Zafra to Táliga

April 13, 2024

I'm gettingway behind with the journal. Let's see if I can reconstruct the past four days.

Today was a day with three versions: the original route as planned at home, the improved route we mapped out a couple of days ago and the route we really took. Originally we had one long day and one too short day, but then I found lodging at a spot in the middle, in Alandroal, and changed the route, which also meant changing our booking for that night.

But first a quick look at Zafra before we left.

A nice atmosphere in the car free center of the old town.

Zooming in to Our Lady of the Candelaria

Cool arcades give protection from the sun, not necessary yet, but definitely later in the season.

A much more southern atmosphere than where we have seen so far.

We finally got going, but since it was a 40-kilomter day, we weren't in a big hurry. First a stop at a farmacia for some sun blocker for my lips. Now that we were seeing sun, I wasn't prepared and got a painful sunburn on my lips. The good thing was that we got to see this attractive pharmacy, which is said to be the most beautiful pharmacy in Spain, "la farmacia más bonita de España" was posted on its wall. Now equipped for another day of strong sun, we got on our route.

Again roads with little traffic and much scenery to admire

We didn't have to go all the way to the castelo, but still it was a steep climb to Feria and La Palla before we could enjoy the fantastic downhill.

Another photo stop before we start the climb

We get to see Iberian pork in a very tidy pig pen.

After a long and exhilerating descent, we were in Androal. But where oh where is the address we booked? It took my muddled head a while to see that the address in Booking was not in Androal at all, but in Táliga. I had changed the route for the day, but had neglected to cancel the booking in Táliga and make a new one in Androal. We were both rather dejected at this point and didn't relish another 26 kilometers in the late afternoon. But we had no choice, and even if we were willing to spend the extra money for a hotel where we were now, there were no vacancies. After a few more oatmeal cookies and some water, we got back on our bikes.

I even stopped for pictures. Perhaps Torre de Miguel Sesmero?

Once we were resigned to our fate, the extra distance wasn't all that bad and went surprisingly fast. In Táliga we again had a small apartment with a code to enter and a patio to park our bikes. We were pretty hungry by the time we were tidied up and ready to go out to eat.

Our bikes stayed here, we were upstairs.

Foraging for food in small towns in Spain's Extremadura can be a challenge. We found Cafetería Colaco and hoped for the best but were out of luck. They told us we could drive to a town about 25 kilometers away for a meal - which we explained we could not do. They took pity and made a big sandwich for us. The people have been so kind on our trip, and we thanked profusely. Our beer tasted pretty good to go along with that bocadillo, too.

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Today's ride: 72 km (45 miles)
Total: 580 km (360 miles)

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Rachael AndersonBeautiful photos but what a hard day!
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7 months ago

Charmaine RuppoltVery nice of the people to make you all sandwiches! I know you appreciated it!!
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6 months ago