November 9, 2019
Huelva
We get an early start today and are out the door by 8:30, not really all that much after sunrise. We push ourselves to get an early start because we have a longish ride ahead with a ferry crossing to time ourselves to - the ferry across the Guadiana, which runs hourly. We want to make the 10:30 departure to leave ourselves plenty of time on the other side to complete the ride.
There are quieter, more scenic routes to the ferry terminal at Vila Real de Santo Antonio, but we’re in no mood to experiment and risk missing our ferry. We stick to the highway the whole way, which is reasonably quiet on Saturday morning, and arrive with almost an half hour to spare.
If you come this way, you should definitely cross the Guadiana using this ferry. There is a high, scary looking bridge upriver a ways, but I wouldn’t want to be up there. The ferry is perfect and makes a scenic way to enter Ayamonte and leave Portugal behind.

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Andalucia! We love this part of Spain, and are excited to be back again. It is so colorful and just has a different feel from other parts of the country. We feel and see the difference immediately once we enter Ayamonte’s lovely historical center. We hear the GBO squeaking that he wants to see too, but we tell him to pipe down and go back to sleep. His time is coming.

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Ladies: "tu cucaracha!!!!"
Scott: "Oof!" (Doubles over in pain)
3 weeks ago

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Leaving Ayamonte, we bike past a long market that lines the canal, one of those where it looks like you can buy anything from cut flowers to washing machines, and soon are on the Via Verde crossing another broad marshy expanse that feels like a continuation of the Ria Formosa.
We could ride the Via Verde most of the remaining thirty miles to Huelva, but that’s more sand and gravel than Team Anderson cares to invest in today. After a few miles we hop off and on to the first quiet paved road we come to and follow it to Lepe, where we stop for lunch.

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Not far beyond Cartaya, the next town past Lepe, we leave the pavement again for a route that crosses a low, pine-covered ridge. We’re going this way because in my reading of the map the paved route goes through a tunnel best avoided. Now that we’ve tried this alternative though, I might look at the map again before coming this way - maybe we should have just stuck with the Via Verde the whole way after all. This path becomes exactly that - just a path for a few miles, and barely cycleable. Very pretty and peaceful, but we’re more than happy when we come out the other side and find ourselves on pavement once more.
The remaining miles to a Huelva are wonderful - awesome, really - on a completely delightful bike path that carries us the final five miles to the city, first weaving through pine forest and then following the lagoons and marshes that border the Odiel River.
In the the evening we are reminded of how much we hate Spain after all. We head out at 7:30 looking for a bite to eat, and nothing is open yet - not even the tapas bars. The restaurants we test say they’ll open at 8:30, perhaps - or maybe 9. Finally we find an Italian place that opens at 8 and have a decent meal and an enjoyable chat with our Romanian server. He has plenty of time to chat with us - there are still no other diners when we leave at 9. Why would there be? This is Spain, after all.

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1 month ago

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Xxx
Video save
Xxx
Video sound track: Que Nos Paso, by Kany Garcia

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Ride stats today: 49 miles, 1,600’; for the tour: 1,483 miles, 47,500’
Today's ride: 49 miles (79 km)
Total: 1,483 miles (2,387 km)
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On a side note, I've been looking at that temperature map on Weather Bug and it seems like you are in a perfect weather bubble between cold air masses to the north and south. It must be the good luck of travelling with the GBO!
Sorry to hear about the break in the AFD streak, though. Hopefully you can find a good replacement for your jersey soon, Rachael!
1 month ago
1 month ago
Don't tell him I mentioned the possibility of him being a good luck charm, because you're right. An idea like that would just inflate his ego and get him in trouble.
1 month ago