clairedavieswriter

Overnight, rain hammered on the terracotta roof tiles directly above our heads. This morning, in our windowless sitting room, it was hard to believe the weather could have improved, but when we opened the door we found the cycling gods were smiling on us once again. They even laid on the best value breakfast of the trip so far, and a better view of the castle.

Drivers might call the terrain today undulating. Cyclists would typically call it lumpy. But at least the more demanding climbs came with their matching descents. We reached 54kph on this one (Jon pointed out this was the same speed the Vuelta Feminina were riding on the flat yesterday – how is that even possible?):

It was a day of spectacular long views, which as always were hard to capture:

But we also appreciated what we could see closer up:

Other things we enjoyed today included this no-nonsense approach to marketing (tienda = shop):

Finding Spain’s equivalent of Little Snoring (word of the day, roncar – to snore):

Mingling with local club cyclists over coffee, and receiving encouragement from them later when they swept past us up the day’s toughest hill

We also enjoyed our practical lunch spot

And we were careful not to drop litter – for one thing, I’d struggle to lay my hands on 50,000 pesetas to pay the fine

But this was my sign of the day: surely a missed opportunity with the font?

In the outskirts of Sevilla, we parted company with the N-630, which had carried us 395km since Béjar

And were swept into the city on a traffic-free green carpet:

That carried us over the Guadalquivir

And almost to the door of our accommodation, which turned out to be the former home of Christopher Columbus’ son:

We’ve given ourselves another day off tomorrow, to enjoy Sevilla. Hasta pronto!