Stage Puerto Real - Jerez de la Frontera

The second day of the Vía Augusta leaves the Bay of Cádiz behind and moves into the Jerez countryside. It is a little over twenty-four kilometres of easy profile, with a very gradual climb in the second half that is barely noticeable underfoot. The stage combines three quite distinct landscapes, pine wood, marsh and vineyard, and ends in one of the most characterful cities in Andalusia.

Leaving Puerto Real, the path crosses the La Algaida pine wood, a stand of stone pine that provides the only continuous shade of the whole day. It then crosses the Río San Pedro and enters Los Toruños, a spit of marsh and dunes between the Guadalete and the sea, rich in birdlife and with open views across the bay.

Past Valdelagrana, the route reaches El Puerto de Santa María, at the mouth of the Guadalete. This is a city with a long seafaring and wine-making past, tied to the voyages to the Americas, known for its noble houses, the Castillo de San Marcos and its bodegas of fino wine. It is worth a stop even though it falls halfway through the stage.

From here the path turns its back on the sea. The route climbs gently inland and the landscape is transformed: the first vines appear on albariza, the white chalky soil that gives the wines of the Marco de Jerez their character, dotted with farmsteads and the long low silhouettes of the bodegas.

Jerez de la Frontera closes the stage. Capital of sherry and of the equestrian arts, it preserves a notable monumental ensemble, with the Almohad Alcázar, the Cathedral and the Santiago quarter, cradle of an essential part of flamenco. It offers every service and is, moreover, where many pilgrims join the Vía Augusta.