We’ve been gradually climbing up to the Plains in Spain where apparently the Rain Mainly falls and reached 600m when disaster or a stroke of luck struck depending on how you look at it and Linda (who’s already headbutted a plate glass door in a hotel) managed to slip over in the bathroom of a hotel, bang her head against the shower screen and end up sitting on the loo, which may explain why, when she changed her toothbrush head she threw the new one away instead of the old one! Ever since returning from Korea Linda has had dizzy spells which amazingly vanished when we flew into Gibraltar. These returned with avengeance after the fall and we were sitting at the bottom of the biggest climb of the trip so far.
Our route was supposed to take us up to 1000m on dirt track (＂cycle route＂) but with Linda’s dizzyness cycling on gravel tracks really slowly is quite difficult, especially as the heavens were currently depositing all the rain from the plains on the top of the mountain in some huge thunderstorms and turning the roads into mini rivers. God was obviously on our side, so we cheated and got a taxi for the 20km climb to the top and checked in to a hotel at the first town so Linda could go to sleep for the day. (Honestly this wasn’t just a bad hangover!). The reception at the hotel were lovely when I explained about Linda not being well and I asked for a quiet room which they were happy to find for us. I think their idea of quiet and ours differs somewhat, we’ve generally thought that pneumatic drills in the room below classes as noisy, but this is Spain, so who knows. Anyway, despite this Linda slept most of the day and night and we were able to press on with Linda now wearing a cycle helmet and bubble wrap when she’s not cycling, just to be safe.
The route up from Badajoz takes in more wonderful towns and cities, Caceres being the most impressive city so far with a fabulous square with as we are now getting used to an event happening in it on our arrival. I don’t think they can really be laying stuff on for us, but we’ve arrived at so many cities and towns just in time for processions, festivals, car rally, motorbike rallies, protest matches, religious parades, folk festivals and bull massacres (didn’t like that last one much) that we actually think they either have a festival or event every weekend or it is for us! Maybe our jinx of revolution following in our wake has changed to festivals in advance? Anyway, the marathon that Caceres had laid on wasn’t thought out properly and started about 15 mins after our bed time so we didn’t hang about for the finish.
We’ve also not been camping much, it’s been going down to 5C at night and we’ve been told it was -7C at night further north one night recently (presumably they’re getting ready for an ice festival for when we arrive) so we’ve hoteled. Generally we go for cheap as chips which have proved a mixed bunch. Most are OK, some are very nice and the odd one is a disaster, but with the weather now turning again and getting warmer we hope to be back in the tent again soon.
So, we’ve slipped past the peaks and are now firmly ensconced on the plains gradually losing the height we’ve gained before we reach the Pyrenees when we’ve got to climb once more. Perhaps Linda’s dizzyness will return for a few days so we can cheat once more…
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