Another pleasant day of sauntering, with the route following the Guadaira river for about 12km before following a multi-use trail that led to the University of Pablo de Olavide. When I finish writing this post I intend to look him up on Wikipedia!
Today’s route was also challenging as the GPX route published by the Camino association heads in a completely different direction at the 12km mark. We decided to follow the arrows, but there were numerous occasions where we needed to speculate which way we were supposed to be going. And after the university, following a somewhat dilapidated bike path (presumably built when the University was created out in the suburbs) we questioned whether we’d make it to the Cathedral. One pedestrian bridge over the motorway probably should be red-stickered, and then a long boulevard through less prosperous neighbourhoods was not the Seville of tourist brochures or Instagram posts (unless it’s a story on garbage or dog do-do.)
We did eventually reach the city of the glossy travel supplements, teeming with people, bikes, scooters, and horse & carriage operators. Many were dressed in their Sunday finery, and a couple of smelly, dusty peregrinos with walking poles were very out of place. Once we’d taken the obligatory selfie in front of the Cathedral, we weaved our way through the labyrinth of the old city towards our lodging. Along the way we found a small plaza, frequented by locals with ice cold beer and good tapas.
We are staying in one of the apartments in the Corral del Conde, a 16th century building that belonged to the Count Duke of Olivares, located in the heart of Seville. It was declared an artistic historical monument of national character 1980. It has an old neighborhood courtyard with a communal laundry area (now a garden as all the apartments have washing machines!) and previously had its own chapel (now even more apartments).
We’ve covered 296.7km in 14 days of walking from Algeciras to Seville, but it’s not a Camino I’d recommend. Only about half the days were pleasant in terms of terrain, scenery and day time amenities (stopping for a mid-morning coffee is part of the ritual to us). The other days felt like we were just trudging to the next town – although most towns, even the ones in the sticks of the agricultural lands – had lots of character (and characters!) We’ve confirmed our theory that the best bars and cafes are “the geezer” bars – where the local old geezers spend their daylight hours, we’ve also determined that you should never eat anywhere where the menu has pictures, and it’s the first Camino where Susan has had no blisters. It’s the ultimate hack for someone prone to blisters even walking the dog!
And most importantly, on these obscure caminos where you meet no other peregrinos and therefore don’t benefit from the camaraderie and shared experience of strangers, you must pick your walking buddy carefully. Thank you Susan for being my Camino buddy on yet another of my indulgences😁
Additional info….. the bio on Pablo de Olavide is very interesting. He had quite an interesting life!
2saunter 
Hi Andrew and Susan, I’m glad you reached your goal. Enjoy the rest in Seville. You’ve earned it. Cheers Jamie
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