Ventas de Zafarraya

March 27, 2022

We slept well and long last night but not as long as I though we did when I looked at the time when I woke up. While we were asleep Spain slipped into Summer Time and what was six thirty yesterday morning was only twenty three hours before the same time this morning.

We had a lazy start to the day, perhaps being wary of the long climb ahead of us, and only got on the road at about a quarter to twelve. The first few kilometers were an undulating ride next to the dam, clearly not full at all. Leigh overhead a local say that the recent rain was the first they had enjoyed this year. If that is the case, the summer months might put a big strain on the region's water availability.

Yesterday I mentioned that the swamp had been dammed by a concrete wall. In fact it is made out of rocks and soil.

Once we had descended from the dam wall we started a climb of seven hundred and seventy five meters over twelve kilometers. That is an average gradient of six and a half percent.

Just into the climb we stopped at a supermarket that caters for the substantial ex-pat British community in the area to stock up on drinks and snacks for the climb. It had a wider variety of British biscuits (cookies) and sweets (candy) than I have seen in most British supermarkets.

If OpenRouteService.org is to be believed a large chunk of the climb was over ten percent and a few kilometers over fifteen but it certainly didn't seem that bad to us. Leigh walked her bike through two sharp, steep curves but we rode the rest of the way. We took our time riding at about five kilometers per hour for most of the way and stopping regularly. It is early in the tour and we are a long way from being fit. As with yesterday, there were lots of other cyclists on the road but most of them were heading down the hill.

Lots of olive groves on the route today. I am sure they will lose their novelty value soon enough.

The gap in the distance was out target for the day.

Staring at the summit doesn't bring it any closer.

At the top of the climb we crossed the provincial border between Málaga and Granada and within a hundred meters or so found ourselves at our digs for the night.

We are spending the night at a pub cum restaurant cum inn called "Aqui te quiero ver" which translates as "I want to see you here". It is simple but clean and the meal we scoffed on our arrival was good and substantial. Good value in an area where accommodation and food seems rather expensive.

Today's ride: 19 km (12 miles)
Total: 87 km (54 miles)

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