Day 22 The Big Iberian Trip - Zafra

Zafra is a very lovely place but getting to it proved tough. The weather was difficult and maybe we were still recovering from yesterday, as we were totally wiped out by the time we arrived.


The ride wasn't quite as long as yesterday's, 80 kilometres, but there was another big climb and today we topped out at 760m. The weather wasn't good. Initially it was very cold, then very windy and then finally, in the onslaught of the elements, it started to rain. It was forecast to rain and that put pressure on us to get a move on, and given the temperature I really didn't want to get wet so the normal pit-stops were kept to the bare minimum.


Today we left Andulucia and entered Extremadura, part of Spain I've never been to before and was looking forward to visiting. 15kms after crossing the 'border' there was an abrupt change to the scenery. The beautiful wooded pastures, with holm and cork oak forming a loose canopy of evergreen trees, suddenly ended and were replaced by wide-open rolling arable landscape. Huge, almost endless fields of barley and oats, broken occasionally by some isolated pig farm, it felt like we had been transported to the American mid-west.

Day 21 The Big Iberian Tour - El Real de la Jara

Edited by Christine

After 4 nights in Seville we are on the road again and have started what was always the main purpose of the trip, doing the Ruta Vía de la Plata: an ancient Roman route north, and part of the St James Way network.  We are taking the road-bike version to Leon before leaving la Ruta and going to Santander. La Ruta continues north to Gijón -- other versions go to Santiago de Compostela, but because we want to catch the ferry home we will turn east at Leon.

So far so good. Actually 10kms from the destination, Christine declared it was the best day's cycling she'd ever had although I think this had more to do with a premature sense that the journey was over. The last 10kms were a bit of an ordeal and finding the hotel was an absolute nightmare.

Day 20 The Big Iberian Trip - Seville

There's a quote, can't remember who said it, but it is to the effect that happiness is about accepting that life has adversities and then gaining enjoyment from overcoming them. Well today we had an adversity, not a big one in scheme of things, and despite the initial disappointment, it was fun overcoming it.

The day started well. We returned to yesterday's bar in the centre of Niebla for breakfast and more entertainment and were not disappointed on either front. It was packed but with a slightly different crowd. Three men behind the bar prepared coffee and toast and one took the orders and distributed the breakfast. He was amazing, leaning forward as he shot round the room and somehow remembering what the orders were and who had had what. Like last night, it was a noisy place with the Spanish typically grabbing any chance to socialise. We had two coffees each (not usually done in Spain where one is norm) and embarked on the bruschetta ritual. We gently sliced our toast, rubbed garlic onto its rough surface, drizzled olive oil onto the toast, covered it with tomato paste, lightly seasoned the whole thing and then devoured it, delicious! Breakfast came to 4 euros, good value!

Day 19 The Big Iberian Trip - Niebla

Niebla is about halfway between Lepe and Seville and was one of the few places where I could find somewhere to stay. It turned out to be an amazing place, really interesting and hopefully a sign of things to come as we journey to Spain's north coast.

It might sound a bit judgemental given that this is only our second day in Spain but already it feels a lot more interesting than Portugal. There seems to be more going on here, more to see in both the countryside and the towns.

Day 18 - The Big Iberian Trip - Lepe

Lots of news today.

The first piece of news is that Lepe is in Spain. After catching my 5th and penultimate ferry (the last one on this trip with be from Santander to Portsmouth) we crossed the border from Portugal and we're now in Spain.

Day 17 - The Big Iberian Trip - Tavira

To get back on schedule we caught the train from Lagos to Faro and then cycled 40 kms to Tavira. We then have three days to get to Seville when Christine flies to and from London. After that 4 day break we will set off on the main Spanish leg of our trip up to the north coast.

Today's trip was controversial. As we left Faro on a busy main road Christine saw a sign that said Tavira was 20 kms away and somehow this became fixed in her head as the correct distance. Despite the fact that we had plenty of time she then couldn't understand why we were on a route that was 40kms long. The tension between getting from A to B the fastest and usually easiest way and taking the scenic and usually more interesting route is a constant.

Anyway today started well and the train journey was great fun. The coastal train starts in Lagos, stops everywhere, takes forever and runs every 2 or 3 hours. Today the four carriages were packed with locals and holiday makers on their way to Faro airport. Bikes were stored in a tiny compartment at the end of the train. Initially there were 9 bikes but more kept arriving and after a few stops there were 16. The conducter was determined not to turn anyone away and every time a new bike arrived all the other bikes at to be moved to accommodate it. It was good to see everyone getting involved and despite the risk to paint work, people' cooperated.

Days 15 and 16, The Big Iberian Trip - Lagos

It's very windy in southern Portugal at the moment, so windy that we've decided to stay 2 days in Lagos.

Yesterday we cycled about 40k from Sagres but with a 40kmh headwind it felt twice as far. We chopped off​ all the wiggly bits and stuck with the cycle lane alongside the main road, but even I, Mr Schedule Man, had to accept that there might be better things to do than spend another day cycling into a gale.