Gaucin to Cortes de la Frontera via El Colmenar

October 19, 2022

Another beautiful cork oak forest

I woke up 8 ish. Gail reported that she was feeling a lot better. That's good news!

It was a foggy morning in Gaucin, once again providing no views of Gibraltar. We were out the door around 10 am. For the first time, we were without a route in the Garmin because it wouldn’t load. The route is a simple one, so we won't miss the turn by turn directions. But will we miss the hill climbing beta? Maybe, and maybe not! The 'ClimbPro' feature on the Garmin Edge 530 normally lets us know how must climbing is remaining, and how steep it will be. Sometimes, I'd rather not know.

We started downhill for 10 km to the nice looking town of El Colmenar, and immediately stopped for a second breakfast of tostadas and coffee. Our cafe was immediately opposite the train station, and we watched a short passenger train come through town. That was about it for traffic today.

A beautiful morning with stunning views. Gibraltar is still hiding though.

It was a fast downhill to our second breakfast.

There was a big uphill out of El Colmenar through beautiful cork oak forest at lower elevations, and a pine forest near the top. Then a big downhill, followed by another up, then down into Cortes de la Frontera. We saw hardly any cars, but lots of sheep, donkeys, and cows. Plus a deer. And there were lots of griffon vultures soaring overhead.

The pavement was not as good as past few days, except on last few km into town. The upside was that there was almost no roadside litter today- a nice change. We enjoyed perfect temps for riding.

We saw a big cork sorting yard at edge of town.

We had some difficulty finding our fabulous multi-level townhouse in Cortes de La Frontera because Google maps had the location wrong. We did laundry before heading to grocery store, where we found a giant bottle of beer, anchovy stuffed olives, and chips. We enjoyed then on our rooftop terrace, surrounded by drying laundry.

And spectacular views as we started our descent to Cortes.

Cortes is a really nice town, with poetry painted on lots of buildings. We walked a bit around town in search for food - we explored the small bullfighting ring built in the late 1800s.

Our nice little street in Cortes de la Frontera.

I was continually amazed by the sight of palm trees. They're just not something I associate with riding in a mountainous area.

One of the poems scattered through the town. I really enjoyed this touch.

The exterior of the bull ring built in the 1890s. It's the largest in the area, other than the one in Ronda.

And the interior. We couldn't access the interior for a daytime shot. It's 30 m in diameter. Surprisingly small.

After our chosen restaurant reported that they weren't serving food today, we walked back in the direction we'd come from, and had dinner at a restaurant next to the outdoor town pool- it’s still open at this time of year. I’m sorry we missed it today. Our server at dinner was delightful, and she was happy to practice her English. Gail and I split a salad and a very good pork/mushroom dish.

Today's ride: 33 km (20 miles)
Total: 329 km (204 miles)

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