Stage: Santa Eulalia - Teruel

The old Santa Eulalia station, located on the A-1511 road towards Pozondón, marks the starting point of this stage of the Santander-Mediterranean Nature Trail as we set off for Teruel.

The route begins by crossing a steppe with a number of cultivated fields, traversed by rural roads, small gullies, streams and seasonal streams. We pass near some isolated farmhouses until it we reach a village known as Las Granjas, next to an irrigation channel that waters the cornfields and poplar groves of Cella. Immediately, the trail crosses an asphalt cattle road and a long section shared with light vehicle traffic begins.

Those who would like to visit the town of Cella can take a two-kilometre detour. Perched atop a hill and visible from the trail, it offers impressive panoramic views. Those who do will have no regrets, with the chance of losing oneself in the narrow medieval streets or the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, following in the footsteps of the famed medieval knight El Cid. The source of the River Jiloca is also nearby, at a large artesian well in the town. This well is one of the largest of its kind in Europe and was built in the 12th century by the Templars.

Returning to our route, the Santander-Mediterranean Nature Trail continues through repopulated poplar groves that show where the natural course of the river, now almost dry, used to go. This section still preserves the remains of some bridges that used to serve the old agricultural roads over the Ojos Negros mining railway line, today the Ojos Negros Greenway Nature Trail with which we share a route on this stage. At the end of an irrigated section, there is a level crossing as the trail enters Cella by a roundabout, before passing an old barn that still stands alongside an industrial fence.

Cella station, complete with a picnic area, offers the chance to take a break to recharge before the route continues in the direction of Caudé over dry land, approaching the A-23, known as the Mudéjar motorway, and the slopes of the valley. Finally, we cross under the N-234 and then over the railway track via a metal overpass that offers excellent views.

The small parish of Caudé sits alongside the route and from the station you can make a brief stop in the village to fill your water bottle from the drinking fountain beside the church. There are some indications that we are approaching the end of our adventure a flat stretch that will lead the traveller to cross the A-23 motorway in the direction of Concud, gently descending towards the fertile plain of the Alfambra River. It continues through the Cerrillo de Casa Roya to the station of Teruel, located five kilometres away from the capital of Teruel, and the end of this Santa Eulalia-Teruel stage of the Santander-Mediterranean Nature Trail. It is well worth walking the distance between the old station and the city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its spectacular Mudejar architecture.