Cervera

June 8, 2022

Today's route was almost entirely on the Camino Catalan. It meant we avoided the busy N-II except for a short section leading into Tàrrega and had the road mostly to ourselves for most of the way. Almost half was on unsealed roads but the surface was mostly OK. Apart from the last kilometer, it was mostly a gentle incline which meant we had to work the whole way but the cool and cloudy weather and lack of traffic made for an enjoyable ride

The Camino Catalan (Cami de Sant Jaume is Catalan translation of Camino de Santiago) is reasonably well signposted.

In the village of Castellnou de Seana we came upon a few trees wrapped in crochet. This was my favourite.

At Anglesola-Vilagrassa we left the farm roads and had a few kilometers through an industrial estate. A few kilometers were on the N-II which wasn't too busy. A quick stop for second breakfast in Tàrrega and we were back on farm roads again until Cervera.

The Borges olive oil mill at Tàrrega. Borges is the Spanish olive oil most commonly seen on supermarket shelves in South Africa.

Cervera is perched at the top of a steep hill - about a kilometer of climbing in excess of ten percent. Leigh did the sensible thing and walked her bike. The last hundred meters was just too much for me and I joined her. Google, bless its addled brain, seemed to have led us up the steepest possible way to get to our digs, an albergue in a convent. The icing on the cake was a series of steps that had us unloading the bikes and carrying everything up to the road above.

Since Logroño I have noticed "reverse order" arrows for the route of the Camino, in an orange-red colour rather than yellow.

After settling in at the albergue we wandered off to get some lunch. We quickly realised there was a much easier route to our digs but that was now water under the bridge. Lunch itself was unexpectedly good. We had gone to a restaurant that got good reviews for its tapas but their Menu del Dia sounded better so that is what we had. Probably the best meal we have had in Spain so far.

Separatism seems to be just below the surface in many areas of Spain.

Now that we are in Catalonia it seems like we are in another country. All the street signs etc are in Catalan and almost none in Spanish but we still seem to hear more Spanish being spoken than Catalan. Reading menus etc has suddenly become a challenge for us.

A bit of street art to balance the graffiti.

Tomorrow we head for Capellades, about thirty kilometers short of Montserrat which is out real target on this section of the tour.

Today's ride: 37 km (23 miles)
Total: 2,661 km (1,652 miles)

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