Spain

Made good distance today. The wind was as strong as France day 1 (or stronger). Fortunately, most of the day saw me ride perpendicular to the wind. I saw more flags literally blown off their poles. At one point, the wind was pushing me along at over 35 km per hour - without me pedaling. What a rush! I expected to have the wind at my back after crossing the pass into Spain. Unfortunately, it was in my face as usual (htough less stiff than on previous days).

There was not much in the way of sights today. I took some pictures of the scenery as I rode. I want to make Barcelona tomorrow, the wind willing.

I hoped to make Gerona tonight, but it looked to be another 40 km at 7:00 when my back tire started to wobble. So, I stopped here to do the requisite repairs. There were no broken spokes, but a few lose nipples (could turn them with my fingers). I trued the wheel again. We'll see if this turns into a daily affair.

Figueres has a farm smell to it. There must be a large livestock farm or farms in the region.

In France, all intersections of equal highways have a roundabout. I even passed one intersection today where the road I was on went straight and the roundabout was to the side. I can see the civil engineers discussing this situation - 'This is France; we must have a roundabout, even if we have to arrange it so as to not stop traffic on the other roads."

It appears to be no left turns in Spain - or at least int he city of Figueres.

Wow! What a day of riding. Not a lot of interest - just good distance and reaching a goal (Barcelona). I received help from a southerly wind in the AM, but not in the afternoon (when the wind shifted around to blow from the south). I decided against riding along the coast as there would be no way to predict the wiond on the other side of the last hills. It (C-251) turned out to be a nice ride, having little traffic and traversing some natural park areas. Nevertheless, the whole trip from Figueres was pretty hilly.

It sprinkled on me at different times and looked threatening in the distance. However, it never got bad enought o break out the rain gear.

I took C-152 into Barcelona from Granoliers. It looked on the map to be a "minor" 2 lane road. In reality, it is a multi-lane divided highway - heavily trafficked by speeding autos.

Upon arriving in Barcelona, I found no room at the inns - any of them. I walked from hotel to hotel for 2 hours, gradually making my way out from the town center. Finally, i came across a 4 star hotel which must have had a cancellation / no show - they had one room but only for one night (and were booked thereafter). I think the receptionist took pity on me as he gave me a "special rate" - effectively the rate that the 3 star hotels were charging I believe.

I am going to stay in 3 nights (Sat, Sun, Mon) in Barcelona to take some time on monday to clear some outstanding issues (taxes, insurance, exiting Europe, etc.).

Moved from the Crystal Palace to the Aragon Hotel. It seemed ot he the only place which had rooms when I called around last night. Quite coincidentally (and accidentally), this place was the first of the ten or so hotels I checked with last night. By the tie I moved today, however, I missed the Catalan dance in front of the Cathedral and the history museum. Unfortunately, the history museum is closed on Mondays (e.g., July 17), so I guess I will miss it comkpletely.

I did see Gaudis Familia Sagria. It is a cathderal started in 1882 and not yet half completed. Nevertheless, the 2 facades (which are finished) are exceptional. One shows the nativity with the Christ child, while the other shows the passion of the Christ with his crucifixion. The whol complex is quite awe inspiring - especially since you can walk inside where the construction is on-going.

I ventured down La Rambla, the main tourist street. It had lots of restaurants, including a Chi-Chis of all things.

July 17 was mostly internet, shopping for air tickets out of Europe. This proved to be a large waste of time. I visited the Iberia air office, but hte nest I can do is USD 1,100 plus excess baggage charges for the bike. I will think on it overnight and will stop at a travel agent on my way out of town.

In the afternoon, I went up in a tower in the harbor. It provided nice views of the city. At night, the lights on the tall hill behind Barcelona (the Tibidalo>) are exceptional. Unfortunately, wioth all the time spent on finding a flight to the US, I don't think I will have time to make it up there. Last night (July 16) there was an incredible full moon which made made for some interesting views of the city from my hotel.

I made it inside the Cathedra (July 17). It was OK, but nothing compareed to St. Vitus or the Duomo in Milan - not as big or nearly ornate as either of those edifices.

It's neat to see Gaudi's works scattered around the city. They are exceptional.

Amazing that I made it even 66 km. I stopped at an Amex travel office first thing. here I spent over an hour, but the lady found me a one-way airfare for about USD 500. I should have come here yesterday. I leave out of Madrid on August 3.

Issues dealth with

baggage fees - have to pay twice if fliy from Seville and change airlines (Iberia + BA)

bicylce boxes - Continental says they will have them at the airport

getting to the airport - I contemplated using my Eurail pass to goto Franfurt for Lufthansa's direct flight to Chicago. However, this means cutting my bicylcing time short and dealing with multiple trains.

As it is, I just need to hop a train from wherever I am in Spain on Aug 2 and head to Madrid. Sounds like a snap.

As I was checking out of the hotel, a guy stopped me and talked regarding my trip. He mentioned that he had done some touring, though not for months at a time. He noted that I had a lot of stuff, commenting that this seemed pretty typically American. I pointed out to him that it was more typical of someone who was a novice at touring (like myself) than due to nationality.

After Amex, I spent a couple hours rising around the city just trying to find my way out. I got lost several times and even found myself on the restricted access freeway at one point. One motorcyclist rode by shaking his finger, apparently indicating that the road was not for bicyclists. No shit Sherlock. How about some help getting off this road and out of the city.

Nevertheless, I rode on and a guy on a scooter eventually stopped and pointed me in the right direction. It turns out that by this time, I was almost out of the city anyway, though.

After riding about 40 km (20 in Barcelona)l I realized in Ordal that I had another broken spoke. I changed it again without removing anything from the bike. However, I realized that the wheel was terribly untrue. I figured my best chance of avoiding further broken spokes was to true the wheel. So, I unloaded everything. It actually took only about 40 minutes to true the wheel this time, so I must be getting better at it.

I arrived in Villafranco at 8:00. BY this time, I decided that I had beetter stop than push on the 20 km to the coast. This was the last large town for a while. I found a bike shop and bought 6 extra spokes. We will see if this is enough.

Got started around 11:00 this morning and made great time. I had the 50 km to Tarragona out of the way by 1:30. There, I spent 2-3 hours wandering between the Roman Ruins. Actually, they were not much to see. This city was the capital of Roman Spain. It even had a circus for chariot racing, but there is very little left. What ruins do remain require some imagination

I realized another broken spoke at around 7:00. Glad I bought extra ones yesterday. fixing it took only about 20 minutes, but this is because I skipped the trueing.

If I have a bicyle tomorrow, it will be a mircale. I rode through L'Aldea at 8:30, wanting to make it to Amposta 6 km away. Amposta looked to be a larger town, and hopefully would have better selection of accomodations.

I arrivedin Amposta before 9:00 (and before dark). I rode around for a while, asking various people for directions to a hotel. I finally found what looked to be a fairly nice one, but it was closed (or rather had not opened yet - it was wrapping up construction). Some people passing by at about this time indicated that this was in fact the only hotel in town. So, I raced back to L'Aldea, trying to make the most of the fading light. I fully expected there to be no rooms. Nevertheless, a little truck stop along the side of the road has some rooms, which are rather nice. However, they required that I park my bike in a buildin gout back. They call this thing (loosely) a parkign garage. However, it is a building on a dark street with nothing to prevent access by anyone wanting to walk in. I saw no one around to watch what was parked inside. The parking area inside the building is not visible from the street, so anyone could go inside and tear stuff up with people outside the building being none the wiser. Furthermore, there is nothing fixed inside the building to lock the bike to - I looked everywhere. I did eventually find a piece of scaffolding to afix the bike to and covered it with a tarp laying on the floor. We'll see if it is there in the morning.

Decent day of riding today. It started out overcast and was misting at one point. I stopped for lunch after riding 41KM, then made the next 90 KM with only a couple of stops for Cokes. Interestingly, there was another large burn area, this time at Bemcassim - again on both sides of the road.

I made it to Villa Real at around 7:00 PM and spent an hour in town looking for a hotel. I finally gave up and started riding out of town when I found this 4 star place for the equivalent of USD 45. So, I stopped to get a good night's rest. It turned out to be a very nice little hotel with a grocery conveniently located just across the road. The receptionist was pretty friendly, spoke great English, and cute to boot.

Tried to figrue out the best way to get across Spain to Grenada. Cutting cross country gives me few towns and very far between them with lots of mountains to cross. According to the map, any towns I might come across would be pretty small. Seems like the type of thing one could disappear into without a trace. I spoke to the hotel receptionist and the night guy here at the hotel. The confirmed that the middle of the country would be at a higher altitude and is like a treeless desert in many places. They suggested the coast might be better as it would provide more opportunities to stop for water and habitation. It is also less hilly along the coast (as the mountain ranges all descend to sea level as they reach the coast). As this is my first tour and the bike is getting a little ragged (no broken spokes, but second gear has been slipping for a couple of days), I don't hink I will push my luck. I will see how far I can get along the coast and take a train if I run out of time.

Got a late start. This always seems to happen when I am in a nice hotel with English language TV stations - talk about appreciating the little things.

I mailed a couple of packages and was on the road by 12:00. It was nice riding today. I passed a couple of castles on hills. Took a couple of pictures of the one at Almunara. However, the one at Sagunt looked to be in much better condition.

I thought I would scoot through Valencia without seeing much (trying to save time). As it turned out, though, I think I was able to hit all of the main sites. I stumbled across the cathedral. The view from the top wasn't much, but it did have what they claim to be the holy grail. The interior of the cathedral seemed to be more modern than the other cathedrals I have seen. Again, they had the bones of some Saint (Sebastian, I think) who was a martyr. Seems kind of creepy to me.

I thought I misht stop early today but got caught in between towns as the day was drawing to a close. I should have stopped in Silla at 6:00 but wanted to get at least 70 KM in for the day. So I rode a bit further, thinking I would stop in Sueca at around 8:30.

The ride from Sollana to Sueca was particularly nice, with rice paddies. The road was straight as an arrow, and the mountains in the distance created quite a backdrop to the whole landscape.

Unfortunately, I was not able to find any hotels in Sueca. Even more unfortunately, I discovered around this time that I had a flat. At this point, I pretty much thought I was screwed with night coming on and no place to stop anywhere near. The attendant at a nearby gas station confirmed my suspicisions, indicating that the nearest hotels were in Cullera - only about 5KM away - an eternity when you are pushing an overstuffed bicycle. Nevertheless, I used the station's air pump to put a little air in the tube to see how quick the leak was. It did not seem too bad. So, I headed out into the approaching night, and checked the tire every half KM or so. It eventually went down some, but got me into Cullera.

In Cullera, I went door to door in the dark for an hour and a half looking for a place to stay. I hate this. After 7:00, I need to just stop at the first place that looks acceptable, to minimize time wastage. For a coastal resort, this place has surprisingly few hostals / hotels.

Cullera is the second Spanish town in which I have found a "cyber cafe" without the cyber. The cafe is still there, but the internet connections are not. Guess they need to work on their business model a bit more.

One thing I have noticed while riding in Spain is that you get a lot of people who yell at you from their cars trying to scare the hell out of you as they go by. This happened very occasionally in other countries but is a daily occurrence here. Also, in other countries it was limtied to kids. In Spain, both the adults are just as apt as anyone else to engage in this sort of thing. These people need somehting to do with their time. It really surpises me since I see a fair number of people riding on the roads here.

What a terrible day of riding. (Mis)fortune smiled on me several times, today - twice in the form of flat tires. One was from the night before. The second occurred in a stretch of road that ran through a very isolated canyon / ravine. Of course, the second flat made me later that I had planned, so ended up looking around after dark for a place to stay. Being a Friday night on the coast, everything was full (even the campgrounds). Between 10:30 and 11:00 PM , I finally stumbled across a campground that had a spare tree they would let me park under.

I laid out the just footprint and the rain fly, skipping the tent to save time. This seemed to work well, as I woke up the next morning with only a couple of bites. It did start raining a couple of times during the night. The first time, I jumped up and got everything under cover, but it never got too hard or lasted too long.

As I was unpacking, one of my neighbors came over and invited me to tea. After I set up camp and showered, I went over and chatted with them. They were Louis and Pietra (?) from Antwerp, Belgium. A nice couple, they were on vacation for 4-5 weeks.

In hindsight, what really made the day unbearable was the wind (revisited). This isn't just a normal headwind; that is not a problem. The wind of which I speak is the wind that blows unnaturally hard andinexplicably from whichever direction I turn and try to ride into. At one point, I was riding southeast up a small mountain into a strong headwind all the while thinking that I would gain something of a reprieve when I eventually turned due south to ride perpendicular to the wind. Nope. I turned, but the wind was there to greet me. 8 days of this crap in France was enough for me.

Riding was a little hilly today, but nice scenery. As I was leaving Cedlero this morning, I passed a saw a lot of pink flamingos.

Had another flat tire after only 4KM of riding this morning. This is getting old. I think my back tire is past its useful life. It is hanging on by the proverbial thread. The rim is true but the tire is so out of round that I can actually feel the wobble in the seat and pedals. Riding after the first flat 2 days ago was the killer. Oh well, it made it 2000 km - 1000 km farther than the tire I started with.

Riding along the coast today reminded me a little of the Italian Riviera. Although, the road here was a little further away from the shore and a little more up and down (rather than in & out).

Allacante / Albacete is a nice town with a neat looking fort at the top of the hill near my hotel. It is lit up quite nice at night. However, I was too tired to walk to the top. I did walk around the bottom of the hill, hoping to find a lift / funicular - but no luck in this respect.

This evening, I spoke with Mom, Mark, and Dad briefly. I looked for a bike shop. The patched spare I am carrying with me is leaking. My good fortune knows no bounds.

Not much distance today, due to a late start. First, I was able to track down "Danger Bikes", a little bike shop here in town. They were packing everything and in the process of moving to a new location, but the guy rummaged around with a new tire and tube.

I was on the road by 12:30, but it was very slow going. A stiff headwind, unbearable heat, and oppressive sunshine meant frequent stops for a breather and drinks.

I rode through the town of Elche around mid-day. I read that it is supposed to have one of the nicest parks in Spain. The couple from Belgium that I met in Culp had mentioned that this place was worth a stop as well. Unfortunately, I did not see any signs for it along the road I was taking. I suppose the real hang up was time, though. With the late start and wanting to make some progress today, I wasn't real anxious to wander around too much looking for it.

I hit 3,218 KM in Orthuda this afternoon. Why is this significant? It is the equivalent of 2,000 miles for this trip. Never thought I would be able to say that I had ridden my bike for 2,000 miles. Never thought I would want to say that, but it feels good.

No dinner tonight. I was clearing e-mail in the internet cafe until after all the quick eat places closed. I did not want to do a full sit down menu, so will just have a big breakfast tomorrow morning.

I think I may have overdone it yesterday. I got up at 9:00 this morning and went to the grocery store for some grub, but was very tired and went back to bed until 2:30 this afternoon. Even then, I was very tired for the rest of the day. I noticed that the temp was still around 34 degrees Centigrade in the shade at 7:00 PM. I will try to get up and start early tomorrow monring.

I spent some time this afternoon in the internet cafe. The news says says that a Concorde crashed.

Later, I walked around town, which is really nice. There were not many tourists and the whole area was pretty laid back. It had a really nice cathedral, too.

Got a good start today - I did 70 KM before 1:00 PM. Took the aftrernoon off in Huercal to let the heat pass. When I started riding again at 4:30, it was 41 degrees. Fortunately, I probably spent the hottest part of the day in the shade.

The scenery during the latter part of the day was nice - mountains in the distance on both sides and several rows of mountains in front of me. I suppose I will have to find a way around / through them tomorrow.

Thank heavens for Spanish frontage roads. I have debated the route I should take through this area for the last couple days. Both maps I have show only interstate (the "autovia") for large stretches of the route I want to take between Totana and Huercal. I wanted to go this way as it seemed to be starighter, shorter, and less mountainous than the other options. However, I wasn't sure I coul get through since you can't ride bicycles on the interstate highway. Nevertheless, I pressed ahead, deciding that I would confront the lack of a road when I came to it. The frontage roads were there, allowing me to ride pretty much alongside of the interstate the whole way. Although, at one point, the road steadily got worse until I was riding on nothing but rock.

Tomorrow may be more challenging as I head into some foothills and am unsure if frontage roads will follow the main highway as handily. We will see.

I love Spain. As I write, I am watching what appears to be a sitcom (due to the laugh tracks) on Spanish TV. It appears to be a show about strippers and goes so far as showing them nude. I wonder what this would do for ratings on US TV.

This was a very strange day of riding - the good, bad, and the freaky. I left the hostal around 8:30 (getting an early start llike this was the good). As I was riding in the first hour, I noticed an older gentleman drive past me in a an older model brown mercedes - first from behind, then from in front, and then from behind again. As I cycled on, I soon passed him just sitting in his car along the side of the road (sort of out in the middle of nowhere). I stopped for supplies at the next gas station I came to (about 10 minutes further along) and parked my bike out of sight behind a building. While in the gas station, I noticed the guy in the mercedes pull up to a restaurant across the road and go inside. I finished my purchase, hopped on my bike and started riding again, noting that the guy remained inside the restaurant (hopefully not seeing me) as I took off.

At this point, the road I had been following for the morning had reached and ended at the interstate highway. There was no obvious road that went any further South (the direction I needed to go towards the coast), but began looking for a frontage road and rode down a little side road that turned into a dead end. As I turned around to backtrack, the guy in the mercedes was coming down the road behind me. I went past and turned down an unpaved side road that parallelled the interstate for a bit, crossed a stream, and then went under the highway. The road quickly deteriorated the further I rode and I was starting to think that there might not be a frontage road in this area.

There were several signs spaced along the side of the road that said "Prohibido!" and "Privada Properdad!". I wasn't sure if the signs referred to the land beside the road or if I might have passed onto private property. In either event, the situation started feeling grim. I reached a point where the "road" I was following turned into little more than a rock strewn path as it climbed steeply over a tall hill. As I looked back, I noted to guys on bikes behind me. Apparently, they had ridden down this path after me, but were now stopped. Thinking that they might know the way (or worse, were looking for trespassers), I turned to go back to try to speak to them. As I turned, the guy in the mercedes appeared yet again from around the corner behind the bikers . He rolled slowly by me as I continued back in their direction. This was starting to get really freaky!

When I reached them, I found that they spoke a little English and their names were Jesus and Nacho. They looked to be in their early 20's and were biking to Vera, on the coast, for the weekend. Nacho had a flat tire, which we promptly changed. They indicated that this was the first time that they had travelled this way. Fortunately, a gentleman at the last restaurant had indicated to them that the "road" we were on would eventually take us to Vera. Blind-ass luck shined her glorious rays in my direction once again. Although, I continued to wonder what the guy in the mercedes was up to and whether he had been the one to point Jesus and Nacho down the road I had wandered down.

As we rode, Jesus explained that the castles in this area were Moorish and individual towers were placed such that, standing in one, you could always see at least two other fortified points (either another tower or castle). This arrangement formed a network that allowed communication with mirrors and smoke. I had seen many towers before and thought that they were the remains of something larger, but now realized that they were likely never much bigger than their current size.

As we rode through Cuevas, Jesus pointed out the residences of cave dwellers. Many of the homes in this area were in fact carved into cliffs such that windows and doors opened right out onto the road. I did not take any pictures in this area because Nacho indicated that his father had lived in this type of dwelling at one point. I didn't want to offend anyone by acting like this type of arrangement was out of the ordinary.

We parted ways in Vera. Nacho and Jesus turned toward the coast. I continued another 5 - 8 km along a rocky frontage road. I must have passed under a thorn tree along here because I picked up 4 or 5 thorns in each tire. That's right, two flat tires at once. Joy of joys. I changed both tubes, but realized that my hand pump was not putting the 45-50 psi in the tires that I needed to support the weight the bike carried. Riding without more air pressure would have shredded the tires. So, I pushed the bike about 4 KM to the next gas station, only to find that its air pump was out of service. Talk about your luck turning. At least, they were in the process of fixing the compressor. Not knowing how far the next gas station would be, I waited.

At this point, my plan to ride early and rest through the heat of the afternoon was pretty much shot. I wanted to make some progress today, so once the pump was fixed and I had enough air in the tires, I decided to brave the afternoon heat and set out at a measured pace. There were lots of hills, but none were too steep. Although the wind never seemed to cooperate, the scenery was quite pretty. The stretch of road from Tabernas to Mini Hollywood was probably the prettiest I have seen.

Not much of interest today. I started late - at 11:00 - and it was pretty slow going from there. The road betwee Adra and Motril was lots of up and down and in and out. This was very draining. There were no places to pick up provisions for the first 30 KM after Adra, so I lacked the usual supply line and ended up skipping lunch.

I ended up riding through the afternoon. It felt cooler than prior days - possibly because I am closer to the coast. Again, there was great scenery. The wind was not blowing directly in my face at gale force, which was nice for once. Nevertheless, the engineer who built the road needs a lessen in "flat". I can't imagine the amount of materials wasted in building this road and resources needlessly consumed by everyone driving on the road merely because the road does so much climbing and diving rather than following a more level line. I expect more of the same tomorrow, though hte map gives me hope it will be limited to the morning.

I am trying to decide whether to go straight to Grenada tomorrow - a 65KM jaunt straight inland through ther mountains - or continue up the coast for two more days and return to Grenada by train later.

The stretch from Motril to Nerja was more of the same up - down stuff from yesterday. The civil engineer responsible really should be slapped until they understand the concept of flat. Made it to Nerja (at 40 KM) at around 2:30. After that it got flat and I made exceptional time - "cruising" at up to 25km per hour for long stretches. Malaga looked to have an interesting Alcabaza. Nevertheless, I cruised right through, trying to put myself in position to make Gibraltar tomorrow if the road allows.

Both of my maps show only the autovia interstate (generally closed to bicycles) from here on. However, I rode to the on-ramp and saw none of the usual signage indicating restricted access. The hotel receptionist claims that the road I need is the type of restricted autovia I was hoping to avoid, but he has ridden his own bicycle along it as far as Marbella. Although, he thinks he might have just been lucky in avoiding the police when doing so. Hmmm. Tomorrow is Sunda - hopefully a low traffic day. We'll see how far I get.

There are loads of UK tourists at this hotel. One of the kids in the elevator mentioned that he was from Wales. The situation has the look of a haven for packaged tours. I stopped at this hotel because it was off the coast and I was concerned about finding a vacancy on a Saturday night. Nevertheless, the place lacked air conditioning and seemed hardly worth the USD 70.

Gibraltar! A nice day of riding. I had a strong tail wind and the terrain was flat until I reached Sotogrande. I gained two broken spokes on the back tire at Estepona and stopped for about 45 minutes to fix them. Luckily, they were not on the side of the free-wheel, so were accessible.

There was lots of traffic backed up heading south between Estepona and Sotogrande. Perhaps it was people returning from the weekend.

I had first sight of Gibraltar just before San Diego. It was just a hazy appirition at first - kind of hard to believe that I had my goal within sight. From this point, it got pretty hilly for about 15 km and my progress slowed dramatically. The town of La Linea lacked decent signage for Gibraltar, but I found the right route nonetheless.

There must be some lingering animosity between Spain and Gibraltar. The border folks put me through passport and customs control going both ways. Things were pretty quite in Gibraltar itself - probably in no small part because I was getting here at the end (about 7:00 PM) of a Sunday. The cable car to the top of the rock was closed due to wind. So I did not get to climb to the top or see the apes that live there. I broke another spoke while riding around in Gibraltar. I heard the pop and noted the wheel starting to wobble, but did not stop since the light was failing fast.

Having reached Gibraltar, my goal now became finding a train that would get me home. The nearest station was Algeciras, just down the road. From Gibraltar, I rode another 10 KM after returning to the Spanish mainland (past San Roque) but had to stop when the wobble of the wheel degraded to the point that the wheel was hitting the bike frame. I thought I would try a quick fix of the spoke and "true" the wheel, but this time the spoke was on the free wheel side of the wheel. Of all the tools I brought on this trip, I don't think I have what I need to get the free wheel off and make this repair. Absolutely amazing that I have ridden almost 2,500 miles and encountered this type of breakdown only now - on the very last day I had allowed myself to ride AND only after reaching psychological goal I had established for the whole trip.

So, I limped into Algeciras and stopped at the Hotel Octavio due to its location directly across the street from the train station. The station supposedly opens at 6:15 AM tomorrow morning with a train to Ronda leaving at 7:00.

Got up at 5:00 to catch the 7:00 train, expecting to eventually make my way to Grenada. However, the ticket guy informed me that I could not take the type of train leaving at 7:00 to get to Grenada, but should wait for the noon train. So, I re-checked into the hotel and went back to sleep. When I returned to the train station at 11:00 and clarified that I wanted to go all the way to Grenada, another ticket agent informed me that I still would not be able to make it. I finally worked out that I could take the bike on the regional trains (lots of stops) but not the more direct trains. The 12:00 train I had intended to take was considered an "Andalucian Express" part of the way but a "TRD" the remainder. I am not sure what all of this meant beyond the fact that I was not going to Grenada.

The ticket lady was very helpful, assisting me in figuring out that I could go Algeciras - Bobadilles - Cordoba (with side trip to Seville) - Jaen (stay over night) - Alazar - Madrid, with a train change in each place. As I had an extra day, I decided I might as well visit Seville and see if I could avoid the overnight in Jaen by taking a different train from there.

The train ride from Algeciras to Ronda was stunning! Lots of spectacular gorges as the train followed a stream into the central highlands. The surrounding mountains were more rounded than "craggy". I did not get to see the gorge at Ronda that I had read about - leaving this train and waiting for the next would have prevented me from having time to visit Seville. After leaving Ronda, the train seemed to be riding at the top of the world as we circled a huge "bowl". I took lots of pictures, but the last camera shop only had 100 speed film and the train was usually moving. We'll see if any turn out. The terrain between Ronda and Codoba was rolling hills - reminded me a bit of the midwest once you get west of Missouri.

After changing trains in Cordoba, the trip was very flat to Seville. The area reminds me a lot of central Illinois, with field filled plains. Although, lots of the fields are planted with sunflowers.

Arrived in Seville at around 6:30 OM. It was unbelievably hot - certainly over 40 degrees centigrade. I would go so far as saying that its the hottest I have experienced on the trip so far. Although, it's a bit difficult to compare to days on the bike, as the wind does a lot to keep you cool while riding.

I checked at a couple of hotels, but it seems that only the 4 star versions are shown on the map I picked up. The first one I found was 9,500 pts plus VAT. The second I found was 9,200 plus VAT and included breakfast. I took it, consoling myself that I had "shopped" around and found the better deal. This hotel was also relatively close to the train station I would need to get to to get to Madrid.

I walked around town this evening, but all of the sites were closed. So I made use of a nearby internet cafe before turning in.

I got up for breakfast and checked out a little before 10:00 AM. I was able to leave the bike and bags at the hotel. Today was not so stiflingly hot, thank goodness.

I walked through the Cathedral. It is pretty big, but not as impressive as others I have seen on this trip. For one thing, it is not so tall - just covering a lot of ground space. The one tower it contains (the Giralda) has a ramp nearly to the top (except for the last 20 steps or so). In Istanbul's Hagia Sophia, this sort of set up was constructed to allow people to ride horses to the top, but not sure of the purpose here.

Also walked through the Alcazar. It would have been interesting to hear the history of this area, but queu for the audio guides was extremely long and the heat was on the rise (so I passed on these to make sure that I would have time to get through the place). The gardens were quite nice and very expansive.

I checked e-mail before heading over to the train station. Here, I took a number and waited for over two hours to be called to the ticket window. Thank goodness I was not short on time this afternoon. The ticket agent was helpful - he tried to get me on the high speed train that went straight to Madrid, but his manager said no due to the bike. As it is, I go to Madrid via Cordoba (with 3 hour layover until about 1:00 AM). We'll see how the connection goes.

I have carried around a Eurail pass the entire summer. It would have let me travel by train pretty much anywhere in Europe at any time during this trip. Although, the only time I have used it is the very last bit in getting back from Southern Spain to Madrid. It works well. You don't even have to buy an actual ticket - you just enter the date on the pass and get on and ride. Truly a novel idea.

The connection in Cordoba was a little uncertain at first. The porter looked at my bike and said it could not come on board the sleeper car. However, after I explained that I had bought all four beds in one of the compartments, he relented.

After arriving in Madrid, I grabbed a taxi to the airport. The driver was able to strp the bike to the top of the car. While I wasn't flying until Aug. 3, I wanted to confirm my ticket, figure out how to ship the bike, and grab a hotel nearby to mitigate any commuting needed. I was prepared to abandon the bike if shipping it looked to be undoable. Nevertheless, the airline had boxes at the airport for packing the bike. Also, they said something about charging me for shipping but then did not.

After sorting out the plane situation, I loaded down the bike and struck out looking for a hotel. I found this hotel nearby and checked in by early afternoon. I ended up sleeping to through until the next morning.