To Arena de San Pedro, Spain

July 13, 2023

Heart

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Our plan this morning was to get the bikes, and be packed up, ready to go after the 8 AM breakfast. The best plans of mice and men . . . . we left at 9:30. It was already warming up. I hoped that wasn't a problem for me later. We did have plenty of ice. I gave the breakfast lady the poor cyclist riding in the heat story - she gave us a giant bag of ice. We left about half behind, which made us feel bad. Later we would like some of that ice! I was hoping to get a banana and an apple to go at breakfast. There wasn't any fresh fruit at all. These Paradores' have a captive audience. We paid 19E each for breakfast at both of the Paradores we stayed at. Convenience is king, but the meal wasn't commiserate to the price, in our opinion. We did get cooked to order eggs. We had a second order again today. The fried eggs came with paprika sprinkled on them, which Jacinto was suspicious of. They tasted fine.

The traffic of yesterday was gone somewhere else today. We enjoyed the typical smooth pavement and light traffic we have had the very large majority of the trip. The last 12 miles was on a no center line road - our favorite!

We passed through many tiny towns. For some reason, all of the towns in this area have very long names, most ending with de la vera. We should have asked the check in lady at our hostal tonight what that means, and why all of the towns end with that.

Most towns were small gatherings of houses, not large enough for a church. In this area, the houses and buildings are completely white, without the gold or blue trim. I'm not sure when that changed. All of the buildings are very white and well cared for. We had quite a bit of trouble finding lodging at appropriate distances along here. In reality, it looks like a tourist area, with plenty of hiking trails and swimming holes. There are many little Casa Rurals for rent. I don't know why those weren't showing up when I was doing my lodging search. Jacinto thought perhaps I was looking too early, before places showed up on booking.com.

The further we climbed, the taller the trees got. We saw orchards now of fig trees, not just wild ones. I saw several fields of corn. French fries are served ALL THE TIME (even at the fancy Paradore). I don't know where they grow potatoes. Not around here, but there has to be an equivalent to Idaho potatoes for Spain. I haven't taken any photos of prickly pear cactus, but they have been a constant the entire trip. I think I saw them today, surrounded by ferns. That seems so odd. Perhaps I was sun addled. I thought to myself I needed a photo of the odd combination, but did not see it again. If I did see them together at all.

If you look at the map, the last 12 miles is very twisty. The road engineers here in Spain build kind roads. There was climbing, but it was of the pleasant variety, not the steep stuff that makes me wish for more gears. I did have a little Smart car sized black car come around a switch back far too fast on my side. I made an abrupt stop and put my foot down. Is my bright orange shirt not visible? That was slightly too exciting.

Jacinto was waiting for me on the downhill to town. He was concerned about getting to the Chinese restaurant before they closed. Let's get going! There's nothing better than finishing the day with a downhill.

As we entered town, we could see the castle. Our lodging was opposite. There was outdoor dining in front of the castle, I had admirers yelling guapa bici at me, and I was ringing my bell back at them - then Jacinto pulls up to the hostal, and I need to cross the road also, and I almost dumped the bike. Then I didn't look so good to my admirers!

Our lodging is contact free - except we need some help with where to put the bicycles. We are on what I would call the fourth floor, if you are counting turns of the stairway. It's a hike. Jacinto bike is in a storage room on the second floor. Mine is tucked in a perfectly sized spot in the entry way. I probably shouldn't admit this - but it's the first time I've locked my bike this trip. All of our other overnight storage places have felt secure. I made a big fuss about buying two cables, and what size should they be, and what type of locks, etc. - then after all of that, here we are almost done with the trip, and I had to dig my lock out of the bottom of the pannier!

We showered quickly, not washing clothes, and hurried off to the Chinese restaurant. We were handed two menus, which made me think I need to tell you that this entire trip, we've gotten one menu per table. It doesn't matter if we were sitting on opposite sides of the table. One menu. It is so nice to get my own menu! I also like my own pillow on the bed. I'm spoiled like that.

Jacinto ordered hot soup, wanting hot and sour, instead he got egg drop. The Chinese food wasn't exactly American style. They didn't have hot mustard, but the food was tasty. We are talking about going back to pick up something we could eat for breakfast. Jacinto thinks noodles and meat will work for him. The best thing about this meal? No french fries!