Baena

April 3, 2022

The skies were clear last night and it was a crisp four degrees (feels like two, if Wunderground is to be believed) when we cycled off this morning. We were wrapped up as warmly as possible but the downhill out of town was really cold. We dropped three hundred meters over the first fifteen kilometers followed by a few climbs and more descents. In many ways the elevation profile was the reverse of the ride to Alcalá la Real from Granada.

There was the occasional service road next to the N-432 but it was never worth taking.

As we were about to start the first real climb of the day, some traffic police pulled us off the road because a cycle race would be passing through. We enjoyed a nice break snacking on bananas while we waited for the peleton to arrive. After a wait of about twenty minutes during which a mass of impressive support vehicles, each with four bicycles on the roof, rushed by it was all over in seconds. But we still had to wait for another ten minutes - there were a couple of back markers and finally a wailing ambulance, suggesting there had been an unfortunate accident.

We still haven't managed to find out what race this was.

Crossing into the fourth province of this tour.

We were still very much in the olive growing region for the whole of today's ride. Just before Baena we stopped to look at an exhibition of old olive processing equipment.

We had a stiff climb into Baena and the very nice apartment at which we are spending the night but our first objective, after a hot shower, was to find some food. It was Sunday and in these agricultural areas all the shops are closed. We have reserve rations but we hoped for something better and we managed to find a table at a restaurant on the main plaza that was open where we enjoyed some tapas and a bit of wine.

The plaza where we enjoyed a late lunch.

Then an enjoyable stroll around the town. Baena is quite attractive but the restoration on the go at the Morrish fortaleza above the town seems rather ham fisted. the town dates from Roman times. It was the scene of the Baena Massacre at the start of the Spanish Civil war where the fascist leader Colonel Sáenz de Buruaga had more than seven hundred republicans murdered. The walls next to the restaurant where we ate had the names of the victims inscribed on it.

Views across the olive groves from the fortaleza.

This Goldfinch on horseback near the fortaleza caught my eye but didn't make much sense.

Today's ride: 51 km (32 miles)
Total: 286 km (178 miles)

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