After a long night, we are happy to see daylight again as we stand outside the hotel to start a new stage. All gear packed, the key handed in and the prepared route started on the phone. That, together with a good breakfast, is our start of the day. We walk through the village past shops and terraces. Many, mostly older, people are chatting on the pavement and in doorways of small shops. Everyone is so friendly on the streets here. Hola, buenos dias, bon Camino! Graçias señor y señora! It's nice to start the route like this. Even the dogs give up faster than usual as we pet a cat snoozing in the sun, just before we leave the village. We cross the Rivera de Huelva and walk behind the last houses of the village through an industrial estate into the green. Between old olive trees, the path rises slightly. It will continue to rise for the rest of the stage, but nowhere does the route seem to get steep. The olive trees are in bloom. Thousands of little white flowers colour the branches. We quickly get higher and have nice views over the valley we came from. We can see Guillena, the long straight road we walked yesterday and the Seville tower in the distance. The big city seems so far away again. To the right, we can still see the olive trees and a little further some black hills, full of solar panels. To the left is a yellow wheat field, with a magnificent abandoned castle, once strategically placed at the edge of the valley.
After about 7.5 kilometers, we walk through a gate and the landscape changes from orchards and fields to a wooded area with lots of oaks, grass and plenty of flowers. The yellow of the delicate flowers of Etna broom, the white of Citrus Ladanifer from the sunflower family, and the soft purple of purple sage. Species we have never heard of, but which are common here. Superb plants that flourish in this dry climate. The higher we get, the drier the landscape becomes. The paths are sandy. Apart from some birds, we see only the occasional lizard scurrying away. So we are surprised to see a sign along the path with an arrow reading "Agua, eau, water, boДa, wasser", as if there were a beach bar. We are curious and follow it. We pass through a swing gate and emerge into a beautiful rolling flower meadow with a fenced-off area under tall trees. In the middle we see an old-fashioned water pump, that you can use to pump cold water. Lovely for cooling our hands. We drink a little, and it tastes better than the tapwater here in Spain, that tastes like chlorine. The pumped water should be drinking water quality, but we have enough clean water with us, so to be safe we don't drink too much. There is little as annoying as intestinal discomfort while trekking....
We head back to the trail where the narrow path slowly widens, passes a couple of farms and emerges onto a dirt road. We follow it until we get onto an asphalt road, which we then follow for about 2.5 kilometers to the village of Castilblanco de los Arroyas, the end point of this stage. Fortunately, a narrow path runs alongside the road, and between flowers and trees, past meadows with sheep and horses, it's not a bad walk at all. At 18 kilometers, the stage is quite a short one, so we arrive at the hotel early. A beautiful large building that once must have been very stately, now mostly charming. Our room is tastefully decorated, with high windows and even daylight in the bathroom. A nice place for a late lunch, and then a quick visit to the village. It was another beautiful stage! One that makes you curious about tomorrow's trek.
