Sax to Villena, Jan 21, 15 km

The next stage of this Camino is from Sax to Caudete, another 30 km.  After beating ourselves up on the previous stage, we decided to divide this one into two shorter stages and buy ourselves a couple of rest days.  So today was a very easy 15 km from Sax to the city of Villena.

The cloudy and very windy conditions of yesterday gave way to clear skies and very light winds.  It was still cool (in the 30s when we set out late morning), but by afternoon the temps were low 50s: perfect walking weather.  As we walked out of Sax we had views of the Moorish castle which looms over the town.



After about 5 km of mixed pavement and dirt road we passed through the deserted village of Santa Eulalia.  It was founded in the late 1800s as an agricultural cooperative, with small factories, surrounding farmlands, and housing for the workers.  All that remains today are the shells of some buildings.







This part of Spain is more industrial, and less agricultural, than the north with which we are more familiar.  There, it seemed that every acre without buildings was either a cultivated crop or forest land.  Here in the south, we are seeing a fair bit of empty land.  The crops we see are predominately olive groves, fruit trees, and vineyards.

From Santa Eulalia it was an easy 10 km to Villena.  As is common in Spain, we passed the ruins of many former farm houses and buildings.



With a short day today, we arrived in Villena early in the afternoon.  Found a nice hotel, and a great meal at a nearby bar/restaurant.  First course was spaghetti carbonara for Ellen, paella for me; second was grilled chicken for her and an outstanding grilled calamari in garlic for me.  We didn't quite finish the very tasty bottle of local red wine that came with the meal.