April 7, 2011

Our day starts bright and early with a clear blue sky.  There is a bit of a breeze but nothing like the fierce wind of yesterday.  Although we make a prompt start, I have seriously underestimated the time it takes to navigate our way out of a big city and time is moving on before we eventually escape the clutches of Jaén.

The impression of flatness we had gained from the birds-eye view over the countryside from Jaén castle proves to be somewhat misleading.  The route is undulating – more so at the beginning.  Ken is also playing ‘hunt the squeak’ which involves lots of stops and tinkering around with oil cans and so by the time we stop for lunch it is clear that we will not achieve our goal of 100 km today.

We are definitely moving deeper into rural Spain – most of the villages are just one or two houses, a few tractors and some sleepy dogs.  With the afternoon temperatures hitting 32 degrees it seems like the dogs have the right idea.  Luck is with us when we see the first ‘Hostal’ sign of the day just when we thought we would have to wild camp by the roadside.  WiFi is not a feature of the accommodation, neither is hot water, but beds are, so I´m not complaining!