Wending Westward in the Wet
Spain-Portugal Stage 1 – Thu 12th May 2016 – Seville to La Palma del Condado (54 Km)
Weather: 11⁰C min – 19⁰C max, 90% chance of rain
” Sometimes what you’re most afraid of doing is the very thing that will set you free “ ~ Unknown
It was overcast but fine when I set off about 9 am this morning on my ride to La Palma del Condado (about 54 Km due west of Seville), the first of 11 stages of my 500 Km tour. Getting out of Seville was a breeze, as I just followed the great off-road cycleways for the first few Km, then after passing through some back streets of one of the outer suburbs of Seville I followed the A-8076 and then the A-472 secondary roads. Although the traffic was heavy on both roads, I felt safe because there was either a generous shoulder or an adjacent cycle path to ride on. Navigation was simple and the route was fairly flat.
What could be better than sailing across the plains of Spain, free as the breeze, not a care in the world. Then after about 10 Km there were claps of thunder followed by heavy rain for the next 30 Km. All I could do was plough on regardless, with my eyes fixed on the roadway a few metres in front of me, dodging the flooded sections of road without straying too near the traffic. In such conditions a split-second distraction can result in disaster.
At one stage the traffic came to a halt to give way to a procession of covered wagons, some drawn by horses and others towed by Landrovers. Undeterred by the wet conditions the occupants of the wagons seemed to be enjoying themselves, laughing and waving to the onlookers. Looks like it must have been some kind of festival organised by Spanish Tourism.
When the rain eventually stopped I managed to get some photos of the various roadside flowers – red poppies, yellow daisy-like margaritas, yellow sun flowers (searching in vain for the sun), huge cactus plants and … more Patterson’s Curse.
Glancing up at the hill to my left I noticed an enormous black bull silhouetted against the ominous sky. It gave me quite a fright before I realised it was just a metal cut-out, placed there to remind tourists like me that they are in the country of Spain.
One little town, called Castilleja Del Campo, had streets lined with fully laden lemon trees. Soon I entered the province of Huelva where there were lots of orchards of beautifully gnarled olive trees, as well as several vineyards with perfectly aligned rows of grape vines.
But a highlight of the day was passing through the little town of Manzanilla, with its many fabulous hacienda style houses … and a peculiar sign-post showing a picture of a bull but no indication of what danger to expect!
I arrived safely at my destination of La Palma del Condado around 2:30 pm. What struck me first as I rode through the little town was the immaculate houses, all painted white and with coloured trim around the arched doorways and windows. The hotel where I am staying, Hotel León Tierra de Vinos, is fairly basic but clean and with good wi-fi. Nobody spoke a single word of English, but I managed to make myself understood by using charades. Trying to find out where I could store my bike for the night was a challenge, but fortunately I remembered that bicicleta is the Spanish word for bike … my host immediately indicated that I could put the bike in my room for the night.
After a well-deserved hot shower and changing into dry clothing, I went for a walk around the town and managed to find one shop – a general store that sells everything. Again no English was spoken, but I managed to find a battery for my tail-light and some more band-aids. When I said restaurant the store owner knew what I meant because the Spanish word restaurante sounds the same. He recommended a place around the corner owned by a friend of his and I have just finished a fabulous meal there. Of course none of the waiters spoke any English there either and the menu was only in Spanish, so I just pointed to one of the menu items and hoped for the best. My luck was in because I was served a huge plate of delicious mixed seafood, all for the princely sum of €7.50.
Tomorrow I have an easy 40 Km ride to Huelva on the coast and believe it or not the forecast is looking better … 30% chance of rain and a top temperature of 19 degrees. So here’s hoping that Friday 13th brings a change of luck!
Dear Kevin,
Keeping up the prayers for you, especially in the wet. Don’t get a cold! The large black bull is advertising a liqueur and it is also found throughout Castille. I’m glad you’ve seen it.
Lots of love,
Nancy.
Dear Auntie Nancy,
It is lovely that you are able to share in Dad’s adventures and for his experiences to resonate with your own travels. I hope that you are keeping well and that your works continue to bless you with meaning and enjoyment.
Love Sophie
Oh Dad – whenever I read a dodging-through-the-driving-rain passage in your blogs, my heart goes out. Fortunately, your prefatory quotes (excellent, BTW) provide succor and perspective. And your reports of flowers (including your beloved red poppies) and fruit-ladened trees brighten things considerably.
We must play charades when you return – and I must find willing practice partners in the interim, lest you trump me to wilting point in the first round. Seriously, your charades must me incomparable in their communicative power (and I imagine, their humour-value). My challenge to you: try to see if you can charade yourself a vegetarian meal in a restaurant!
I just love those red poppies – just can’t resist stopping to take photos of them even when it is teeming rain.
I had plenty practice at charades when in Normandy & Brittany and then again in South Korea. Croatia wasn’t so bad because most people under 30 speak English (it is taught in schools now).
I always get tempted when I see the low hanging fruit, but usually decide to just photo it instead of stealing it.
As for the prefatory quotes, there are plenty more where those came from. When I run out I will start on my punography collection. incidentally, I’m reading a book about anti-gravity. I can’t put it down.
Can’t wait for your punography collection – is bound to bring back childhood memories! Perhaps you can teach me about anti-gravity via charades? Side-splitting, confounding edification is the best kind 🙂