By Gail and Jim Spann

Thursday, we think? Anyhow, who really cares as the days just start becoming a blur on this trip. We had sat up late last night and Jim had been trying to fight a sinus infection, well…it got worse as the night wore on and we decided to not ride today but actually sleep in. Good idea, we got some rest finally.

The hotel is gorgeous, built in 1928 near the top of the mountain, it is decorated with grand antiques and has many rooms full of big windows. We went down for breakfast and met up with a few others that seemed to want the day off as well.

The coffee was hot, the bread was just baked, and we were ready to kick back.

After taking our time and talking to a few others we got ourselves ready for a bus ride into Burgohondo, where the racers would be coming through twice. The ride down the mountain in a bus that is pulling trailer is an experience unto itself, believe me!
Windy and twisty narrow roads in places, it makes you realize that you are glad you are not driving.

We arrive at the town, hop out and find a town water station, a nice stone built structure with a spigot to drink out of, not that we did..you just never know. I should imagine that people used to fill water jugs there in the olden days. We did see a fellow walk up and turn it to drink from. Kinda cool!

We, wisely, went to the local pub/bar and had a nestea iced tea! They serve drinks in tall thin glasses here and the ice fits in to stack…so three cubes of tall ice per cup. No plastic to speak of here, cokes and other soft drinks are mostly in glass bottles and kept very cold..wonderful.
There is little to no litter also, they all keep it quite clean…although so many people smoke, you seldom see butts laying around.

After we had a cold drink we walked all of a ¼ mile to the race area, found a spot in the middle of a bridge and waited. Not fifteen minutes and here comes the first group of racers…Jim had his long lens out and got some wonderful shots. The next batch came through about four minutes later with the Liberty Seguros team all in a row and looking strong. We notice how small the peleton is as they come by. The racers are dropping out in droves…it is very hard cycling. The climbs go on for miles and it is hot. This area is very arid, yet when you come into the valleys there are vineyards galore!

We met up with an American we had met the day before, he was sitting across from us on the bridge..talk about a small world. He wore a Wonder bread jersey the day before…so I called out to him and said “ Hey wonder bread man !”…he was shocked to see us.

We decided to skip the second viewing of the race as it was quite hot and head back to the hotel instead. We had some local peaches which were great while returning. When we got back we grabbed camera batteries and went on a hike through trails down the mountain and took some great photos of historical relics. The trails are marked and hiking is a sport many love in this part of Spain . Jim and I had the pleasure of hiking alone and we did some good distance before returning to the hotel and having a few cold drinks. We sat outside under umbrellas as the various people on our tour rode back…so we bought a round of ice cold beers for everyone. They call it “Having a Shout”.

We just came up for a quick rest before heading down for a formal dinner at eight thirty , when the restaurant opens. It is just after six here now, and I think a hot bath is in order.
Jim had some sinus medicine, we have three doctors biking with us, so no problem on a traveling pharmacy here!
He is feeling better, but is a bit under the weather still.

We will not get his bag till tomorrow evening, at the hotel. They have shipped his biking gear there, we hope!

Although not biking as much, we are hiking and walking a lot…enjoying the wonderful feel of Spain . I admire the locals here, this land is not easy to live in..the arid terrain is a difficult place to raise cattle and crops, but they still do it!
The vineyards are a great thing for them though, the rojas wine ( red ) is dry and delicious. We had bottles on the dinner table every night, it is traditional.

Okay, hot bath here I come…more tomorrow, if I can get online…it has proven to be somewhat rare here!
Even dial up.

All our best,
Gail and Jim Spann