Montsánchez to Alange

April 11, 2024

What a beautiful day! It was still cool enough in the morning that I could wear a few layers, especially for the big downhill that started the day but by the end of the ride it was hot! First we finished off the packaged pastries we bought yesterday and hoped to find a bar for more breakfast en route.

The entrance to our apartment in Montsánchez - we could roll our bikes in to the spacious downstairs living room.

The downhill was much too steep for me to enjoy, I just clutched my brakes and didn't look around until the gradient eased off. But I did stop a few times to admire the views and get some pictures.

We had a great route today, if a bit long for us. Our road was quiet as most of it ran parallel to the faster autovía, A-66, which most motorists preferred. We made a mental note that these perfectly paved secondary roads running parallel to the autovía are ideal for cyclists.

We are on one of the caminos leading to Santiago. Here it said Camino de Guadalupe which I think it is part of the Camino de Plata.

We are often greeted with "buen camino" although we are going in the wrong direction.

At a Repsol gas station we found a bar for a snack and beverage, kind of an early lunch, or was it a tapa. The Spanish eating times are still confusing me. Whatever it was, the little plate of meat and gravy with fries and then a fresh pastry satisfied us.

The fields of flowers were breathtaking and storks, storks everywhere that would support a nest it seemed.

I can't stop often enough to admire the profusion of flowers.

I will never forget springtime in Extramadura.

Flocks of sheep, not as frequent as on the first days of our tour

We hardly saw any cars on this lovely road.

Our route took us through Mérida, fortunately not through the heart of the city with too many cars. On the outskirts we had to remind each other to be careful, we are in real traffic, but soon our route took us through a park along the Río Guadiana. This was a preview of Mérida since we will be coming back in less that a week to meet up with Rachael and Scott and Susan. Janos and I also visited Mérida several years ago when we were traveling in a camper. But there's nothing like seeing something when cycling. Impressive, amazing, overwhelming, breath taking, jaw dropping... how often can I use these adjectives? First we came upon the Roman Milagros Aqueduct and then the Roman bridge. They were all that.

We rode across the Roman Bridge. Hi, Janos!

The remaining ride from Mérida to Alanje was on a narrower road following the Guadiana. We didn't take the dirt path suggested by Komoot, I think it was very rough. Although not as spectacular as the stretch to Mérida, we still had nice views and storks galore.

I only see five storks here, but there were many more. Every pillar of this ruin supported a nest, and they were all inhabited. It was an amazing sight.

Look at the red and purple with the mountains as a backdrop!

Alange is a spa town and of course on the top of a hill. We were tired for this final climb, and again in town up and down on cobbles to our lodging. Its name, Balcon de Alange, should have warned me it would be on top as any balcony is. Janos despaired when he saw the final flight of stairs that we would have to carry our bags and bikes up.

But we had a wonderful hostess. I explained our situation and that we were simply too tired and too old to cope with the stairs. Maria looked for solutions. First she called friends to find a garage. But then she got a brighter idea. She asked how much the bikes weigh, 100 kilos? What, just 24 kilos, I will carry your bikes up. And that she did.

We had a comfortable room with a lovely garden and patio. We trudged down many stairs to the restaurant Maria recommended. She said it opened early, at 8 o'clock! We are getting used to eating at that hour and made another stab at ordering from a Spanish menu. We only ordered two dishes this time, a salad and fried fish. It was enough for a party of four.

The stairs were steep, believe me! Hard on the knees going down.

Too much, and not something we could take with us for tomorrow

Heart

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Today's ride: 43 km (27 miles)
Total: 445 km (276 miles)

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Rachael AndersonWhat a great day! I love the story of the woman at where you are staying carrying your bikes up. We had a similar encounter with a woman where we are staying. She grabbed both of Scott’s panniers and carried them up the stairs to our room! That way we could each carry only one bag. We hadn’t even said anything about needing help. We’ve found the women to be more likely to help.
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