Camino de Santiago from Cadiz to Seville

This section of the Way of St James or Camino de Santiago, is also known as the Via Augusta, it is from Cadiz to Seville and is not the best part of Spain or Europe to make a pilgrimage through (although I accept that pleasure is not really the point of being a pilgrim). Too much of it is beside motorways and train-lines through suburbs with car dealerships and furniture stores, and country which various little and which the landowners' security measures made me feel unwelcome. That said the path does link the ancient cities of Seville, Jerez and Cadiz, with their beautiful old centres and historic buildings, as well as the food, wine and flamenco they offer. The other towns and villages the path goes through also have their quiet interest.
I would feel happier with more formal and abundant signposting and maybe a GR designation as elsewhere, this would have made it feel a more official trail. It is in the Andalucian government's interest to adopt the path as it clearly brings welcome business to places along the path, some information at tourist offices would be useful.

To follow this path there is a guide in Spanish on http://www.asociaciongaditanajacobea.org/ and information on http://www.csj.org.uk/planning-your-pilgrimage/routes-to-santiago/routes-in-spain/the-route-from-cadiz-to-sevilla/. The stages described are such that accommodation is available at the end of each stage in the form of hotels or rooms of some sort. I was able to use Booking.com to book my bed for each night, which avoided any language problems over the telephone. This is not camping country.

I used the gpx file from the following site http://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=2406638, but should have read the notes associated with it more carefully (not easy when you are relying on a Google translation). However it was fine except for two sections.

From Seville to Dos Hermanas

Still not sure how I should have crossed the canal and motorway south of Seville without risking life on the side of the main road, maybe I should have been on the east side of the road. Having said that as much of the route is through urban areas it was not too difficult to find my way to Dos Hermanas (which Google insisted on always translating as "two sisters") even if it was not the most aesthetic route. I see that many people now follow the alternative route via Alcalá de Guadaíra instead of through Dos Hermanas.

From Utrera to Las Cabezas de San Juan

Many of the gpx files available on the internet follow a path that is likely to get you into trouble with the local landowner. The route in the following gpx file, which follows the railway line, avoids this and seems to follow the official route http://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=11380202.

28 February to Chiclana de la Frontera

Left the Hotel Catalan and headed through pine trees and the suburbs of Puerto Real to rejoin the Camino de Santiago following its alternative route at the edge of salt marshes beside the railway track. Lots of birds of various sorts, I could only identifying the house martins skimming above the water for flies. I left this trail at the Bario Jarana and headed up the road towards Chiclana. This joined a Via Verde which ran beside the road for several kilometres. Examining one of the signs suggested I could probably have added a few more kilometres on one of these green roads by going through Meadero Reina (translated as the Queen's urinal by Google)!
After a lengthy walk through the built up areas around Chiclana (and a large plate of seafood tortillas for lunch) I reached the Atlantic Ocean again (last time was four weeks ago in Sagres) and a beach front promenade with Sunday couples and families (mainly more elderly) braving the stiff breeze or having a coffee or beer at a sea front cafe.
Staying at the Hotel El Campanerio on the seafront. Ate at a fish restaurant and paid rather a lot for some kind of flat fish, a bit like a flounder, nice ambiance however.

27 February to Puerto Real

Had a great rest day in Jerez visiting the impressive Alcazar, having a massage (she had powerful thumbs) in the Arab baths and listening to flamenco singers in Tabancos late at night while drinking types of sherry I had never heard of among other things. Back on the road, it involved walking alongside another motorway once I was clear of the car dealerships, then a long stretch through El Puerto de Santa Maria and the associated conurbation and strip malls, 28.4 kilometres in all. To be fair the historic centre of El Puerto de Santa Maria looked pretty nice, although a little off my route. The strip development after the town led me into a Burger King for lunch, I normally avoid such international chains as why come all the way to Spain to eat what you can easily eat in Britain.
Best bit was the last 6 km before Puerto Real which was on an official path (or sendero) through a nature conservation area consisting of salt marsh with various birds and pine trees and bushes. At the exit I saw my first official government Camino de Santiago scallop sign on the route. Puerto Real is trying hard with a promenade complete with the usual exercise machines but was curiously empty for a Saturday. The enclosed area of sea in front of the promenade was salt marsh, mud or small boats rather than sandy beach which maybe why people were elsewhere. The Hotel Catalan was a little way out of town, with a serviceable restaurant, which discouraged more exploration.

Salt marsh

Promenade leading to Puerto Real

25 February to Jerez

An unexciting 28.1 kilometre walk, much of it on a dirt track alongside a motorway past huge ploughed fields. Frequent cyclists made me confident that this was a publicly accessible through route, cycling seems a much preferred recreational activity in Spain & Portugal compared with walking. I also passed a man "walking" his greyhounds while riding his motor bike.
After the motorway it was a long walk through the urban sprawl into Jerez de la Frontier. As in other towns I first passed little allotments or market gardens, then factories and the like, then terraced houses, then apartment blocks & huge roundabouts that took forever to walk around, waiting for the green man at each zebra crossing, and finally the historic heart of the city with its narrow cobbled streets. I plan to take tomorrow as a rest day, I have a large blister on my heel and have been getting more tired than I should. Hoping Jerez, home of sherry, has something to offer.

Huge fields beside the route

24 February to El Cuervo

Two things made my walk less than perfect today, firstly, worrying that someone would castigate me for walking across their land, secondly, the Melendo nature reserve was a disappointment. Fear of being accosted was greatest in the early part of the walk along some little used tracks, in one case a short distance along a field boundary with no track and multiple barking dogs from a nearby group of barns (which Google was translating as ships!). I was glad no-one appeared, no doubt the dogs had been left in charge.
Later the route went along a canal and then a well used track which went past the nature reserve. This consisted of a lake or reservoir hidden behind pine trees and firmly fenced off and secured by padlocks, so there was little to see, I had been  naively hoping for some kind of extension of the Doñana National park on the other side of the Guadalquivir river. I was getting a little more confident with where I was going when I could see yellow arrows (as in photo below) which show pilgrims the way to Santiago. Of course they pointed the opposite way to the one I was going and I needed to look behind (on the south side of) road signs and crash barriers to find them.
I reached the small town of Lebrija for lunch, a place with an attractive pedestrianised area in the centre as well as the usual churches and religious foundations. Then it was 10 kms, mainly on well used dirt track to El Cuervo where I am staying at the stylish (inside) Hotel Enfasis, making 30.6 kms in all today.

Yellow arrow marking the Way of St James

23 February to Las Cabezas de San Juan

Stopped by two security patrols today! Day started fine with a walk through old Utrera, leaving town via a dirt road to the south designated for walkers and cyclists. It was misty as I walked through large open fields. The route then did a few sharp turns to bring me to an irrigation canal lined with concrete. This eventually came to a sudden end with the now stagnant water floating plastic bottles and other detritus. The gpx trail I had loaded on my gps then took me under the adjacent railway line, passed a herd of goats (somewhat incongruous in the arable landscape, they seemed to be feeding on road and canal verges) and across an onion field, a road and then some more fields. It was at this point the first security guard stopped me. Although he spoke no English it was clear he realised I was walking along the Camino de Santiago path. He said I could not go this way and sent me back to the road. At the road while I was taking off some clothes (the mist had now cleared and it was getting warm) he drove up in his white pick up and took pity on me. He said the correct route was along the railway line and pointed out how I could get there. Now comparing the gpx trail with the written route from the internet (from Association Gaditana Jacobea Via Augusta) it was apparent that the gpx route was inconsistent with the path described on the internet which indeed went alongside the railway line at this point. After walking alongside the railway line for a few kilometres I was again stopped by a white pick up (a different one). This time one of the two in the pick up spoke English. He realised I was following the Camino de Santiago route but said the road was private and I was not allowed on it. He asked that I pointed this out to however wrote the instructions but he let me walk the short distance onto the next section of track where the owner did not mind walkers such pilgrims. In fact a more detailed look at the instructions from the Internet showed I should have been on the track on the other side of the railway at the point at which I was stopped. Clearly it is important to look at the instructions very carefully.
I was surprised at the high level of security. The land, which was very flat and seemingly fertile, was mainly in the process of being prepared for planting. From the remnants of  last year's crops it looked like they were growing cotton and some maize. The fields were very large. It was difficult to see what risk required so much security, did they fear someone would steal there yet to be planted crops, or were they fearful of fire or immigrants squatting on their land, or was it an emotional issue, an assertion of the owner's rights to his property. It certainly seemed excessive as the track I was following had the railway fence on one side and on the other either a deep ditch or a high gates and fencing topped with barbed wire protecting empty fields, in addition to the security patrols.
I continued along the route described on the internet but when I came to a sign saying "Prohibito el paso" I decided being stopped twice was enough and took a longer route via tarmacked roads. After 35.3 km I was glad to see the town of Las Cabrezas de San Juan centred on a rare hill and was soon settled in an apartment here (Alojamiento Temporal Las Cabezas).

Path beside irrigation canal

Protecting empty fields

Am I allowed to walk here?

22 February to Utrera

The route I am now following in the Cadiz direction is the Way of St James also called the Camino de Santiago, which is intended to be walked in the opposite direction towards Santiago del Compostela, where the relics of St James lie in its cathedral, and a pilgrim route since the Middle ages. I downloaded a gpx track of the route, unfortunately the last 20km to Seville did not display on my gps. I have a description of the route but as it is a Google translation and written for walking in the opposite direction I am finding it of limited use. I asked for information at a tourist information office in Seville but came up blank. So I followed the direct road towards Dos Hermanas, the town in the middle of today's route. Initially all was well as I could follow pavements and cycle paths into the suburbs. Then I reached the twin obstacles of a motorway interchange and a wide drainage canal. The cycle path petered out in an area of new office blocks not on my gps and I had to make a wide detour to the west get back on the road to Dos Hermanos. I made a number of attempts to find quieter routes off the main road but these were of limited success.
After a walk through Dos Hermanos, which has a pleasant centre, I was able to join the gpx trail of the Pilgrim's route. The first part was on a track next to the railway line that was pleasingly straight and quiet apart from the odd train. It passed huge fields farmed on a very large scale.
The next part went along the "Vereda de Dos Hermana". This was a corridor of pines and other natural vegetation which ran between large olive and orange groves. As I sat down to rest at one point a hare hopped by, I  am sure the natural vegetation by the path helps to preserve wildlife in an otherwise highly cultivated landscape.
Rather footsore after a long day I walked to the Pension Hidalgo in Utrera where the owner, once summoned by cell phone, practised his English on me, he was left wondering why a double room has one rather than two beds, why do we call two beds a twin?

The way of St James following a railway line

Vereda de Dos Hermana