Photo: Somewhere outside Alcala la Real, Mark’s iPhone, January 2024
When Mark first pitched the idea of him heading off on a short solo Camino at the beginning of the year I felt more than a little envious. My job and home commitments at the time meant it wasn’t possible for me to head off at the spur of the moment, but Mark could, and I really couldn’t begrudge him the opportunity to spend some time walking and reflecting.
So we plunged into looking for a section of Camino that could be walked in two to three days, provided a bit of warm sunshine and matched up with some relatively cheap flights.
As it turned out, the section of the Camino de Santiago that we picked, on the Camino Mozarabe running up from Granada to Alcala la Real, was in fact stunningly beautiful. At least as gorgeous as Galicia if not, to be honest, maybe even more so.
From a cold, drizzly UK, Mark took me along with him in his pocket and showed me the sights and smells of this, rather unheard of, Camino.
Suffice it to say, we will be heading back there together to walk the rest of this incredible journey.
Photo: Camino Mozarabe, Mark’s iPhone, January 2024
What and where is the Camino Mozarabe?
In case you’re not familiar, the Camino Mozarabe de Santiago is actually a series of routes running from Southern Spain up to Santiago. These routes take in some of the most beautiful scenery of central and Southern Spain and then meet up with some of the more traditional Camino routes in the north.
Many of the pathways are historic and in walking them you are tracing the footsteps of hundreds of years’ of Mozarabic travellers. The medieval pilgrims who lived in the old Muslim territory of Al-Andalus would take these routes north up to Cordoba where they would pick up their letter of safe passage before reaching the object of their journey, St James’ shrine at the Cathedral at Santiago de Compostela.
The official beginning of the Camino Mozarabe is in Almeria - but for the purposes of this journey, Mark flew into Malaga, travelled up to Granada on the train and then set out for two days of walking from Granada to Alcala la Real in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. If he’d carried on for a few more days he’d have arrived in Cordoba, and then a week or two later in Merida, where the Mozarabe meets up with the beautiful Via de la Plata which starts in Seville. This is surely a winter or shoulder season route, as in the Summer the baking heat of central Spain would make this very difficult indeed.
Image: The lesser known Camino routes, Stingy Nomads website
In case you’re wondering about how the transport worked out, Mark was able to catch a bus from Alcala la Real to Cordoba, from where he jumped on a train to Seville and flew back to the UK, somewhat reluctantly, from there.
Thankfully, Mark filmed his journey for our YouTube channel and I’ve finally finished the edits this week. You can watch the full twenty-minute vlog covering his two days on Camino here.
But first, we asked our community over on Instagram what they’d like to ask Mark about his journey on the Camino Mozarabe.
Photo: Camino Mozarabe, Mark’s iPhone, January 2024
What inspired you to choose the Camino Mozarabe and how did it differ from other Camino routes you've walked?
As I only had a few days available and the weather in the South of Spain was good, I chose to walk part of the Mozarabe. It was also recommended to me by another pilgrim who had walked it and made reference to how beautiful the area was, and they were right! The Camino Mozarabe was pretty much the same in regards to the terrain, but the landscape differed vastly as the area that I walked was the olive region and I was surrounded by olive trees throughout. There were also no obvious albergues on route so booking rooms was done in advance on a hotel booking portal.
Can you share a memorable encounter or experience you had along the way?
The quiet. It was so quiet on this Camino, I did not see another pilgrim and for the time that I had walking it I was actually grateful for this. From a scenery perspective, my breath was taken away on the second day of walking when leaving the small town of Moclin, I’m in hope that the camera caught the beauty that I saw that morning.
How did the landscape and surroundings influence your journey, particularly compared to other routes you've walked?
The first day was over 35km, so it was a long walking day by my standards and the last 2.7km was literally a steep incline all the way into Moclin which drove me to walk at a decent pace to get to this section before it got too late in the day. Saying that, once I was outside of Granada and started walking through the olive groves I often stopped and just looked around and most importantly behind me as the Sierra Nevada was often in view.
The second day was more relaxed as it was a shorter day and I had acclimatised to the weather and surroundings. I think that walking on your own allows you to be a little more aware of what you personally want out of the Camino. I loved walking with the family and I can’t wait to do it again very soon, however, being on my own forced me to be more inward facing and appreciate the experience on a more personal level.
Did you face any unexpected challenges or surprises during your two days on the Camino Mozarabe?
Luckily no, the Camino Mozarabe was amazing and gave me everything that I expected and more... I will be back with the family!
What personal insights or reflections did you gain from your Camino experience, and how has it impacted you since returning home?
To slow down and take life as it comes. Since completing our previous Camino, we have somehow been sucked back into the daily grind of life and this short Camino has reminded me to 'just take a step back and put things into perspective!' Till the next Camino - Buen Camino! 👣
Photo: Camino Mozarabe, Mark’s iPhone, January 2024
Where to stay
The Camino Mozarabe is a lesser known journey and therefore it’s not as easy to find accommodation along the route. We booked all of Mark’s accommodation in advance and so here is where he stayed during his journey (none of these are affiliate links but they were all perfectly adequate places to stay).
Malaga: M Pods Malaga
Granada: Itinere Rooms, Granada
Moclin: Casa la Cabra, Moclin
Alcala la Real: Hotel Zacatin, Alcala la Real
What’s next?
By the time you read this, we will be back in our happy place, walking another stretch of Camino, this time the Camino del Norte from San Sebastian to Bilbao. Final preparations are taking place and we can’t wait to walk a section of this route that we’ve heard is one of the most beautiful (but tough!).
We’ll be sharing daily notes here on Substack while we’re on Camino so look out for those as well as some longer form pieces about our experiences on the Norte once we get back!
We’re also in the planning stages of another Camino de Santiago later this year, so stick around for more on that!
In the meantime, buen camino! 👣
Thanks for sharing your stories and photos from this brief but beautiful trip! I'm trying to imagine what it would be like to have the Camino so close to home. Coming from New Mexico in the US, it takes 13 hours of flight time, including one layover, to get to Madrid.
I hope you are having a marvelous time on the Camino del Norte!
Fascinating! I'm looking forward to exploring everything you mentioned and watching the video!