Step 13: Tudela – Gallur (36 km)

Accum. height uphill: 91 m. Accum. height downhill: 121 m.

Tudela: Km 0. El Bocal: Km 6.5. Ribaforada: Km 11.2. Cortes: Km 23.1. Mallén: Km 25.7. Gallur: Km 36.

We leave Tudela by the Calle Monasterio de la Oliva, which goes up over the train line, leaving below the Calle Camino Caritat, where the Youth Hostel for pilgrims is located.  Travelers on the Camino de Santiago accompany us in the vicinity of the Hostel.  In these early morning hours we take the route of the Sun, which is rising over the distant Mediterranean.

We cross the train line on the bridge, and just as we come down, we take a road to the right, which curves backward.  It is a cement path which soon becomes a road.  Our route is wide and continues straight ahead, without difficulty.  As we progress, we leave behind farms and small villages.  Staying on the wide road, we reach the highway, which we pass under by way of the bridge over the train line; it takes us the long way around.  Once we have left that bridge, we come to a crossroads, where we take the road to the right, which takes us close to the train lines.  After about one kilometer, there appears a paved roadway.  The train line, always on our right, accompanies us until we come close to the road which enters “El Carrizal” ranch.

Our route continues straight ahead; it is wide and without turnoffs.  A little later, we come upon a highway, which we take to our left.  We then come near an auxiliary canal of the Canal Imperial, which we will follow as we go on.  The highway continues, with the waters of the canal on our left and the train line on our right.  If the conditions of the canal bank allow it, it is much better to walk beside the water.

We reach the bridge called “El Bocal.”  Right after crossing it, we take the road to the right, a wide street that leaves behind us the buildings of “El Bocal.”  We continue walking, following the course of the water, which is always on our right.  If up to this point you haven’t been using a hat, we recommend that you put one on now: there aren’t many trees in this part of the Camino!  And we have 5 kilometers ahead of us.

On our right, we take the first bridge that crosses the canal.  Leaving the canal behind, we enter Ribaforadada.  The same street by which we enter the town leads us directly to the train line, which goes through the center of the town.  When we come to the train line, we turn to our left, without crossing the tracks.  A kindly traveling companion, the “iron road” will take us some 10 kilometers, until we reach Cortes.   Always on our left, it will be our trusty guide.  After about two kilometers, the road turns at a right angle and begins to separate from the rail line.  There can be no mistake, because there is a large factory, and at a distance of about 200 meters a bridge can be seen.  You can continue alongside the tracks until just after the bridge, and the road appears again, still parallel to the train lines.

After another two long kilometers, the road again moves away from the rail line.  This time, we have to let the road takes us almost one kilometer away from the line, until we see a very clear intersection to the right, which takes us back to the same rail line by another, wide roadway.  We keep walking, with the tracks on our right.  Finally, our route angles off away from the train line and takes us further and further away from it, toward the first farms, which indicate we are in the vicinity of the town of Cortes.  Our farm road continues straight until we come to a large traffic circle, right at the entrance of Cortes.  We turn to our right at that traffic circle.

As we enter the town, we follow the main street, which turns slightly to the right, until we reach a narrow street appearing on our left and leading us to a castle and the church of St. John Baptist.  We keep traveling along the same street, until it turns into another street toward the right, and we follow that.  We should stay on this street, passing the Casa de Cultura and a supermarket or two, and keep walking toward the train station.  When we reach the tracks, the road goes under them, and so do we.

We stay on our road as it turns slightly to the right.  We follow a long, straight stretch of paved highway, which leads us to a traffic circle allowing us to pass under highway N-232.  We keep going straight, crossing a second traffic circle without turning to either side.  At this point we will be entering into Mallén.

When we reach a triangular plaza with a garden, we turn left and walk alongside the plaza.  This street brings us to the plaza of the church of Our Lady of the Angels.  We take Avenida Zaragoza for about 250 meters, until it crosses highway N-232.  After crossing the highway, we take the road which begins just to the left of a small country house with a grille on the door.   We continue on this road for two long kilometers, passing several mills on our right, until we come to a wider road, which we take to the right.  About a kilometer further on, we cross over the train tracks on a bridge with a paved roadway.  After another kilometer we reach the canal, whose right bank we follow until reaching Gallur.

We will know that we are about to reach Gallur when we meet up with a bridge.  After crossing it, we will take a paved highway that goes up a hill.  After climbing the first part of the hill, the town becomes visible.  At its crown we will discern the tower of the church of Saint Peter, which is where we want to go.