Camino Mozarabe, Stage 9 - Santa Cruz to Cordoba - 27 km hike with 464 m of ascent

We were looking forward to the last day of our current trip, and walking 16 miles/26km to Cordoba. We ate breakfast at La Bartola restaurant, before going to the bakery and shop, knowing that there was nowhere to buy food along the way. It had been raining overnight, and was forecast to be a drizzly day. We left at 8.30am following signs up the road, passing a garlic factory. After 4 miles/6.5km, (10am 138m ascent), we turned left down a sandy track, with signs saying to Cordoba 18.7km and back to Santa Cruz 5.5km. A mile further on apparently there is a Roman Bridge, hidden in a reed bed. The reeds were far too overgrown for us to find it though, even though we tried to look!! At 11.30am, (8miles) we came to a brand-new picnic area, later there is an information board about Caesar and his army. We followed the obvious track, and ate our picnic lunch with a great view of the city of Cordoba in the foothills of the Sierra Morena. We arrived at the junction of road CP272, (14.5 miles, 444m ascent, 6 hours), and wandered along the roads through Cordoba, coming to a sign saying 998km to Cordoba-exciting. We were very excited to be crossing the Roman Bridge over the River Guadalquivir into Cordoba, arriving at the massive walls of the Mezquita.
We had had a lovely day in the very interesting company of our new friend Simon from Germany. We were happy to arrive at Hotel Maestre, just as the rain started to fall, the day having kept dry. The hotel was very good value for money, with a very helpful receptionist too.
Distance 17 miles (27 km)
Duration of Walk 7 Hours 10 minutes including breaks
Elevation Gained 1555 feet (464 m)
Average pace 25 minutes per mile
Information/Advice
In total we had walked 113 miles/181 km from Antequera to Cordoba, with 10,000 feet/ 3,048m ascent over 6 days. We are hoping to return to Cordoba another time and continue the Camino Mozarabe for 140 miles/230km to Merida, where it joins the Via de la Plata, before continuing to Santiago.
This is a fantastic walk with fabulous views. Take plenty of food and water, as on many days there was nowhere to buy anything. We struggled to find food, and were lucky to get coffee, and toast with tomatoes for breakfast and lunch. We lost count of the number of bars that were not serving food. Many shops were closed as it was 3 Kings Day then a Sunday.
The weather can be changeable. For us, it was unseasonably cold, especially in the evenings when trying to find food. I would definitely take warm hats, gloves, buff, and an umbrella. We did have a couple of very warm afternoons, so take sunhats and suntan lotion too. The weather apart from the hailstorm was beautiful, with perfect blue skies. It was January in southern Spain, maybe the weather was unseasonably cold, with frosts in the morning, but bright sunshine during the day-temperatures up to around 15degrees.
A very small knapsack would have been useful in the evening and during our free day in Cordoba.
We forgot our camino credentials, so we could not collect any stamps. there was nowhere to buy the credential either. A very elementary mistake.
We had booked most of the accommodation in advance on Bookings.com as usual. Our new friend Simon however, was phoning hostels on arrival in a town-he is fluent in Spanish. He was successful everywhere except in Espejo, where he phoned 3 numbers with no-one answering, so he had no choice but to continue for a further 3 hours to Santa Cruz. He showed his credentials where he stayed and got a reduced pilgrim price. As it was very quiet and January, we preferred to have everything booked.
The walk was amazingly quiet, we met only one other walker, even after the 2 Caminos had merged in Baena. In most of the accommodation we were the only people staying. Even the countryside seemed deserted, with only a few people out picking olives. Obviously, January is not a popular time for this Camino.
Useful websites santiagoways.c... speedqueeninve... Laundrette in Cordoba
Cordoba
The following day, we visited Cordoba. It is a beautiful city, and well-worth spending some time here before heading off. A good tip we received was you can visit the Mezquita/Cathedral between 8.30am and 9.30am for free, instead of paying €13.00-which we did.
We went on a "free" walking tour, booked online with Sandeman’s. It started by the Roman Bridge, visiting the old Jewish area, courtyard/patios which are free to enter, we learnt so much about the history of the city.
We visited the Tower de la Calahorra-overlooking the Roman Bridge, the free
Archaeological Museum, Roman temple ruins, and the lovely big Plaza de la Corredera-not to be missed. The Alcazar is very interesting-we have visited it previously.
We went online and booked the fast frequent train back to Malaga, alternatively the bus can be caught.
Happy hiking and great travels.

[@ervinslens]

Such a beautiful episode my friend! Amazing scenery!