Day 10: Cordoba to Cerro Muriano.
It was just before 8am when we set off for another day on the Camino. It was warm enough not requiring leggings but it was a bit overcast. When the sun got higher and it became hotter the light cloud cleared away and it turned into a beautiful day. It was easy making our way through the city after our 'practice run' yesterday, we knew where all the sign boards were to be found high on the walls. From the busy road at the top edge of our street map, Ronda del Marrubial, it was a left turn into Sagunto, that was where we had coffee yesterday, now it was into new territory as we turned left and along Cinco Caballeros. This narrow lane came to a busy double carriageway street, Avenida King Carlos III, where there was a large block of stone with the Camino symbols on it and an arrow pointing to a road continuation opposite. This road turned out to be Avenida de Blas Infante, this was the avenue that Cicerone said the waymarks started again and they did with yellow arrows now showing us the way. Unfortunately our guide book is a bit old and improvements have obviously been made to the Camino, as the route guidance through Cordoba is actually excellent now.
Avenida de Blas Infante was on the far outskirts of Cordoba and as the houses ended we went under a railway line and into the country. It wasn't quite countryside with the now gravel track near a motorway and a 'spaghetti' junction to go under. Soon it was over an old bridge then things quietened down but the tracks alternated between dirt roads and tracks, and with tarred minor roads. Then we went through a small dormitory village which was just being built when our Cicerone was written. The main road through the village was quiet and had a wide pavement but the waymarks kept the Camino away from it using narrow paths and back streets instead. We had experiences along this section similar to the bloggers we follow, finding ourselves walking through piles of rubbish discarded along the sides of the trail.
After we had been walking for 2 hours we stopped at a convenient set of rocks to make a cup of coffee. Shortly after we started again the trail crossed an old Roman bridge that was mentioned in the guide book and came to the start of a local walking route, Canada Real Soriana. The board with the map and details of this route, that coincide with the Camino, said it was 4.5 km long and finished when it met the N432A, the road that went on to Cerro Muriano. This short section was a delight, it was narrow mountain paths that kept climbing up the edge of a ridge. It was through woodland with various types of trees and bushes, not an olive grove in sight. It was tough climbing but the changes in scenery and the lovely mountain path seemed to put a spring into our steps as we moved steadily upwards.
When we reached the N432A we thought it would be on the road until the end but it was only on a track beside the highway for a short distance. Then there were big signs telling everyone that this was the Camino de Santiago and funded by the EU, and these directed us to more climbing over a last hill before our destination came into view. These local tracks and paths were a favourite with mountain bikers and trail runners and we saw a number of them as we made our way. Another happening as we came down the hill into Cerro Muriano, we heard our first cuckoo of the year. It was a change the approach to Carro Muriano, as it wasn't long after first seeing the town that we were walking along the N422A which was the Main Street.
Another thing that was out of date with Cicerone and even the blog was their information on accommodation. The impression was that there wasn't very much here and maybe have to consider catching a bus back to Cordoba for an hotel, but there was an advert on a post coming into town for an albergue and in the town there were at least two hostals. Our hotel, Casa de Colonel, was through the town according to a map supplied on its web site. As we left the town there wasn't anything resembling an hotel so we went back to a shop to ask for directions. We were guided back into town to Bar X who they said owned the hotel. We ended up in a room at this bar as they had our booking form from the Internet.
The room was very nice and we immediately showered after a short but hard day's walk. When we were changed and freshened up we went down to the restaurant for lunch. We had the 'menu del dia' and as usual it was too much. I was full and exhausted afterwards and as soon as we were back in the room I lay on the bed; I slept for over an hour. When I woke up Moira phoned Suzy on Face Time and we saw Hollie crawling about the floor. She is becoming very lively.
The WiFi signal was very good and we were able to get the BBC radio without any interruptions. We listened to it and read until it was time to get to sleep. After such a big lunch we weren't hungry and in the evening we only had a cup of coffee and an apple. It was about 9:30 pm when we got to sleep.
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