To Trujillio

April 10, 2024

Sometime yesterday Suzanne and I discovered that we had two completely different routes to Trujillo, our destination for today. She had plotted a shorter, direct route on a national road that paralleled the autoroute, while I had chosen an indirect route through the countryside, the W route I called it (see map below). Janos was feeling a bit under the weather so he opted for the direct route while Suzanne and I chose the meandering path for our last day of cycling on this tour.

It was not long before we were reconsidering our choice. The first 14 miles were on EX206, a regional road with a modest shoulder and lots of traffic. We kept our heads down until reaching the small village of Torremocha where we stopped for a hot drink and a pastry. The next 14 miles were cycling bliss, on quiet roads that took us up and down a countryside full of wildflowers and cattle. Layers of hills and snow-capped peaks rose in the distance. It was a bit reminiscent of the Big Hole region of Montana, where vast expanses of rangeland are rimmed by the Rockies.

Great sighs of relief and contentment as leave Torremocha and we turn on to the smaller roads

We travelled long straight roads through fields of wildflowers

And we travelled roads that curved up and down through a bumpy landscape

Suzanne was alarmed to find me standing in front of two seemingly unfenced cows, calming taking their photo - until I pointed to the cattle-guard across the road. I was confident they would not cross it, and I must of convinced her because she was soon off her bike snapping away

I'm using the secret tunnel to join my friends on the other side of the road

After a short climb out of Plasenzuela, our route joined EX381 for the last miles to Trujillo. It was narrow, winding road with modest traffic through a fairly uninteresting landscape. By then, my mind was consumed with issues that needed attending once I’d arrived in Trujillo – briefly, my credit card had been rejected at our Cáceres hotel, my eSim account was blocked and I couldn’t top up; and my online French classes were starting again that night. It was with great relief that we finally arrived at our Parador in Trujillo.

Vivien George has a short rest in Plasenzuela while I munch on some cashews

Suzanne almost blends in with the wildflowers

I spent the rest of the afternoon online and on the phone trying to sort out all the complicated issues I mentioned above. Some were resolved, some were not but I did get some clarification on the eSim - apparently I had failed to register the eSim, which is a requirement for France. Oops.

I finished up my French class and put all my woes behind me to join Suzanne and Janos for dinner to celebrate our nine days together. It had been a great joy spending time with these two wonderful souls and I look forward to seeing them for a brief rendevouz in a week’s time. In the meanwhile, bonne route to two of my favorites.

The W route to Trujillo

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Today's ride: 39 miles (63 km)
Total: 501 miles (806 km)

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Rachael AndersonSooty about anll your issues! I guess you haven’t had to deal with that an e-sim recently.
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7 months ago

Susan CarpenterTo Rachael AndersonThanks Rachael. Everything things sorted out now - thankfully
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7 months ago