Day 13: Baena to Castro del Rio, Nov 21

Today was cloudy and there was even a very light rain - the first on this camino - as we headed out. The first half was gentle ups and downs and the second half much flatter, although mainly on asphalt, following the course of the Guadaljoz River.

We had breakfast at a churreria located in a park and noticed that almost all the customers were women as opposed to the usual bar for breakfast where it’s often all men. And sometime where many of the men are already drinking.

Later in the day we saw the by now familiar olive shaking tractor attachments but this time with the nets attached—they swing out like bat wings and encircle the tree. Very clever. And coming into town, there were many olive nurseries with pallets filled with young olive trees. I guess this more fertile, lower area is prime for starting the trees.

From Baena onward, we have better route descriptions as well as accommodation listings and other helpful tips through the Gronze.com website. We managed fine with what we had, but are always appreciative of the more detailed descriptions as a way to gauge the day and how difficult it will be or particular highlights to watch out for.

We didn’t have our lodgings booked ahead of time but found a good place, Hostal A Ka Sole (€45), but on the far edge of town so a bit more of a walk. The owner is also adding a whole albergue part which she was keen to show us—she was just waiting for the furniture to arrive. That will be a welcome addition to the town’s accommodation.

We were somewhat out of sorts with each other during the afternoon. Nedjo would have liked to find something to eat before finding a place to stay and, while I was hungry, I wanted to find a room first. We got the room and a shower but were left without anything to eat until later and in our exploring of the town I got turned around and frustrated that the navigation is falling to me. I’m good on the trail but I’m not always the best at knowing our direction in towns and cities. But Nedjo’s phone wasn’t always consistently showing our location and he also needed his reading glasses on to see it, so that wasn’t always the easiest. But eventually we came up with a plan to have Nedjo take on the navigation tomorrow. And then we headed to the nearby and recommended Bar Córdoba for an excellent and simple meal and everything looks cheerier after some protein (and a generous glass of wine) and all for €17.20!