Day 3 Guillena to Castilloblanco de los Arroyos

21.4 km

Each day on the camino takes on its own flavour. Today’s flavour? Mishaps, water water everywhere, and the vegetation of Southern Spain.

We met our Korean peregrino from our first day on the camino at the albergue in Guillena.

We were on the road earlier today, but stopped for breakfast at Bar Frances and so, weren’t walking until 7:40-ish. No incidents other than a very noisy late arriving peregrino…not only noisy but rude as well, insisting that the bathroom we’d been using was his, private, (despite the fact there was no sign posted that that was true) and that we had to use the one down the hall. Oh well!

Just outside the town, following the GPS instructions, we went toward the river, where, according to us, we could cross. We could see the road and, we could see lots of water but it looked like we’d be able to cross with no problem. And we did.

Until the very last puddle….no way across it without getting our feet wet. So, we tried alternate routes beside the puddle. It was very marshy, lots of long grasses. Mike crossed via the puddle but I decided that I might be able to make it using the long grasses as a kind of walking platform across the water. I poked around with my walking pole and could feel/hear/see water but….I went for it. Somehow, I lost my balance and fell backwards….damn pack was so heavy, and there I lay, soaking up dirty water with my butt and pack!!! Meanwhile, Mike was across, with wet feet, but across, nonetheless….he heard my exclamation and turned to see me looking like a turtle on its back, unable to move. He said, “Do you need help?” Later, he said the look I gave him told him if I’d been a dragon, he’d have instantly become a cinder!!. I said, “Obviously!!!” I couldn’t move, and I was soaking up water like a sponge. I could only imagine the bugs in that water getting to places on my body I didn’t want them to be. Mike is my hero. He came splashing over to me, and, could barely get me up. I had no strength in my legs and the pack and water was just added weight making it that much more difficult. It was sooooo funny. I told him to take a pic but gentleman that he is, he refused. We finally got me out of the “puddle” and we continued on, dripping wet but still, laughing hilariously. I couldn’t change as we were still in the outskirts of town. My feet were fine….soaking wet but thank heavens I’d worn my silk liners and “Darn Tough” woollen soaks from a previous camino, and I hardly noticed my wet feet. (When packing before the trip I had asked myself why I was packing woollen socks for a walk in 90 degree weather….now I know.)

Soon after that incident, we passed by a lot of farms and that started the “vegetation” part of our walk that basically continued all day. Stopped to get changed into dry clothes and immediately felt so much better. We passed olive trees with extra large green olives, pomegranate trees with the fruit already turning red, and a variety of citrus trees, and date trees.

Finally out of town, we crossed the highway and started walking the road between farms and acres and acres of a wide variety of olive trees….green, black, large, small….

We entered an area called the Sierra Norte which reminded us of a national or state park. beautiful landscapes and oh so many trees and bushes….hazelnut trees, holly type trees, eucalyptus trees, bushes with red berries, bushes with blue berries and all kinds of other unfamiliar plants. I just had to take pics of them all.

At the halfway point of kilometres for the day was a water pump where we stopped for a good long rest and for something to eat. Continuing on, we saw some ripening dates on the palm bushes lining the path.

Getting closer to the town we were headed for, we stopped to sit on a rock in the shade for a much needed rest. Wishing for a bench and of course, 10 – 30 steps later found a beautiful spot in the shade with two benches. That’s how it works on the camino!

Arrived in Castilloblanco de los Arroyos around 2 and stopped at the first hotel we found and checked in….Hotel Castilloblanco.

Sent my muddy, still wet clothes to be laundered, showered, rested for an hour and then walked another three kilometres into the center looking for food. Not to be found. The message just doesn’t seem to get through our thick skulls….southern rural France doesn’t do meals at restaurants until well after 8pm, more often 9! That’s our bedtime!!!! Back to the hotel for red wine and pizza.