on my mobile phone trying to regain the route I dropped down a large curb that tipped me over the handlebars. Although not particularly painful it is hard on my wheels and tends to get a lot of attention. Kind people want to help and someone upside down in a wheelchair is a magnet. In embarrassment rather than pain I dusted myself off and straighten my handlebars. The urban bits just needed getting through and with broad pavements and renewed attention I quickly reach the historic centre

 

León is a fantastic vibrant city on a summers day. I arrived to a chess tournament outside the cathedral and the streets were packed

The older parts of town were filled with cafes spilling onto the streets

The former City Hall in the Plaza Mayor 

Casa Botines - built by Gaudi in  1891

The majestic Cathedral Santa María de Regla de León

I stayed in the Hostel Quartiere in the heart of the old town which was the most gorgeous hostel. With the assurance of good accommodation sorted I set out to explore León

This was my final evening before returning to Logroño to collect my van and return home. After exploring the city I ate tapas and drunk cold beer on a street side bar and planned my return in October 2022

*** SUMMARY 

Camino de Santiago 12 - Carrión de los Condes to Sahagún (Electric wheelchair style)

Day 6 of my trip started with the now familiar open agricultural landscape but a slightly shorter journey day. I crossed the halfway point of 395km which in total had taken me 13 days from the start in Saint-Jean-Pier-de-Port to my midway point. I realise this is fast and that the suggested stages in the guide books normally make for a journey of 33 days. Often people take rest days for sightseeing or to recover the feet.

Was I rushing, was I missing out on things, should I slow down? 

Camino midpoint markers

According to a post on the Camino forum  these "midpoint markers, placed at the Ermita del Puente site right after the medieval bridge over the Valderaduey River. The sculptures were recently unveiled and they are absolutely gorgeous. Two huge statues flanking the Camino, one of Alphonse VI the Brave (1065-1109) - Promoter and Protector of the Way of St. James and on the other side Bernardo de Seriedad (Spanish name; Aeseriac: French)), an Abad considered one of the founders of Sahagún"

Passing the midpoint the sky suddenly darkened threatening a storm however after just a few raindrops, it disappeared as quickly as it came  

Street art entering Sahagún

Sahagún was in fiesta. There were many road barriers around the town as I entered then I saw the posters. The event was over 4 days and I had arrived on day two. I stayed at the Municipal Albergue built into the upper floor of the 'Iglesia de la Santísima Trinidad' or Church of the Holy Trinity, which also housed the tourist office on the ground floor

A sculptured pilgrim welcomes at the door of the Albergue 

As the evening progressed we had front seat views as a procession of local brass bands accompanied by their entourages, promenaded through the town. Tomorrow night was to be bulls running through the town.

* NEXT