La Cala del Moral

March 25, 2022

The weather was foul last night and, after two nights of being dead to the world, neither of us slept well. But a glance at the weather forecast suggested that there was a window of calm between eleven o'clock and one o'clock which should give us time to cover the short distance to our destination for the day.

One of the character differences between Leigh and I is that I am a precrastinator and she is, well I don't have to say it. So inevitably I was ready and packed two hours before our targeted time of departure while she lay relaxing in bed. But while I waited impatiently the rain kept coming down and by the time we left our apartment a minute or two before the checkout time of eleven thirty it was still raining steadily.

The Little Wire Bicycle was reluctant to go out in the rain.

Clad in our old Goretex jackets and Sealskinz gloves we walked the bicycles through the busy center of Málaga to the beachfront where we rode off slowly into the easterly wind and the rain. After a few kilometers the rain subsided somewhat and we had an easy ride along the coast to La Cala del Moral. Here we took the Little Wire Bicycle down to have a look at the rather unappealing beach.

A large cloud of red dust has blown over from the Sahara over the past few days and we noticed this yesterday, first with red marks on the bicycles and our jackets and then with the wonderfully warm and soft light in the afternoon after finishing up at the Picasso Museum. Many of the residents in La Cala del Moral were out hosing the red mud off their houses and cars as we entered the town and this included Antonio, the owner of the guesthouse in which we are spending the night. Even though it was one o'clock in the afternoon Antonio was still clad in his pyjamas, slippers and dressing gown!

The "la lluvia de barro" or "mud rain" featured prominently in the Spanish newscast we watched, slotting in behind the transport strike. The transport strike continues to affect us. We were unable to buy fresh milk today and had to resort to UHT milk which was enough to make us decide that cornflakes won't be the best choice for breakfast until fresh milk is available again.

The rough beaches along the way were separated by rocky sections. The sea itself is murky from the Sahara dust which is also visible on the tarmac in this picture.

The Little Wire Bicycle gets a look at the beach at La Cala del Moral.

Today's ride was only worthwhile in that we needed accommodation for this evening and this was about as far as we wanted to go in the bad weather. We had tried to get another night at our digs in Málaga but other guests were moving in today. In the end it has worked out well because we are a little further down the coast and we had a chance to adjust to riding fully loaded.

Tomorrow we have a short section along the coast before heading northwards to a campsite on a large reservoir at Viñuela.

Today's ride: 12 km (7 miles)
Total: 17 km (11 miles)

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