Although it had been described as a monotonous leg into Córdoba, we quite enjoyed it—after an initial road section, that is. There was a surprising amount of climbing and descending and in some places the road was very uneven and a bit challenging underfoot. We walked for part of the day with our Polish and Dutch fellow peregrinos which was delightful and provided some variation to what had been a quite solitary route.
The changed landscape which included almond groves and areas being ploughed and planted continued in this stage. The parched grey and rocky soil giving way to more land that looked more fertile. The last section does go on for a while, especially since you’ve seen Córdoba in the distance! But the final entry into the city is actually very easy—a small section of suburbs and then there’s the Tower of Calahorra and the Puente Romano and the Mezquita. What a way to end this leg and take a break.
It was lovely to enter with Elise, who was finishing here and whose husband was flying in to meet her. After the requisite celebratory photos, we hugged goodbye and Nedjo and I opted for a tinto de verano at a riverside bar while we waited to check into our apartment.
Córdoba is one of my favourite cities and we were taking a four day break from camino life to enjoy time with our nephew and his wife who were joining us from Ireland. The spacious apartment seemed like it would make a great home base and we were looking forward to having a kitchen. After much needed showers we found the nearby Día and got provisions for an excellent tuna, chickpea and lemon pasta accompanied by a simple tomato and cucumber salad (from the local frutería around the corner) and flan for dessert. A very delicious home cooked meal! And we got the laundry in—hurray for a washing machine. We were both tired and very happy to know we could fully unpack and settle in as we’d be staying put for a while.
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