Day 75: L'Hospitalet de l'Enfant to Amposta

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We had a good vantage point from our third floor window to spot birds flitting around the nearby rooftops. I got a few that looked different to me, but they all seemed to be Black Redstarts of some kind - males, females, children.

This one at least was different:

It has been common these days to see sunrises over the Mediterranean. We were a little late this morning, though, and the glowing orb was already in our faces (or lenses). However, it did produce a rosy glow on the mountains facing the coast:

For places that we have been past before, whether or not we re-read the past blog to see what's coming, the photos and comments that we make are eerily similar from blog to blog. Over ten years, twenty years, our thought patterns and perceptions just don't seem to change much.

So it's no surprise that after climbing for a bit and apparently reaching a summit (or col, anyway) I recorded the fact. And similarly, when we next came to a combined cycle gas electric plant, I thought that newsworthy. All these photo subjects and many more can also be found in last year's blog.

This is not nuclear, but gas generation.

Something that I did get wrong, even after peeking at last year's blog, was the notion that our route today would be mainly on N-340.

N-340 is straight and the steep, rough road is the way the track shows, I think. In this case, we went straight, but soon we were off N-340 anyway.

A lot of time seemed to be spent on what I would call "suburban" roads and communities, like this one. But there was also a good share of down to the beach, up from the beach, down to a stream, up from the stream, up into the olive groves, and so forth. In short, quite a mixed bag for the day.

In the town of L'Ametlla de Mar, there were several large and dramatic murals. The one below depicts St. Peter the fisherman.

In the town we came to a construction blockage. After sweeping past the workers (and dodging their excavator) we came to the blockade at the other end. Dodie thought to just barge through the tape, but it was plastic and stretchy, and stopped her. What these construction people don't know is that Grampies carry a variety of blockage defeating tools. Dodie in this case pulled a scissors, so fast, and snip, we were through. She looks rather mean, doesn't she? That because she is, when the way is blocked.

We came to this small building, marked as the municipal market. Inside were mainly a few fruit and vegetable vendors. I picked up two plums - one large and yellow, one red and smaller. While these turned out to be very good, I was thinking that the total price of €1.21 was actually a bit steep. I mean, this is Spain, the source of Europe's produce in this season. Can an average family really afford a bag of plums like this? Maybe so.

Here is the mural visible behind the market. Quite nice!

After the market, we came to a steep decline, where the road took a curve and also became gravelly. Dodie was going nicely slow, but the bike still could not hold the curve. She ditched it, exiting from the right side and throwing it left. I didn't take a photo, because this time there was no mangled body, tangled under a bike.

Looking back up the hill where Dodie ditched, you see the red bag on the back of my bike, but also a mysterious "gingerbread star". We have no idea what that might be. Dodie's lucky star?

Yesterday, I wrote about a tunnel beyond which we expected a difficult beach situation and then a push up a steep hill. We bypassed that tunnel, and I was relieved. But last night I cheated and was looking at the blog of this day last year, and whaa - there was the tunnel, today! So I don't know what we dodged yesterday, but we had not dodged "it".

With this in mind, I was not thrilled to arrive at the tunnel shown below. In we went, but on the other end it was not too bad.

The tunnel led to a push on a rough road, but it was not a killer.

The push from the tunnel took us up "into the olives". We are more used to being shunted up into the vines, but ok, olives are good too.

The olives are surrounded by stone fences. We don't understand the purpose of these.

Dodie is looking up a terraces formed by the stone fences, to the hill top.

Lots of the trees have olives on them, and many of these are ripe. Too bad olive is completely inedible until processed.

But now, what's this? another tunnel. Time for the pulse to quicken.

Yes, this is our remembered tunnel. Last year we met two young women touring cyclists just here, and took the opportunity to rant about EV 8 and how evil it was to be putting us in places like this. The young women had no idea what we were talking about, and happily blew through the tunnel and up the impossible hill beyond. It's an advantage of being young, and we would say, foolish.

Before moving on to the hill, there is time for quiet contemplation of the sea.

It turns out that this spot is just one of many, that the authorities are very proud of. At the market we had picked up a pamphlet showing about 30 of these coves and beaches along this part of the coast.

So nonchalant are the locals about this source of grief for us, that they provide for disabled parking for disabled people that make it through that tunnel with their cars. Presumably the disabled people will park here, leave their vehicles, and prance up the adjoining cliffs - leaving the Grampies behind!

This is the way up and off the beach. I was just so close to not being able to push my bike up this. At the top, the authorities also labelled this a "btt" route - for mountain bikes. Everyone here is so darned hardy!

Speaking of hardy, I found this sticker at the beach. The guys who put it there were on an at least 10,000 km odyssey. I checked them out on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvuSlFAU9zA Their stuff is in German, so it may have limited watchability. But the idea of a sticker like that is intriguing. Maybe Grampies could increase their following that way? Or would stickers add too much weight? We used to carry "business cards" but gave up on it.

This is the way down to the next cove, but we are glad to be leaving the land of coves (down hills).

The Ebro is a very long river of almost 1000 km, the longest in Spain. Where the coves end, the Ebro has its delta. This is an area much like the Camargue (of the Rhone), with wetlands, birds, and rice cultivation.

A heron stands in rice stubble, as the Ebro delta begins for us.

The heron is leaving, though it's a bit hard to see.

A White Wagtail looks on from atop a shed.

We have now entered a flat, watery land, with lots of crops in addition to rice paddies.

Signed for EV 8 is zero here, as it has been for 100s of kms. Without GPS, you are really guessing at a spot like this.

We were intrigued by this specialized tractor tilling the paddies. It's amazing how it does not get stuck.

The area is laced with irrigation canals. Our way is unfortunately the gravel beside.

There are two main towns in the region: Camarles and Amposta. Amposta is on the Ebro, and is our destination, but this is Camarles.

Last year we took an extra day at Amposta to go looking for birds. We did a 50 km circuit around the Delta, and sure, we did see a bird or two. But maybe we only saw the most common ones? So this time around, we have booked an extra day again, and this time we are going out with a real guide. It will be one of our first times trying something like that. In Yucatan, though, at Rio Lagartos, we got a guide as well and it was amazing all the things he spotted that we did not. In fact, as soon as we get back from Spain, we are leaving again - for Costa Rica - where we will try the guide idea again. Stay tuned for more about that!

but the birds are really everywhere. Are these terns?

They don't usually hold still, let alone look at us.

Or how about this Kestrel, also noticed by Dodie.

Way off in a field, some kind of work was going on.

Glossy Ibis - but not so glossy just now.

The paddies were really covered in birds. The lady in the hotel attributes this to the fact that farmers are tilling the fields right now, turning up lots of food for birds.

At last we crossed the Ebro, on the bridge at Amposta.

The bridge is a bit fancy, I'll try for a better shot tomorrow.

Our hotel is right by an irrigation canal.

The water in here flows quite swiftly. Dodie likes the railings.

We were blown away by the number of birds out on the fields, and the chance to shoot them in the air, as flocks wheeled about overhead. We are eager to see what tomorrow might bring, as we head deep into the delta with our guide!

Today's ride: 53 km (33 miles)
Total: 3,791 km (2,354 miles)

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Scott AndersonI’m envious. We wanted to stay at the Ebro delta on our way from Bilbao to Valencia last fall but had to simplify the tour because of my arrhythmia issues.
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4 weeks ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Scott AndersonWe were unimpressed with your train adventure to simplify getting from France to Spain. Let's hope our Ebro Delta Birding Adventure is easier.
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4 weeks ago

Scott AndersonTo Steve Miller/GrampiesThat wasn’t this train though. That one’s still in the future, at Portbou.
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4 weeks ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Scott AndersonOMG, you mean there is yet another train in your near future?? We will keep our fingers, toes, knees and eyes crossed for you.
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4 weeks ago