Day 8: Seville

September 25, 2004

After enjoying a fine breakfast in the tranquil dining area of the hotel where we were joined by the two long-haired grey house cats, we set off on the longest of the tour, to Seville. Our day began with a struggle as we took the most direct way out of Arcos, climbing over the top of the ridge - up steadily steepening side streets that finally settled into ramped stairways. Over the top at last, we finally dropped out of town and enjoyed about forty miles of peaceful, rolling roads through farming and ranch land that reminded us of the Crete Senese in Tuscany.

Using one of our favorite ploys, we decided to save a bit of distance by taking this short cut through Arcos.

Northwest of Arcos. The first twenty miles are through attractive rolling terrain (which would have been even more attractive if it wasn’t so smoggy). Once we near the river though, it’s a pancake the rest of the way.

This morning brought us the first cool spell of the tour. It was overcast, humid and about 70 so we felt fresh and upbeat at midday. We had visions of arriving in Seville at around two, steaming along through the flat land just ahead at about 15mph. Once we neared the Guadalquivir and the sprawling city though, our pace slowed significantly as rhe winds shifted, the the sun broke through, and we made a series of navigational errors trying to find the quietest route to town.

This really surprised us - we hadn’t known that cotton is grown here.

In all we added about ten miles to the ride through missteps and had to change our plans to include a meal stop. On the advice of a helpful passersby we stopped at a bar in Palomeras and “enjoyed” a meal of shrimp, tomato and tuna salad and what we think was fried cuttlefish. Our route also included an unmarked car ferry over a side channel of the river; two miles of unpaved washboard yellow packed earrh; and a harrowing spell at the end on the highway when we finally entered town.

The ferry at Coria Del Rio. I was surprised to see that this ferry is still operating fifteen years later, and looks like still operates the same craft.

Crossing the Guadalquivir on the Coria Del Rio ferry.

Topping it all off, our booked hotel had no space for our bikes. Fortunately we found another only a block away and succeeded (hopefully) in cancelling our reservation. After regrouping and resting up a bit we enjoyed an initial stroll through the neighborhood and finished the evening with a fine, casual meal at an outdoor cafe in the Santa Cruz barrio.

From the distance & elevation lot in the journal: 70 miles, 1,500’

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For the day: 70 miles, 1,500’; for the tour: 275 miles, 19,230’

Today's ride: 70 miles (113 km)
Total: 227 miles (365 km)

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