Our Walk Along the Via Augusta

Reflecting on the Via Augusta “It is not what you walk that matters, it is what you leave behind.” Robert Louis Stevenson Walking the Via Augusta Camino from Cádiz to Seville is a pilgrimage into history that ends as another route begins . Following an ancient Roman road through Andalusia’s sun-drenched coast, you pass olive groves, quiet farmland, and whitewashed villages that have stood for centuries. This short but beautiful Camino route in southern Spain allows pilgrims the opportunity to slow their pace, breathe in the scent of the sea, and walk where travellers have journeyed for over two thousand years. En route, some of the trail markings were confusing, a fact exacerbated by our use of poor GPX tracks. Yet, as other pilgrims we met noted, this is part of the charm and challenge of the Via Augusta.  In addition, there is very little dedicated pilgrim support; however, there are still lots of reasonable accommodation options.  Even during Semana Santa celebratio...

“I only walk for the walk’s sake.” Michel de Montaigne, Essays   Reflections on Completing the Via Augusta   Standing outside the Cathedral of Seville at the end of the Via Augusta , we found ourselves wrestling with an unexpected question. We had walked from Cádiz to Seville over nine days, following approximately 190 kilometres of Roman roads, rural tracks, farm lanes, paved highways and occasionally confusing yellow arrows. We had begun beside the Atlantic Ocean and crossed a distinct part of Andalucía during Semana Santa, arriving in one of Spain’s most celebrated cities. By every practical and geographical measure, we had completed the Via Augusta, yet the much larger pilgrimage ahead made it difficult to understand what that completion meant.  We began to wonder, not the first time, when does one Camino end and another Camino begin?   In two days, we intended to leave Seville on the Via de la Plata and continue northward for hundreds of kilometres on pilgrimag...

  “‘Sevilla doesn’t have ambience, it is ambience.’ James Michener End of the Via Augusta After weeks on the Via Augusta, our first full day in Seville was a rare gift of rest before we began the next stage of our Camino pilgrimage along the Via de la Plata . We allowed ourselves the indulgence of sleeping in until 7 AM, savouring the stillness that comes after a long stretch of walking. The night had been cool and quiet, a small mercy in a city that can buzz well into the early hours, and we were grateful for it. By morning, however, the hostel transformed into a busy hive of activity, and it soon became evident that amid the chaos of people eating, getting ready and departing that attempting to have a shower or proper morning meal here was unlikely.  So we stepped outside and let the streets guide us. Seville’s morning cool greeted us.   Pilgrims in the City Arriving in Seville after weeks of walking through quiet countryside was both exhilarating and overwhelming....