2019-03-19

19 March, La Peza to Granada


Granadas katedral 

Turistshopping

Pension Suecia


Alhambra i solnedgången 






Från mitt rum 

March 18, Guadix to La Peza, 22 kilometers


Guadix katedral 

Sierra Nevada i bakgrunden 


Bostäder i klippväggen

Massor med får




2019-03-11

March 8, Cádiz, 17747 steps, 14 kilometers

From now on this blog may mainly consist of photos for the rest of my Camino.

The day started out dark and dreary with drizzling rain but not enough to bother me. During the train ride it was raining, but as we arrived in Cádiz the sun came out.  First, I walked to my hostel, checked in and left my backpack.

Today turned out to be another great day. The hostel is in the old town and I walked to the cathedral in 5 minutes through winding alleys and past pretty buildings. The cathedral is beautiful but not as old as I thought it would be. It was finished in 1838.

As always  I had to go up the tower. There was a ramp here as well, but at the top there was a narrow staircase  without a railing. I think I got some good shots. 

I spent the rest of my afternoon walking the seefront and people watching during the carnival.


2019-03-08

March 7, Sevilla, 20254 steps, 17 kilometers

I got up early again, to go to the train station. The train left at 6.45 am and I wanted to have plenty of time to make sure I made it. 

The first 30 minutes of the trip it was dark, pitch black. At first I thought we were going through tunnels, that's how dark it was.
After a while the sun came up. I don't mind at all leaving - 22 C and snow for +18 and palm-trees. After checking in at the Pension La Montareña I headed to the Alcázar, the royal castle/keep of the moors and christian kings (still in use). I have never seen a place like this before. It is huge and has been added to over the centuries. The rooms and court yards are a maze of beautifully tile decorated floors, walls and (indoor) ceilings. I spent four hours there and could easily have stayed longer, but after a nice lunch I left, to be able see more of what Sevilla had to offer.

My original plan was to see the cathedral later in the day but they closed early, so I went there straight away. First I walked up the Giralda, the bell tower. Instead of steps there is a ramp, so that you could ride a donkey almost all the way up.

After visiting the cathedral I spent the rest of the day walking around the town until I could feel two hot spots on my right foot. I took a taxi back to the pension and went to bed early again, in hopes of getting a good night's rest.






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March 6, Málaga

Last night I found out that my airplane didn't leave at 6.50. The new time was 9.50, which gave me a a bit longer to sleep, but less time in Málaga.
As always when I'm going somewhere I didn't sleep well. The plane to Stockholm was fine, I had three seats to myself, but the international flight was 50 minutes late leaving and we lost more time in the air. After I checked in (The Lights Hostal) it was almost dark, and the sights I had planned on seeing were closed. I strolled around town for a while and then went back to the hostal. There was now a girl in the room, but she was also tired and we both went to bed at around 10 pm. Five minutes later two other girls arrived, and later on another. The new arrivals were not tired. They kept running in and out of the room for at least four hours. Not a good night.

2019-03-04

March 10, Ronda



From now on this blog may mainly consist of photos for the rest of my Camino.


2019-03-03

Back to the... Camino

My next Camino

Last year I went on two longer backpacking trips, one crossing Scotland and one in Michigan, USA. My feet weren't to bad but on both those trips I ended up having back problems, the last one I even had to end prematurely when I woke one morning and could hardly move. It was very difficult to pack my tent and gear. This past winter I've been wondering if backpacking without having to set up and take down my tent every day would make things easier for me. Somehow I have to figure out what causes these problems. So, I started thinking of going back to the camino, where I can stay in an albergue every night.
For a long time I have wanted to visit the South of Spain. Granada with the Alhambra, the Mezquita in Córdoba, Cádiz... there is just so much to see there! Imagine my excitement when I found out about the Camino Mozárabe . There are 3 different starting points, Málaga, Jaen or Almería. Almería passes both Granada and Córdoba, and also is one of the longest Spanish caminos. It starts on the coast almost as far as you can go in the southeast of Spain.
Yes, it is far, close to 1400 kilometers or 870 miles. I recently got 6 cortisone shots, three in each foot, so I'm hoping that will help. But I don't have to walk all the way to Santiago de Compostela, I'll just walk as far as it feels ok. On the other hand, if I do make it to SdC, there's always the option to continue to Fisterra, just another 93 kilometers.


The plan

However, before I start walking there are all these other places I want to visit in Andalucía. In two days I fly to Málaga, where I'll start my speed tour of the south. Five days of early plane/train/bus trips and one day of sight-seeing, sleep and repeat. And after that I probably need to rest before I even start walking the camino!