This is a stage that can be covered over two days. However, for descriptive purposes, there is no point dividing it because the landscape and terrain we will pedal over is completely uniform. We will make changes of direction, making out a large "M" on the map, in order to take in and enjoy the towns of historical interest to be found in the Campiña (open farmland), while the Alcores ridges will be the only high ground we can use as a reference.
Beginning the Route from Seville, we head for the lands bordering the Guadaira river, a tributary of the great Guadalquivir, which we cross at Alcala de Guadaira in the foothills of the Alcores region. We skirt around the East face of the Alcores, to then go up to Carmona and from there we enter the vast Campiña of Seville, irrigated in this area by the tributary streams of the Corbones river, and we finish in Marchena.
This stage crosses the fertile Sevillian Campiña. From Marchena, following the route of a disused railway line, we ford the Corbones river, and then go uphill to Fuentes de Andalucía. Once we have crossed the Madre de Fuentes stream, we enter a sea of undulating low ridges, covered with olive groves and dotted with farmhouses, which, having crossed the Ecija gully, irrigated by the Genil River, will lead us near to the Torre (tower) de Gallape and the Lagunas (lakes) of La Lentejuela ending up in Osuna, now in the foothills of the Sierra (mountain range).
We depart from Seville and seek a dirt trail that begins near the Hacienda (country estate) de Quintos, thus leaving behind the watchful gaze of the city founded by Hercules to enter an undulating sea of sunflowers, dotted with regular formations of olive groves in the distance. Soon, the Guadaira River will accompany us, and we will be able to see the flour mills along its banks, which once supplied the kingdom with its renowned bread. The river also pays its dues to the fortress which stands at the top of the hill, their destinies forever intertwined to give the city its name: Alcala de Guadaira.
We continue easily across gentle hillocks, allowing us to enjoy surprising encounters with the past, such as the Torreon (tower) de Gandul, and the views of the Alcores foothills. In whose highest and most easterly extremes, one of Roman Baetica's principal routes of communication was built: The Augustine Way. Here we find Carmona, which we access through its Alcazar de la Puerta de Sevilla.
Enjoying a delightful descent, we take the old Royal Path from Carmona to Marchena. Crossing various streams, we will be accompanied by wheat fields and olive groves, cared for by the owners of the abundant estates and smaller farms which dot the route until we arrive, crossing the Vega de las Albaidas, at the city refreshed by the Corbones River that Claudio Marcelo established between two hills: Marchena.
Once again we make a sharp change of direction, now heading north-east, following the route of an old railway line until we arrive at Fuentes de Andalucía on a track dotted with more varied vegetation, such as cotton or sugar cane plantations. From here we travel between cereal crops and sunflowers, with the occasional olive grove adding colour to a wide valley of gentle hill rocks.
We ford various streams which relieve the aridness of the land, an aridness softened by the green of the vegetable gardens that are to be found alongside the many farmhouses of the area. Some of these farmhouses are more grandiose and others more modest, but all offer a welcome respite to the traveller who needs to recover his strength in the shade of a large orange tree. Of these, The Finca (farmhouse) or Lagar de San Pablo and its stud farm stand out. Observing its magnificent specimens, Homer's words concerning the speed and the agility of horses born to the mares of Western Iberia spring to mind. These are horses that represent the pride of Andalusian breeders and that would, on many occasions, save the likes of the Siete Niños (FAMOUS BANDITS) of Ecija, a city through which one should not pass without at least seeing the magnificent geometrical mosaics of the ancient Colonia Augusta Firma Astigi, presumably the antecedents of the incomparable decorations of the Nazrid Kingdom in their use of arithmetic and algebra in design.
Without leaving behind the somewhat monotonous and at the same time grandiose extent of this landscape, little by little we begin to climb between new and old olive groves and between more haughty land formations such as those on which we find our final destination on this stage: Osuna. At her feet, the lakes of La Ballestera and Calderón Chica can be seen, where the flamingos and anatid ducks revel in the warm skies.
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