Day 1: Granada to Pinos Puente. 18 km.
March 11. 2014.
When I got up I had the camping gas cooker going for a cup of tea and we listened to the news on the radio in bed while we drank it. For breakfast we had muesli with milk Moira bought at a shop last night and a croissant we had brought with us. We were packed up and on our way just after 8am.
The weather was nice as we made our way to the Ponte Genil through the busy rush hour streets. The sky was clear and blue but it was bitter cold, people wrapped up in heavy anoraks and scarfs looked at us in amazement wearing shorts and a light fleece. When we were in Granada last November we had traced the route by the yellow arrows from the Convento de Santiago to the bridge over the Rio Genil. So we missed this part out and headed directly to the Ponte Genil. We found the yellow route sign at the bridge pointing to the road running along the side of the river.
From the Ponte Genil it followed a road beside the river as it made its way through the outskirts of the city. It crossed a busy street then under the motorway to a walking cycling path through a wooded park. We met two women walkers coming towards us and they spoke a little English. They were delighted that we were walking the Camino and told us today's route was very picturesque. The tarred track changed to a wide dirt track, rough in places, that still stuck to the side of the river. Unfortunately a snag arrived, the path was fenced off for some civil engineering work being carried out. We crossed a bridge over the river but there wasn't a path on the other side or any detour signs. We came to a village which we thought was Atarfe, a place we should pass through according to our guide book, but turned out to be Purchil well to the south of where we should be, also the road that our trail was running parallel to wasn't the N432 as on the map in our guide book. We walked along the hard shoulder of this busy road in the direction of Sante Fe which was the closest place on the map to Pinos Puente, our destination. Luckily we came to a bridge over the river our route had been following earlier and there was our track again at the end of the construction works. In the blogs of people who had done this section they said that the normal route was plagued with problems due to the construction of the motorway and a high speed rail line. I assumed that this was a new route designed to miss these obstacles.
The track eventually turned away from the river and into the large village of Pedro Ruiz by a narrow tarred road. I thought at first it was our destination but were informed at the first bar we came to for a drink that we still had a further 5 km to go. Moira remarked that if this route becomes busy this would be the first 'watering hole' you come to from leaving Granada. It could turn into a busy place. The final section was well signposted with yellow arrows and shell markers all the way to Pinos Puente which we could see tantalisingly in front of us. At the bridge where the Camino crosses the river into the town centre, a signpost indicated a Refugio de Peregrinos. This albergue was about 500 metres from this junction and behind large gates marked, Forestal. A large guard dog came menacingly to bark loudly at us then went back to attract Manuel who was in charge. The albergue was a huge barn like structure among other buildings in the large grounds. There was a curtained off dorm section with 8 beds and a separate area for dining with a fridge and microwave. We filled in the register and had our credentials stamped. This was all for a donation, Moira put in E20.
As it was just after 2pm we reckoned that the bars and restaurants would still be serving food so we dumped our bags in the dorm and headed for town. Manuel had supplied us with a map and he marked the route to follow through town to pick up the Camino in the morning. We used the map now to check the roads and streets in preparation for tomorrow. It was over the river by the bridge we had passed on the way up to the albergue, and up Calle Real that was also signposted with yellow way-marks. At the church the route was marked where Manuel had highlighted on the map, turning to the right into Calle Ancha. We carried on up C.Real, as this seemed to be the Main Street we were on, but everything was closed presumably for siesta. We couldn't find a bar or restaurant. We continued to where it joined the N342 hoping there would be something on the main through road. There was; a busy little restaurant with lots of cars outside and the clients were still eating. We went in and had a huge meal from the menu del dia. We both had the same, a big mixed salad, two huge pork chops with lots of chips and mushrooms, finishing with iced cream and cream. There was also a bottle of vino tinto, all for E19.
We walked back along the N342 and found a Mercadona supermarket that was, surprisingly, open. Moira bought bread, milk and some fruit for tomorrow. We cut up through town to the bridge over the river then 'home' to the albergue. We were both tired after the first day's walk and the enormous lunch so we lay down on the beds, I fell asleep while Moira read from the Kindle. Later we showered, the water was piping hot and we both felt livelier afterwards. We didn't feel like eating anything our stomaches were bloated, we shouldn't have had so much for lunch. Instead we lay on the beds reading until it was time to put out the lights and get to sleep. There were dogs barking which disturbed us initially but they soon quietened down and we both slept well.
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