Guilena to Castilblanco de Los Arroyos

 Today is going to be a leisurely 20 kilometre walk. We decided that we need to leave the Albergue earlier to try to stay out of the heat as much as is possible. We walked most of the way with Karl from Germany and chatted along the way. At one stage we passed a plum farm and Karl asked the farmer if we could pick a few ripe plums to eat? The farmer was most agreeable and helped him out by giving us  each a handful of plums he had already picked. We thanked the farmer and found ourselves a shady place for a 10 minute break to enjoy the very juicy plums before we continued on our way.
Eventually we lost Karl as my pack was starting to feel like hell and I was getting slower and slower. I have decided today that my pack is way too heavy for this Camino and I need to get rid of as many things as I can. We had another rest before we turned onto the road for a 4 kilometre hike to the Albergue. After a while we spotted a bar and being as thirsty as we were we downed 2 large beers each and had some lunch. I had a mixed salad and Gary had a potato omelet. After finishing lunch we continued on our way to the Albergue.

Today's albergue is a dirty and run down one but the showers had hot water and at the end of the day it did not really matter. We had a little Nannie nap before setting off to a bar for a pilgrim's meal. The pilgrim's meal was still as revolting as ever, so I am not doing this anymore. We had dinner with the 2 Karls and Uschi. Inger-Marie was too sore to join us and decided together with Uschi to catch the bus tomorrow to the next village. Tomorrow is going to be a long walk (29 kilometres) and Uschi decided she was not physically capable to walk that distance. after the meal we returned to the Albergue for a hot shower and when everyone was ready we all went to the local supermarket to buy food for the next day. On our return to the Albergue we all went to bed early as tomorrow we needed to get up as early as possible for that 29 kilometres hike to Almaden de la Plata.

In the morning I went through my pack and disposed of as many things as possible. Here I said goodbye to my sandals that were hurting my feet just too much after a long walk, a book, given to me by Dora and some toiletries that I now felt weren't as important as they had seemed before starting the this Camino. Now my pack is quite a bit lighter and much easier to carry on the long distances that we will be covering on the Camino de Santiago via de la Plata.

 

Sevilla to Guillena

After another night in Sevilla to watch a very disappointing show of Flamenco dancing and picking up our credenciales from hotel Simon, we leave Sevilla at 0930 to make our way to Guillena. Finding our way out of Sevilla was difficult as the directions were rather misleading. We were unable to find the first marker and when we finally asked, we were shown the way by a woman who was heading in that direction anyway. Once the first marker was found it became much easier. I think we have come at a bad time of the year as it is stifling hot. I had a bright idea and started using my umbrella for more shade. I don't like wearing a hat under the best of circumstances but the perspiration was dripping off me. The umbrella worked a treat and soon Gary started doing it as well and he too agreed that it was much better that way.

Unfortunately I lost my balance at one stage and fell face first flat on the ground. There was blood everywhere and after some first aid provided by Gary and some patching up I was ready to continue on my way little way. The only thing That I seriously hurt was my pride as everyone commented on my facial wounds. We have met a few others on thisCamino. Karl, Inger-Marie from Norway, Uschi who we found resting as she was feeling rather thirsty after running out of water some time ago asked if we still had some. After sharing our water withUschi and learning that she was from Germany. We continued and found ourselves without water soon after that as well. When we reached our hostel we were pleasantly surprised as the rooms were very clean and there was plenty of hot water and even an air-conditioner. It felt like we arrived in heaven after a the long hot day. Once showered we had dinner with Karl and Inger-Marie at the local bar. We ordered Tapas but the language barrier caused a bit of trouble. We ended up with a fishy meal twice and than were given garlic prawns. We had full stomachs but did not really enjoy this meal as we aren't particularly fond of seafood in general. We all drank loads and loads as everyone was so dehydrated from the lack of fluids. After we were all satisfied we returned to the hostel for a good night sleep. At the hostel we met yet another Karl who also came from Germany and we all chatted for a while longer before saying our goodnight. We all slept like logs and when we woke up the next day we left as early as possible to beat the heat.