clairedavieswriter

As we had our breakfast – coffee, juice and a foot long slice of baguette slathered with butter and jam – the sun was just rising, and it was a cold 5 degrees when we set off.

The lads were a little grumpy about spending the night in a loo

But their mood was improved by this friendly sight:

Perhaps it was a little early on a Sunday for the locals to get out on the road: we saw no other cyclists, but the few vehicles that passed did indeed treat us with respect.
We climbed gently through a forest of umbrella pines, which cast chilly shadows across our path.

So we were glad to get out in the open. We’ve been cycling through Spain’s bread basket for the last couple of days: wheat fields as far as the eye could see. When we emerged from the trees, we saw our first barley and vines, and nearer to Salamanca, huge fields of potatoes.

Though I confess that after a chilly first hour, I was more interested in caffeine than crops. The small town of Nava del Rey sported a smart bullring:

This beautiful old church:

And a disproportionate number of bars for its size. Crucially, one of them was serving coffee on a Sunday morning. And, having committed the cardinal cycle touring sin of setting out without provisions, we were relieved to find somewhere selling snacks (napolitanas de chocolate, of course) and lunch.
In a shocking departure from our customary tortilla sandwich, today’s midday feast was a dense square of Galician gorgeousness: a thick layer of tuna and pisto sandwiched between two slabs of heavy pastry. Ladies and gents, I give you the empanada de bonito. Possibly the perfect cycling fuel.

Guillaume took a siesta after lunch – there really wasn’t much navigating for him to do:

While he snoozed, we added another couple of provinces to our collection:

Fortunately, though the air was still cool, there was no risk of ice:

Other novelties today included almond trees and a pair of hoopoes. Every church tower seemed to have a stork’s nest on top but none of the photos are any good, so you’ll have to make do with this, possibly the only stork-free church between Tordesillas and Salamanca.

Tonight we’re expecting no complaints from Bernard and Colin about their lodgings, as they’re in the kitchen of our neat little studio, which we were excited to discover comes equipped with a washing machine.

And, better still, washing powder.

What more could we wish for? Oh yes – a day off. Well as luck would have it, we’re getting that too. See you on Tuesday