Nueva Palmira

March 5, 2020

After yesterday's effort in the heat we made sure we had an easy day today.

We had decided to make it a short day and ride as far as Nueva Palmira just twenty kilometers up river from Carmelo. Passing through the town we spied a number of vehicles that would make an old car enthusiast's heart flutter. Once out of town the first half of the ride was wonderfully shaded and as flat a ride as we could have hoped for.

The streets of Carmelo could be from any country town around the world.

An old Ford Prefect model E93A built sometime between 1938 and 1949, told by the headlights being on the wheel arches. My late father's first car in the early fifties was a later version of this model (the 100E). So good to see these old cars on the road.

What I wouldn't have given for this shade yesterday.

We took our time, stopping to bird occasionally. We came upon a sign indicating a bird hide but after wandering down a dusty track we came up empty handed. Soon after this, at about halfway through the day's ride, the trees disappeared and a few small rolling hills started. A few more kilometers of this and we spied a sign suggesting a "scenic route". This took us off the main road but didn't produce anything more scenic than industrialised agriculture, the only benefit being less traffic.

Once in Nueva Palmira we headed for a shop to get a cold drink before checking in to the Hotel Bagu. The price quoted was a bit high so when I showed them their price of Booking.com it quickly dropped. In seems to vary from country to country as to whether it is cheaper to use Booking.com or not.

After an afternoon of the usual stuff (washing clothes, a bit of work and some rest) we picked up some food and a beer and had supper near the little beach in front of our digs.

Today's ride: 24 km (15 miles)
Total: 2,108 km (1,309 miles)

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