A Short Flat Ride in Three Parts: Heading for the Pueblos Blancos
Seville to Los Palacios y Villafranca
Well, it was an interesting day. Not particularly scenic for the most part, or exciting though, I have to say. Some days are like that.
We weren’t in a huge hurry to get going this morning as we had a short day planned. We are going to dawdle around in this beautiful part of the world for a week or so. I also want to add we are delighted to report that the antibiotics seem to be helping the tooth situation. Fingers crossed. We enjoyed one last delicious breakfast and headed out.
The ride out of Seville amazed me. That was the first part. We were on dedicated bike paths for the first twelve kilometres. No navigation issues, just follow the green path. Oh, and watch out for the scooters! I am starting to appreciate the scooters are very fast, but they are also very nimble, so I think any perceived danger is a bit in my own head. I actually love watching them as they just look like so much fun.
This is what we enjoyed, with a few variations for the first part of the day.
We did have to manoeuvre around this set up…we aren’t sure for what. The adjacent lane was closed to cars as well. We asked a few young people, but they didn’t know either, and a quick internet search has left me still curious.
Those are boxes and boxes of single use plastic water bottles, all being dumped into the big bins, so we guess some kind of a race. When I was running the race organizers used paper cups that volunteers filled and handed out as we ran by. The number of plastic bottles this event is going to use is unconscionable.
David MathersSong reference...'Stuck in the middle with you' Gerry Rafferty. 'Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right' Reply to this comment 2 years ago
Keith ClassenTo David MathersAn oldie but goodie. Playing that song on out portable Bose speaker at this moment. Haven’t heard that song in a long while. Reply to this comment 2 years ago
Then, boom, stage two of the ride. We had a wide shoulder, but we were playing with the big boys. We have never ridden with so many big rigs. Trucks, trucks and more trucks! There aren’t many pictures as we were on full alert, especially at the traffic circles. They were all great though, and I never felt spooked, I just felt really, really, really small. We were in big industrial, manufacturing and commercial territory. It wasn’t just trucks on the highway either, they were parked on the road, beside warehouses and manufacturing plants, absolutely everywhere. A real reminder of how everything is transported.
This was a little truck, relatively speaking. You should have seen the trucks lined up here. I assume a distribution centre.
Jacquie GaudetWe saw the fields after they'd been harvested--we could tell by the bits left behind. This is definitely more interesting. Reply to this comment 2 years ago
Then just like magic, we were on a quiet side road, virtually no traffic, olive trees as far as the eye could see. It was straightforward riding from that point on. So much so that when we arrived we were both of the same mind, wishing we had gone further. We just felt warmed up.
Bike and olive grove. These olive groves were huge.
We would love to know why these huge trees had to go. They were busy working away at it as we cycled through. Note the equipment hard at it in the right of the picture. The biggest stumps were a meter across.
We arrived at our hotel, still reluctant to stop. It was a great ride in a low key kind of a way. The hotel is in a beautiful building and all the reviews raved about the restaurant so we made a reservation for when it opened, at 9 PM. In the meantime we went for a walk and did some serious planning about how to approach the Pueblos Blancos.
Isn’t this the greatest way to plan? Not necessarily the most efficient, but very pleasant.
Then dinner, which was just amazing. I finally had a chance to try sardines where I felt they would really be done well, and they were. Keith had a shrimp and mushroom ravioli. I followed my sardines with cod in tomatoes and I can’t remember what else, but oh my! The outdoor dining area was packed, and inside almost as much so. We went for a brief postprandial walk and the town was hopping. Adults, teens. young children having fun. People were arriving for dinner at our restaurant at 10 PM. You’ve got to love it!
I remembered to take a picture of my sardines, but by the time the rest of dinner arrived I just devoured it.
Keith ClassenThanks Rachael … much better but last night I was a little careless on a piece of bread and almost hit the ceiling … more advil. Dinner was great but very cautious after that little episode! Reply to this comment 2 years ago
