Etapa 3 — Moclín to Alcalá la Real

Today's stage started in the dark as usual, a little before 7:00. Although the town is well lit by street lights all night, I was a bit worried about being able to see in the countryside before the sun came up, so I used a GPX tracking app. It's a good thing I did, because I mistakenly walked right past the first turn off of the road just outside of town and the app showed me my mistake. The camino route was on a gravel track that went steeply downhill, so it was slow going at first, but there was just enough light to stay on the path, since it was bordered on both sides by olive groves. By the end of that descent, there was just enough pre-dawn light to see some really terrific views. 

It only really feels like sunup at about 7:50, and the sun doesn't rise above the mountains till about 8:20. So, at 8:25 it was time to stop and don short pants, sunglasses, and sun hat before the first big climb of the day.

The town that's about halfway between Moclín and Alcalá la Real is called Ermita Nueva, and as the name implies, it's atop a mountain, so there were two tough uphill stretches to accomplish in order to get there, which was about 10:30. From a mirador there, one could actually see the fortaleza of Alcalá la Real in the distance, while realizing that it's still a long ways away.

Since it was Saturday,  the two cafés in Ermita Nueva were both closed in the morning, so there was no coffee stop to be had, just a brief foot-resting stop on a public bench. Some light clouds had by then appeared in the southeast, so the brightness of the sun was muted and the temperature remained cool for an hour or so more.

After another descent, it was a long, pretty level path through olive groves and past farms, sometimes shaded but mostly not. After passing under a highway, it was time for the final big ascent of the day, to reach a summit just before entering Alcalá la Real. (I guess the towns in this region were almost all built on mountaintops in order to serve as military strongholds.

Alcalá la Real is a pretty modern city. During most people's siesta time, we went out to buy some groceries at the Día supermarket, did some laundry, and rested up a little before going out for for an evening stroll. 

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