Avila to Tarazona....

The hotel receptionist stood in the road waving us off in the morning. Although there is an increase of 5deg in the temperature of the last 24 hours, there is still extensive, thick snow on Sierra de Paramato to the S. Trees are winter bare until we drop down to the plains approaching Segovia. Hillsides have eroded to expose sandy banks in which rollers nest & perch on telephone wires nearby. Kites, eagles & vultures are such a common sight that we no longer stop the bikes to look at them. If you are ever whizzing past this way on the Autoroute, take a small detour to visit the charming, quaint village of Valdopardes.

Our route in to Segovia is not the most scenic direction to approach this majestic city, passing 'council flats' & building sites, but the only campsite, 'Camping Acueducto', is on this side. It has excellent facilities, helpful staff, & wonderful near views of the even more snow-covered Sierra de Guadarrama.

Similar to Avila, but less austere, Segovia is a World Heritage Site that has city walls encircling a Cathedral, churches & leafy plazas. The honey-coloured stone is everywhere highly decorated. The Roman 1st Century aqueduct is an astonishing 163 arches of huge granite blocks. The Alcazar at the NW corner of the walls is like a fairy-tale castle, visible for miles. It has steep slate roofs, complex turrets & towers. It is relatively modern as the original 14c building was burnt down in 1862. There are attractive buildings also outside the city walls, especially to the N. where chuches, a convent & a monastry can be approached through a pretty hamlet bridging the rio Ciguiñela. There is a lovely walk under the city walls through shady woods & past allotments.

A Scops Owl, or similar woke us in the night, calling nearby, & in the morning we had to clean off the tent having inadvertently pitched under a magpie's nest. We felt kindlier towards the hoopoes & skylarks that were competing in song as we headed off N.E. A wonderfuil days cycling over rolling hills of stone villages, all the time accompanied by views of the sierras to the S. We were aware that this part of Spain has a harsh winter, followed directly by a hot summer, & summer has now definetely arrived at about 25degs.

The extensive wild thyme & ambulante shepherds remind us of Andalucia. The sheepdogs are bigger. Here they are like a tall cross between a St Bernard & a wolf! So far they are curious rather than aggressive. The stony fields have been picked, with piles of light-coloured stones in the middle of fields or around trees. We cycled 75 miles today, & wild-camped in a pine copse.

We set off at dawn, down into a red valley, dark red soil & houses in red sandstone. Some villages have lots of simple old stone crosses, others old derelict towers, possibly defunct windmills? On the ridge to the S., we counted more than 120 wind turbines. Cervantes & his creation, Don Quixote, would be impressed with Spain's modern tally of windmills! Roasting hot so have along lunch stop with a 'menu del dia' in a tiny village (Retortillo de Soria). Half a gallon of potato & meat soup, large veal steaks cooked to perfection with a salad, followed by natillas postres (desserts like creme brulee) & coffee plus a cold beer included. We enjoyed instead cycling in the cool of the late evening, to great effect as we completed 95 miles (a record for us on loaded bikes). This placed us in a good position to cross over the Puerto La Cascara (1200 metres) at dawn, mainly a long downhill swoop into Tarazona, through lush orchards & vineyards.

Again with no campsite, the Lonely Planet Guidde led us to a 'palace', The Palacete del Arceidenos Hotel. The lady owner was upset that she could not find the key to the ground floor store, so we had to carry the bikes up 3 flights of a grand marble staircase. Our room has views of snowy mountains in the distance (the Sierra de Moncayo) & a hotpotch of ancient houses etc in the foreground. We added to the local colour by hanging our sleeping bags out of the window to air. The 'palace' is like the rest of town, dignified but decaying. They know how to enjoy themselves - on our arrival their was a short colourful fiesta procession with flamenco dancers & men on horseback. Later, as Sue booked in at the hotel, Mike was delayed with the bikes whilst the processionary dancers filled the hotel courtyard to briefly perform a flamboyant dance. Now the town centre is filled by the beautifully-dressed guests waiting for a bride to arrive at the gorgeous old Town Hall. They have built a new bullring out of town, & have converted the old one into flats & bars to great effect.

Tomorrow we head N for Tedula & the rio Ebro

Salamanca to Avila...

Salamanca is a magnificent city of ancient sandstone buildings including a prestiguous university, arcaded Plaza Mayor, cathedrals, convents & palaces. The Casa de las Conchas is decorated externally with the Santiago shell motif, & inside has a 2-tier courtyard. We also enjoyed the 2-storey market, with a staggering array of fresh fish & meat. We were very pleased to bump into a couple of touring cyclists (Jennifer & John from London) who we had previously met at Merida & Caceres. They had taken a different route from the latter place, so we were able to swop info. They fly back from the small Salamanca airport at the weekend. A very blustery day with heavy showers, which the local papers say will set the pattern for the next few days.

However, no rain overnight so happily packed up a dry tent & headed E. on easy roads across the level plains towards Avila. We past flooded rivers & then into rolling countryside, very pretty with poplars lining watercourses, friesian milk herds with young calves, & sandstone villages with sturdy churches & single storey cottages. The last 20 miles was transformed with enormous granite rocks littering the landscape, & smaller fields divided by drystone walls. Very reminiscent of Cornwall & Brittany.

Avila is in the book of '1000 places to visit before you die' & we could see why. The view as you approach is incredible. A hilltop town with a complete city wall incorporating 88 towers, reputedly the best medieval city walls in the world. Entering by any of the gates doesn't disappoint. Many of the streets are pedestrianised & cobbled. Handsome plazas set off the cathedral, churches & convents. It all appears most tastefully restored & maintained. The celebrity of Avila is a Saint Theresa, who transformed the local Carmelite Nun's way of life in the 15C, & many public buidings are dedicated to her.

As we know of no campsite nearby, we resort to hotels recommended in 'Lonely Planet' Guide. We're not disappointed by Hotel San Juan in the centre of the old quarter near the colonaded main square. The view from our tiny balcony includes the cathedral & market. Our bicycles are secured in the basement by a very helpful receptionist.

There is a laid back atmosphere here, allowing us to wander into interesting places unchallenged, such as the College of Architecture where we saw their collection of ancient life-size granite pigs, symbolic of the city & area. We also snuck into Saint Theresa's Convent by the tradesman's entrance, & saw the revolving wooden hatch where goods are delivered to the nuns without them being seen by the delivery man!

Moving on tomorrow towards Segovia, & then N.E. from there.

Caceres to Salamanca...

Travelled E. on small mostly untarmaced country roads to Trujillo, through large fields of crops, & smaller fields divided by drystone walls. Red kites & Montagus Harriers in abundance. Some English birdwatchers pointed out a pair of Giant Bustards on the horizon; like big turkeys. Azure-winged magpies & hoopoes also plentiful. A large mobile phone aerial had been spiked to prevent storks nesting - this was no match for the intrepid stork, who had built her nest on the attached satellite receiving dish. This had been successful, as we could see a large chick poking its head over the edge.

Fields of white-faced sheep, some with lambs, & then dozens of black 'toros bravos' (fighting bulls). Just short of Trujillo we called at the tiny hilltop village of La Cumbre. Time has stood still here, with an ancient sturdy church, single storey white cottages, & untarmaced tracks. The one bar was full of old men playing cards. The village children gathered round us, practising their English & honking our bicycle horns.

Trujillo is a hilltop medeival town of chuches, palaces, convents & an arcaded Plaza Mayor hosting a 'Medieval Market'. Magnificent views of the surrounding plains from the town walls. Overwhelmed by the choice of local cheeses, we accidentely bought one which tasted of old goat. This is probably why, at our stop for lunch on the rio Tozo, we had at least 50 Griffen Vultures circling overhead.

We now had magnificent views of the mountains of the Monfrague Parque National, & once again are passing oak plantations with pigs grazing under as we head N. towards Plasencia. A good road surface sweeps up towards the mountains, passing occasional vineyards &, being a weekend, we encountered groups of lycra-clad cyclists.

Monfrague is a spectacular escarpment backed by mountains around the rio Tajo, dammed here to form a 100km long serpentine reservoir. A fantastic windy road snakes through, with many viewpoints to stop & watch the Black Vultures, Red Kite & Eagles. Just an amazing number of raptors all in the air together. Difficult to drag ourselves away, so arrived at 9pm at the excellent Monfrague Campsite, pitching next to some very friendly Flemish Belgians. Also met on site an English couple with a 'Thorn' bike, the same make as ours! In an adjoining field a red deer stag was sitting in the sun.

Plasencia is yet another town with a wealth of 13th & 14thC buildings. Ten cobbled narrow streets meet on the Plaza Mayor. Convents, churches, & houses of the rich with arcaded courtyards are set off shady plazas. The Parador vies with 'ours' at Zafra, being in a 14thC convent in the town centre, retaining magnificent vaulted ceiliings & arcaded courtyard. Tarried 3 nights on the Monfrague campsite, as the weather & bird-watching was wonderful. We cycled back into the Parque to have close views of vultures nesting & feeding their young at a large rock face adjacent to the dam.

Headed N. towards Bejar. Power pylons are protected here from storks by rows of poles with artificial nest sites. There are so many storks, however, that they still find places to squeeze nests onto the pylons. There is snow above about 1500m on the approaching Sierra de Candelario. We are the only occupants of the wooded campsite overlooking the quaint high village of Candelario. The cloud cover kept the temperature above freezing overnight. The next morning we past through the cobbled streets of timber-framed tile-hung houses in Candelario & the similar village of Navacarros.

We take the horribly busy N630 N. towards Salamanca, but before lunch find a way to the E. along country lanes by the full rio Tormes, in an area like the Somerset levels. We are relieved to reach the campsite 4km E. of Salamanca, as the strong side/head winds have been hard work.

Staying 2 nights here in order to visit the city, then moving E. towards Avila & Segovia.

Zafra to Caceres...

Much of the centre of Zafra is c15thC, including 2 arcaded plazas, 3 convents & numerous churches on cobbled streets. There are storks with chicks nesting on most towers. It is on the N/S Santiago Pilgrims route, so we spotted lots of backpackers & a German cyclist. There is a large bullfighting ring & many bars are full of men only, watching live bullfights from the Sevilla festival on the TV.

On the way north we passed through the innocuous looking town of Almendrolejo, where we glanced into the Town Hall, & found it to have the most wonderful tiled arcaded courtyard & staircases. The staff were very happy to let us wander around admiring their building.

As forecast, it rained in the afternoon as we headed N. to Merida. Fortunately an easy cycle on gentle hills, past orchards planted with alternate rows of olive trees & vines. Merida is on the site of the Roman town of Augustus Emerta, the largest Roman city on the Iberian peninsula. It boasts many fine Roman remains. Our favourites were the 60-arch Roman bridge, Milagros aqueduct (with storks nests) & the Temple of Diana. As well-recommended by Ros & Mike, we camped a few miles to the E. in a very friendly campsite where we met a French-Canadian family of 4, on 2 tandems (with a trailer) - their 1st trip to Europe.

In showers & a welcome tailwind, we set off N. following a straight Roman road to Caceres. We passed 2 castles with storks nesting on the battlements. Red kites soared overhead. Stayed 2 nights at a very posh campsite at Caceres, each pitch having its own bathroom - ours usefully doubling as a secure bikeshed! Caceres is the highlight of the trip so far. The old town centre is a pristinely preserved mixture of Roman & Medieval, palaces, convents, plazas, churches, town walls & entrance gates. The narrow cobbled lanes & flights of granite steps make it virtually car-proof. We have never seen such a large number of historic buildings together in one place, & would recommend it to anyone for a visit. The rain has stopped & we finish a lovely evening in 'El Asador', a traditional tapas bar, eating morcilla (black pudding stew) with iberian hams hanging from the bar walls.

Tomorrow plan to head E. for Trujillo, then afterwards N. into Natural Parque Montfrangue & then Plasencia.

Nerja to Zafra

Monday 31st March we headed out of Nerja northwest to our first night on the new journey, to Ros & Mike's country home near Los Marines. The 360deg view from their terrace is stunning; Perriana, Mt Maroma, Laguna Viñuela, the Med, Sierra de Chimeneas, & in the foreground their next door neighbour Dolores, in her pinny, pruning her olive trees. After a very convivial evening with our generous hosts, we set of the next day well refuelled.
We wild-camped the next evening in the natural park of El Torcel, in a stone sheep pen with views of Malaga on the distant coast, overlooked by cliffs nested with vultures. Our only company was a shepherd who helpfully showed us the nearest fountain. He went home at dusk, his flock having fed on the carpet of wild crocuses. At dawn, the temperature in the tent was a bracing 4degC due to our height at 850 metres.
Antequerra at the base of a breathtaking whizz down from the mountains, has fantastic dolmens (megalithic funeral chambers) & many other fine old buildings.
As expected no flamingoes at Laguna de Fuente del Piedra due to low water levels.
Osuna & Ecija are 2 small towns stuffed with medieval buildings & storks nesting on the church bell towers. We saw hundreds of flamingoes on Laguna Calderon just north of Ecija.
There are vast estates of orange & olive groves on the way to Palma del Rio where unsurprisingly, there are enormous orange juice & olive oil processing plants. We cycled 67 miles today so celebrated with a night in a hotel & ate in a very friendly tapas bar.
By Friday we were passing though Natural Park Hornachuellos & on into the Sierra Norte, Imperial eagles frequently soaring overhead.
The wild flowers have been overwhelming - predominantly lavender / thrift, but loads more we couldn't identifiy. Cork oak plantations are everywhere, the cork stripped from the chocolate-brown trunks. In the shade of the trees now in the massive farms are herds of free-range black pigs, who invariably stampede noisily away as we pass. Surprisingly, no pong. Fortunately, the enormous ferocious-looking farm dogs also always run away in terror on our approach. Glimpses everywhere of deer, hoopoes & bee-eaters. Our thermometer confirms the weather forecast of shade temperatures the last few days of 30degC.
The last village in Andalucia, Guadalcanal, was like a Mexican cowboy film set - all ancient simple adobe houses, tiny bars & a big white church. Many of the men were wearing cowboy hats & riding well-turned out white horses. We think this must be something they do on Saturdays!
Into Extremedura. Wonderfully quiet, good condition country roads through heathland. Wild-camped amongst lavender far from civilisation.
Downhill all the way to Zafra, passing storks on unwieldy nests the size of sofas, precarious on the top of electricity pylons. Grey & white hen harriers glide low over vineyards & olive groves. At this historic centre we just had to book into the Parador Hotel - the local castle, a former ancestral home, the Alcazar de los Duques de Feria (built c1437), for 2 nights rest & sight-seeing, approximately 300 miles from Nerja.

As we are in the wilds, future blog postings may be a bit infrequent. The plan is to cycle north through Extremedura to Salamanca, then eastwards.