The Rain in Spain, Part 1.

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Back on the road with friends, from Faro, Portugal, to Teruel via Jerez and Jaén.

** A note it seems Chrome browsers, mobile and desktop are distorting some of the images or not sizing correctly. I seems to be a result of a recent update to Chrome for which I do not yet have a fix. Safari, Firefox, iOS browsers are fine. Apologies if you are encountering this problem, I will diagnose properly when I return to the UK. **

With a few days in hand before needing to be in Jerez, I’d planned a route of a few days that would have taken me north from Faro to meet the Via Algarviana trail on its way east to the border with Spain. In the event however that didn’t happen – I was sick on leaving the UK and needed some short days on my bike in order to recover, and the weather had been, and continued to be, monumentally wet, turning the trails unrideably ‘sticky’.

Crossing the plains of Castilla La Mancha was a little dull for a day or so but an essential connection, and contrast, between the endless rolling sea of olive groves around Jaén to the cool, misty, forested mountains to the northeast

Southern Spain and Portugal have the worst kind of mud I’ve encountered in any part of the world – a thick, gooey clay, fortified with pebbles,  that packs up super quickly and renders a bicycle utterly immobile within just a few metres. I’d fallen foul of it on previous visits, and still managed to fall foul of it while following the easy, less trail-oriented coastal route towards the Spanish border, having left Faro in pouring rain. I had however been lucky enough to happen to be in Faro at the same time as some friends from Cornwall, also on their way through, and as such beers were enjoyed in a brief spell of sunshine.

Faro. I like Faro, it has a small but lovely old town that is not blighted by an ugly flavour of tourism. It is also a brilliant place to fly into with a bicycle, as the airport has thoughtfully provided ‘bicycle assembly’ work stations in the baggage hall.
Faro
Tavira. I’d been through this way before, back in 2015, hence being keen to explore some inland trails, however it’s still a nice ride.
The ferry that runs across the Rio Guadiana, from Villa Real de Santo Antonio (Portugal) to Ayamonte (Spain). There is a road bridge but it’s a motorway – no bicycles. The ferry is a far more pleasant way to cross the border, in exchange for a couple of Euros. The towns on both sides are lovely.
Fishing, Ayamonte
The road to Huelva… a very wet spring means the countryside is super green and fragrant.
.. also the trail to Huelva. This stretch was sandy rather than muddy so mostly rideable with the exception of a couple of flooded stretches.
Somewhere enroute to Huelva.
I’m always blown away by the dedicated cycle infrastructure in Spain. This is one of the cycle paths into Huelva, it starts about 6km out of the city. Contrast with the usual half-arsed, potholed strip of paint in the gutter, littered with broken glass and parked cars, that too often passes for “active travel” support in the UK. Having had to do some short days, I ran out of time to ride to Jerez and hopped on a train from Huelva to Jerez, via Sevilla for lunch.
I enjoyed a lovely few days in and around Jerez de La Frontera with friends. Eating, drinking, and exploring, with a spot of street photography thrown in. This is Cádiz.
Sanlúcar de Barrameda. I feel very lucky to have been able to spend time here with life-long friends, and all because of wandering into a photographic shop in Montreal in 1997.
On the coast at Barbate.. tuna fishing centre of Europe apparently… it was certainly a tasty experience.
Barbate.
Vejer de la Frontera
Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Back on the road… I’d hopped on a train to Jaén to catch up with a friend from the Basque Country for the ride northeast to Teruel. Another instance of feeling lucky to have such friends, this time all because of a chance encounter while riding in the Himalayas.
Again frequently very wet and very windy, it was a ride of about 500km across a part of Spain that is often passed over. The rain meant making use of quiet backroads for much of the journey, with about 30% being trails and a super Via Verde, pictured here. Spain has a terrific network of old railways converted into cycle ways. This one is the Via Verde de la Sierra de Alcaraz. It runs for 130km to Albacete.
Jaén is the olive oil capital of Spain. The countryside is a vast sea of olive groves stretching for kilometre after kilometre. In parts it looks like a monoculture but the wild flowers are allowed to grow and the area is thick with noisy birdlife, which means lots of insects, so perhaps not. Certainly a contrast to parts of home that have had the crap sprayed out of them with pesticides, and are often silent.
Crossing the plains of Castilla La Mancha was a little dull for a day or so but an essential connection, and contrast, between the endless rolling sea of olive groves around Jaén to the cool, misty, forested mountains to the northeast. Intense thunderstorms with hail and torrential rain were a thing each day, bar one.
Castellar, searching for a beer and bocadillo in a village bar to escape the rain.
Some terrific camp spots along the way.
Tiny villages… this one is Venta del Moro.
Misty mountains…
.. and damp, fragrant forests.
In view of the weather, I’d plotted this route while in Jerez as an alternative to a more trail-oriented alternative. It still featured some great trails however, with a few surprises like this long, steep, rocky climb… as I mentioned to my riding buddy while we slogged upwards….”never trust an Englishman…”
Also impressive hilltop castle complexes, like this one, the ruined Castillo de Moya, near Landete (Castilla La Mancha), parts of which date from the 12th century.
We camped amongst some trees opposite.. a cool, windy but sunny evening turned into a monumentally wet and windy, and cold, night… altitude here about 1200m.
Ademuz for coffee before the final stretch to Teruel. Village bars were an essential daily ritual for this ride.. supplying coffee, and lunchtime beers and food.. and a refuge from the storms :-)

Chased into Teruel by another thunderstorm, I’m resting my legs for a couple of days before setting off again. Meanwhile my friend was off on the bus back home to Vitoria in the early hours of this morning; I’ll probably get there in a week or so for a final catch-up before the last leg to Santander and the boat home.

It’s chilly up here :-)

4 thoughts on “The Rain in Spain, Part 1.”

  • Hi Mike – Thank you for keeping us posted on the Spain trip. It looks amazing, albeit a little wet!
    I agree, how wonderful it is to find people out on the road, connect with them and then catch up later for repeat rides and continued conversations.
    I’m off with my partner in 2 days to Switzerland and then England for a couple of weeks riding in the Dales, among others. It’s her first trip to England outside of London!!
    Take care mate
    Dave (West Australia)

    Reply

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