 | 29.4 Domingo. Sunday.
Guillena to Castilblanco de los Arroyos.
A short day. We wake to a reluctant alburgue, it is raining again, a collective sigh and a rustling of water proof nylon and we are off like herons leaving a roost.
We leave an excellent welcoming alburgue. Jacqueline runs a fine place, even when full, turning no one away, even the unfortunate muddy late cycliste with no pilgrim passport because the cathedral office in Seville is closed on Saturday for Ferida.
We race along like yellow arrows for 3km to the cafe/bar at the turn off the road onto the dirt road, and stop for breakfast tostados with honey and cafe con letche. The next few km is unpleasant, though with good views back to Seville over the young catus hedge. The fertile soil of the olive groves and corn fields is also the ground for the dirt track, it clings, the rain though now light, has produced a perfect consistency for scones and it sticks to the bottoms of our boots slowing the going. As we rise, yes a hill for the first time this camino, we enter a natural park area of chaparal and with the shallow rocky soil the going gets much better. This is a lovely walk it's good even in the rain, we see a hoopo a flight of herons, and a curious black capped cuckoo like bird, the bird book suggests the great spotted cuckoo, available in this area, frequenting olive groves and scrub and a nest predator on magpies, so this seems a possible new bird for us. However in the main the avian fauna is yrying like us to avoid the rain.
After too short a time we join tarmac again to a crack of thunder and a brisk downpour before reaching Castilblanco. The alburgue is well signed and open the lady cleaning is just finishing and we put sacks on beds and repair to the El Algabeno bar opposite the petrol station in front of the alburgue for an excellent meal of the day. The soup in particular impresses Tim, so much with so little (a light chicken stock with italian pasta noodles and occasional chickpeas but served onto a sprig of mint flavouring the whole perfectly).
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