August 20, 2015
Via de Servicio: Beyond Fuertecaliente/oldroad km 86 to Cordoba.
The old road verge like a lot of places I camp for free, isn't exactly hidden. This morning before rising, I hear heavy breathing of a walker approach uphill and pass. And when I've sat up and unzipped the tent opening and set the stove to boil water for tea, the walker is returning back down the road. A seventy year old man, we exchange greetings as he continues on his way.
I am on the road by nine, glad there are only eighty-six kilometres to ride, having daily ridden a hundred and twenty kilometres plus for the past week and feeling tired and in need of a few days off the bike. Today would be an easy ride into Cordoba.
The road a bit of a roller-coaster, though the inclines are short and declines fairly long. Upon an uphill section two cyclists catch me up and ride up alongside me. I instantly recognize them as the couple that passed me Monday. The young man shouts out in English "We meet again!"
When we exchange stories: me saying I've been on the road just sky of six months, they gasp at the idea and return that they've only two weeks and are riding from Barcelona to Seville. They are from the port city Huelva, a little further southwest. Before they ride on we exchange names: they, Luca and Isabella, have difficulty with my name, until Luca says "Like Sean Connery" and after a laughing pause in speech adds "Or, Sean Kelly".
Montoro come into sight on a hillside on the righthand side nearing the bottom of a long descent, a town of white houses contrasting with pale green olive tree patterned hillsides around. And bottoming out, the road crosses a viaduct above Rio Guadalquivir and rises steeply to join autopista A5.
On the map the last forty-five kilometres to Cordoba is motorway, but I thought when I'd get as far, N420 would continue parallel, but apparently not; at least there's a "via de servicio" a service road alongside, which does not have any signage, so I find myself coming to a broken up section, where it is impossible to continue and have to return back to where I can pass underneath the autopista and take up the service road the other side. In short there's a lot of time spent finding the right way.
A stroke of luck is seeing a large Mercadona, before leaving the urban area spread around Montoro. I really only need bread, but stock well up on plenty to drink: a two litre bottle of lemonade: the same of carbonated water: and a litre of longlife milk. Just as well, as the day turns out really hot: the ride along the service road with little shade; though, at lunchtime, I come to a cutting planted with pine trees casting shade over the service road.
After lunch the heat is especial unbearable anytime I'm slowed by going up a steep rise and I stop regularly to drink the lemonade or water which is now warm. I pull into a Repsol petrol station, wherein the shop's refrigerator, there are nice cold half litre cans of San Miguel. I buy one and savour it sat in the shade of the forecourt.
On the way into the city centre each traffic-light I've to stop for, which there are many, is torture. It reminds me of being too close to a bonfire. I pass a pharmacy green-cross sign showing +41. When I've reached near enough the centre, I ride into the shade of a park with benches where I need to sit down.
Once I've rested I continue to the central plaza and sit down at a café to use the wifi.
I find the Hostelworld site stupid, because I write "Cordoba Spain" in the search box and it come up with "no results for Cordoba Spain". This is after having written "Cordoba" alone, and the search come up only with hostels in Cordoba, Argentina.
Eventually I move to another site and find hostels in Cordoba, Spain: I write down the name and address of three, download a google map and find my bearings from it, finding my way to the nearest hostel I've noted, in an alleyway off a street running off the plaza.
The hostel is an old town house in Moorish style, reminding me of the place I stayed in last year in Marrakesh, with blue and white patterned tiled walls in a central garden court enclose within. A tranquil common area to sit.
I check in for two nights. The only fault with the place is there's no kitchen, so I've to go out for dinner and end up spending nine euros for four tapas and a beer, a lot more than I would've hoped.
Today's ride: 102 km (63 miles)
Total: 9,539 km (5,924 miles)
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