Stage Cádiz - Puerto Real

The 27 kilometres between Cádiz and Puerto Real open the Vía Augusta and amount, in good measure, to a lesson in geography: the pilgrim leaves a city wedged onto a tongue of land surrounded by the Atlantic and ends up on the mainland, on the far side of the bay. The change in elevation is negligible, barely seventy-five metres of ascent and eighty-six of descent over the whole day, but the stage is long, very exposed and mostly on tarmac.

The start is made from the old quarter of Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in western Europe, and heads along the isthmus that joins the city to the continent. For the first few kilometres the sea appears on both sides of the path, with the Playa de la Victoria on one flank and the bay on the other. It is an entirely urban stretch, easy underfoot but without a scrap of shade.

The way then enters San Fernando, the old Isla de León, a town of naval tradition that housed the Cortes Generales in 1810 before they moved to Cádiz. On leaving it, the Caño de Sancti Petri is crossed on the Puente Zuazo, the historic passage between the island and the mainland; its origins go back to a Roman aqueduct that supplied Gades with water from the springs of the Sierra del Tempul.

Beyond the channel the route enters the Bahía de Cádiz Natural Park. Here the landscape turns horizontal and saline: salt pans still in production, tidal creeks, channels and marshes that support a remarkable bird population, with flamingos, herons and waders among the most visible. The path passes alongside the La Carraca arsenal and then follows service tracks parallel to the railway, crossing the settlement of Jarana.

Puerto Real closes the day. Founded by the Catholic Monarchs in 1483 as a royal port, it retains an orderly historic centre and a distinctly seafaring atmosphere. It has every service and a good rail connection, which makes it a comfortable end of stage for anyone who has just walked around the bay.