Day 6: Baena to Castro del Rio. 20km.
We are getting into a regular routine now; up at 6am make the tea, relax and read for an hour, breakfast, pack and out at 8am. It was another fine day and it got hot very quickly, we had only been walking for 45 minutes when we stopped and got out of our leggings and fleeces. It was really glorious, the sky was bright blue and not a breath of wind.
The waymarking was a complete contrast to yesterday, there were more than enough arrows and the direction to take at all junctions was properly indicated. It was a straight road out of town and once we went under the N432 it was onto a gravel track through more and more olive groves. This track ran in the same direction as the highway but it was some distance away. The route was an undulating but the rises and falls weren't too steep and we made excellent time. Eventually we met a minor road which we followed to a bridge over the Rio Guadajoz. This was the same river that we crossed yesterday morning but now there was much less water in it. This was a new bridge, the old one was still beside it unused and we took advantage of a wall on it to sit and have our morning coffee.
When we started off again it was on a very minor tarred road all the way to Castro del Rio, just 10 km away. It ran beside the river which was now in places no more than a large puddle of water. Along side the river there were various kinds of trees and shrubs making a change from olives. This road had very little traffic and was a favourite venue for joggers and cyclists. We continued the fast pace of earlier and would have reached our destination by 12:30 pm if we hadn't stopped to talk to a couple from Belgium going the other way, from Cordoba to Granada. They had spent last night in Castro del Rio and told us about the albergue there. It was next to the church high on the hill and the key was obtained from the police station nearby. It was a donation and the only thing wrong they said was that the water in the shower was cold.
The final section was the normal for a Camino, you can see the town but it doesn't seem to get any nearer. But eventually we were there and it was now the problem of finding the albergue. The church had a big steeple and was on a hill so we made for that. We asked people for directions to the albergue but they pointed away from the church; finally we realised they were directing us to the police station. The policeman,when we got there, was very helpful and friendly; he gave me the key to the albergue, stamped our cards, photocopied our passports and marked the location of the hostel on a street map. We headed back to the church and soon found the door that the key fitted. It was a large house with two small dorms upstairs with a total of 6 double bunks. Nobody else was there we had it all to ourselves. I was going to have a cold shower to freshen up but found that there was actually plenty of boiling hot water. After we had both showered and changed we made our way into the town to find a restaurant.
In the town square there were lots of tables and chairs set out and lots of people dining. The chairs etc were of different colours and grouped together, different bars around the square looked after each section. We sat down at the first group of tables and ordered one plate each from the al a carte menu, we didn't know what we were getting. We had a glass of wine right away and that came with some tapas, Mexican tortilla. We shared the two plates, one was a fish dish and the other fried pork. When we ordered another round of drinks they came with more tapas, this time grilled ham and cheese on bread.. It was a good meal and not too much but again we both felt tired after our walk together with a larger mid-day meal than we are used to.
We had a walk around the perimeter of the old town. The church was closed but the outside was impressive with a tall square bell tower and a stork's nest on top; the stork hasn't arrived yet from sunnier climes. This was another fortress town but there isn't much left of the castle, just two large square towers and one wall which were all crumbling. We headed round the narrow streets and lanes until we had completed a full circle and were back at the albergue. I had a lie down and slept for half a hour then worked on the crossword in yesterday's newspaper which Moira downloaded last night.
For 'dinner' we had an apple and a cup of coffee brewed on the Gaz stove. The lighting was much better in the albergue, strip lighting not the modern energy efficient bulbs, so we were able to until much later before getting to sleep. The church bells chimed the hours and was a bit disturbing but we managed a good night's sleep anyway.
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