Guillena to Castilblanco de los Arroyos, 13 miles

I had a good night’s sleep as I had the room all to myself. I actually set my alarm because everyone had to be out of the albergue by 8:00 AM and I was worried I’d oversleep. Unfortunately it doesn’t get light here until after 7:30 AM. Even leaving at eight in the morning it was a little dark and all the cars still had their lights on. 

 
Today was going to be one of the shortest days, but for me it was a bit if a challenge. It was cloudy in the morning and it was suppose to be cooler than yesterday, but it still hit the mid nineties.
In most of Spain they usually don’t start serving diner until after nine. We were lucky last night because the restaurant opened at 7:30 for the pilgrims. For breakfast, the coffee shops usually don’t open until after eight. Fortunately two had just opened as I was leaving. Once outside of town there is no other place to get anything to eat or drink until the next village sixteen miles away. 
I followed the yellow arrows outside of town to a large open field that dropped down to a river. I hesitated for a minute and saw a man gesturing me to follow the path down to the river. There were also arrows pointing in that same direction but it seemed strange. I followed it down and found that I would have to cross a twenty to thirty foot section of the river that looked to be one to two feet deep and totally muddy. My first though was it was just part of the Camino Plata and I considered taking off my shoes and crossing it.
I heard a loud whistle and saw the Frenchman that had stayed at the same albergue last night. He was on the bank and pointed to a different direction, which turned out to be an alternate way to cross, across a bridge! He actually saved me two more times when I passed him and went the wrong way. Both times he whistled to me and pointed out the right direction. I was feeling pretty stupid and decided just to walk with him. 
The yellow arrows are in such strange and o secure places it’s easy to miss them, and having four eyes is better than two.
Once across the bridge, the Camino was actually on the road, with only a narrow 1-2′ shoulder on a fairly busy road. There was no other place to move as cars passed because the bank was steeply sloped. This fortunately was only for about a mile.
The Camino then turn onto a dirt road through olive orchards and then the natural vegetation, which is brush and small oak trees. The road narrowed in places to the width of a footpath. Much of it was rolling hills at first and then some very steep climbs. It also became very rutted and rocky, making it challenging pulling the Wheelie. By then we had been joined by an Australia, Paul, who I had had diner with.
The temperature had hit the high eighties a little after ten and by afternoon it hit 95 degrees. Higher than what we had been told it would be.
I was feeling a little nauseous in the morning and once we started climbing the steep grades I felt even worse. I finally stopped under a shade tree and told my Paul and Mark to keep going. At the end, it turned out I got to the albergue about a hour and fifteen minutes after they got there. 
I was so nauseous that I had to stop every few minutes as I felt I would throw up. From the start early in the morning, until I got to the albergue, I was completely soaked in sweat, with not a dry spot on my clothes. I brought four liters of water and I constantly drank to stay hydrated. 
I finally made it to the outskirts of Castilblanco I found a restaurant and had two iced teas and sat in the shade for quite a while and felt better. By the time I walked to the hostel a few hundred yards away I was drenched again and felt fairly exhausted. I realize now it’s not just being dehydrated but I must have a bug?
The hostel in Castilblanco is the only one in town, so all the pilgrims are here. It is a municipal albergue that is run by volunteers and the cost is whatever you want to donate. Beds and baths are very clean, and the host is very friendly. They offer free laundry service. You just drop your dirty clothes in a basket and someone washes and folds your clothes. 

Other than the two pieces of toast I had this morning, I hadn’t eaten anything. One of the pilgrims cut up some watermelon, cheese, peppers, and two bottles of wine to share with everyone. I had a few chunks of cheese and watermelon that made me feel a bit better.
We walked to a very nice and inexpensive restaurant geared for the pilgrims. A few of the people plan to go, but I wasn’t sure I would be able eat.
Tomorrow much of the route is along the highway for 9 miles and then turning into the national park where it is suppose to be very scenic. However, at the end before entering the next town, there is one of the steepest climbs on the Plata. This is the short stretch where the pilgrim died a few weeks ago.
Hopefully I’ll feel better tomorrow as it is one of the tougher sections with the steep ending.
Best wishes,

Ted

Leaving town on the road with a narrow shoulder 

CVdlP through the forest area 

Yellow Camino directional arrows, plus the Cheer Up, Santiago 937 kilometers (575 miles)

The Camino got rough

And rougher 

And even rougher