July 31, 2010:
I Pilgrim walked out of Seville this morning under still dark skies with the moon and a planet on patrol above me. In the cool of a Saturday dawning, I was treated to encouraging cries of “Buen Camino!” called out by more than one mini-skirted, sequin be-glittered, high heeled twenty something beauty, her inebriated boyfriend off (to employ the Grenadian euphemism) shedding a tear somewhere in the bushes of the nearby Parque Maria Luisa. I solved the mystery of the Entrepreneurs “Carlos Y Jose”, ubiquitous in the “Ciudad Central”, as I walked. In recent days, I’ve noted that these Gentlemen park mobile hamburger stands around the city but till the wee hours of this morning, I had never seen one open. It turns out that they are all parked within the audio range of the city’s throbbing-drum-beat disco clubs. I doubt if any of them open before midnight.
Leaving the city, I crossed over the mighty Rio Guadalquivir, bypassing the “Callejon de la Inquisition” on its far side. In the Cathedral yesterday, I saw the casket, hefted high by sculpted pall bearers, which encases the mortal remains of “Admiral” Cristobal Colon, resting there five centuries now.
I’ve reached “Guillena” this afternoon, 23 kilometers down my Pilgrim Road. The road transects already harvested wheat fields and sun flowered landscapes. The very basic “refugio” here boasts a swimming pool—welcome in the late day 38C degree/ 100 Fahrenheit heat. The solar radiation is intense. The Via de la Plata/Silver Road Camino is surprisingly busy. The 10 beds of the refugio will be full tonight. The Pilgrim crowd is half German, including a father, daughter, and son-in-law trio--all Camino Francès veterans.
