To Zafra

April 10, 2024

Our train leaves at 11:40, and we set an alarm for an hour earlier so we don’t lose track of the time. We’re out the door a little before eleven and soon arrive at the station, only a half mile away. For the next half hour we stand around with increasing anxiety as we watch for the departure gate for our MD train to Zafra (and beyond that, to Merida and Madrid). We’ve confirmed with an agent that we don’t need printed tickets for the ones Rachael’s loaded to her phone and we’ve confirmed that there’s elevator service to the departure platforms; so there’s nothing to do but watch, wait, and grow increasingly stressed as we imagine the gate announcement not appearing until just a minute or two before departure, leaving us scrambling to get our bikes and selves down to our train before it departs.

While we wait a man comes up and schrewdly observes that we’re bikers, as is he. He sounds American, so we ask where he’s from and are taken aback when he answers Portland. Portland? Our Portland? Yup. Pretty amazing coincidence. He and his wife waiting with the bikes nearby are on a tour of Iberia themselves. I ask for his email so we can get in touch when we return in the winter, and there’s just time for him to enter it into my phone before our announcement comes up and it’s time to head downstairs.

The announcement comes up with still12 minutes until departure, and there’s no problem making our boarding - it’s not crowded at all, it’s a fairly short train so it’s easy to find the bike car, there are no stairs to negotiate as it’s a simple roll-on, and the promised bike space actually exists in the form of four hangers. And the two hour journey itself is very pleasant. It’s a modern train, the windows have been recently cleaned for a nice change, upcoming stops are announced in both Spanish and English. All in all, it’s probably about the most pleasant and least stressful experience with bikes on trains we’ve ever had.

While we were waiting for the gate announcement I was cataloging and reflecting on other MD trains listed on the board. Our train to Zafra and ultimately Madrid of course, but there are also MD trains to Malaga, Cordoba and Jaen. It made me think on how simple it would be to leverage the MD train network for a base-centered tour of Andalucia. Fly in to Madrid, take the MD train to Jaen, make a short ride with the panniers to Ubeda or Baeza and stay there for a week or so, then head back to Jaen for another base somewhere. At this point in life, if we ever make it back to Andalucia (for the fifth time!) that would probably be the right model.

Rich oak forests near Cazalla and Constantina. For about five miles we exclaimed time and again over how lovely this stretch was.

The ruined alcazar at Reina, near Fuente del Arco, looks much as it did a decade ago when we biked through here.

The MD train leaves the station. I’m surprised that it’s not a longer train - we’re seeing about half of it.

It’s about a mile to our hotel from the train station, as they’re at diametrically opposed ends of the town. Lunch sits squarely in the middle - a decent bar & grill that gives us a table by the window with our bikes just outside. Caloried up we head to our hotel, and about an hour later each leaves again for a walk. At this end of town we’re out in the country within about a half mile, dropping toward the minuscule Zafra River.

We’re not walking together of course, but by coincidence we meet up on the crown of the low ridge just to the west and my destination for the walk. The map shows a mirador at its highest point, but it’s a view for a few. Maybe there was public access at one point but now it’s private land and the trail is gated and signed for no trespassing.

Which is fine - I ‘ve got plenty of view from the road I’m on - back toward town, and across fields unbelievably in bloom. I’ve long wanted to see Extramadura in the spring, or its neighbor across the border, The Alentejo. It looks to me like we’re here at the perfect time.

#193: White stork, seen as we’re leaving the train station. I think we’re going to like this place!

The Arch of Jerez, the western entrance to the city.

Here’s the plan. I’ll cross the valley, climb up the opposite slope, and then follow the ridge line to the mirador at its high point.

Looking back at the town from across the Zafra River. The bell tower of the Candaleria Church stands high above everything else in town.

I don’t know that we’ve ever seen such a profusion of wild lavender in bloom before.

The source of a lot of the color up here. Green broom (Genista hirsuta)?

Corn Buntings again. I’m seeing this bird often enough now that I’m starting to recognize it on sight.

Looking back at town from near the crown of the ridge.

Another stonechat, a surprisingly common bird - or at least a frequently seen one, because they place themselves so prominently and are less shy than most small birds.

Gladiolus Italicus adds a small bit of color to the palette, but it doesn’t match my idea of a gladiolus.

The colors are really incredible now, dazzling almost every direction you look.

Today's ride: 2 miles (3 km)
Total: 808 miles (1,300 km)

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