Via de la Plata August 2017

Which Way is Your Way The Via De La Plata has many names. The Roman Way, the Silver Way, The Moorish or Arabic Way but I'm most inclined to The African Way, seeing as though this is the route that pilgrims from Africa would have followed to visit the remains of the Apostle St James in Santiago de Compostela. Like Africa, the Via de la Plata is not for sissies! Many warnings were extolled but once I've made up my mind I'm not easily swayed, so I decided to press on, hot Southern Spain in August be damned! Given my absolute dearth of training I planned stage 1 to be a short, "easy" one from Seville to Santiponce and then on to Guillena. Yellow Arrow Junky Starting out there were countless reports of how hard it is to find "the way" out of Seville, but having done the Camino Portugues 2 years ago, I was used to finding yellow arrows in obscure places (the back of traffic light poles, on concrete blocks, gas meter covers etc) and one quickly becomes a yellow arrow junky! It was only when I thought to myself "Wow, I haven't got lost once" that good old Murphy did his thing, and I was a teensy bit lost. But quickly recalibrated! So, yes, leaving Seville isn't the prettiest of routes but I think it's quite therapeutic, it's akin to going through the tough times in your life and the not so great memories and leaving it behind. Onward to better places, better times. Yes please! Santiponce the Sandal Killer I arrived, I waited for my luggage, I slept. Siesta Spain for a reason! Once it was 5pm and surely cooler, I hit the streets to explore the ancient roman ruins. My sandals melted, as did I. Picture me hopping from shady tree to shady tree. I found the winding path to the viewpoint of the ancient ruins and couldn't see much, due to an archeological cordon. Super exciting. Floodlights and all. I then found the closest bar. The end. Of Day 1.....of course... Disclaimer: Any selfies are purely for Alicia. Her comment was "You actually need to be in some of the pictures!!", duly noted Leesh! I'll do my best!

Does this count as a selfie?

There are no words that can describe this tower in Seville.

This is the best allergy key I've ever seen on a menu!