July 16, 2011

We are disappointed – the day dawns bright and sunny with not a cloud in sight.   We start with a climb, but because we are on the main road it is gradual and not too strenuous.  When we reach the top we travel along a plateau for some considerable distance, surrounded by huge cereal fields as far as the eye can see.

The temperature climbs ever upwards during the day – the afternoon is a hard slog against a hot wind along an undulating road that stretches to the horizon.  A couple of days ago we saw a television report on a tornado in a town we visited – it overturned cars and uprooted trees – we see several whirlwinds suddenly appear in the fields adjacent to the road as we ride along and hope that we won’t get swept up in one.

We are grateful to arrive at our selected destination in the shimmering heat and, fairly quickly (thanks to the nice lady in the local police station), find a nice cool hotel for the night.