After 2 days sightseeing we were back on the road.Seville was a surprisingly walkeable city with beautiful buildings and gardens.We hadn’t realised we were in peak season being holy week as the Holy Week processions attract tourists from all over the world.By chance we had booked an appartment in Triana which is one of the easiest places to see one of the processions;starting with a brass band then 2 lines of Nazerenos dressed in white and white pointed caps carrying huge candles which they light on their way back from walking to the cathedral.Then comes the churches statue weighing 2 tonnes,40 men carry it , each person carrying 50kgs. I thought it would be a solemn affair but it was a party atmosphere and much clapping for the prowess of the men carrying it.Some processions also have women singing but not ours.

We also unaware we were in high season turned up at the cathedral, the queue ran for kms and that was an hour before the doors opened.And the palace just told us all tickets for the day were sold out.Still we got to see plenty of other sights that Seville has to offer.

We had got into our appartment which was really wonderful, ok but it seemed a bit harder to leave it.We were told to dispose of our rubbish.I checked the underground garage,no bins in sight.I eventually realised you had to put your rubbish in the large street bins no individual bins in Seville. Then I got conflicting messages as to where to leave the keys my Google translate was not being helpful missing sections out.Apparently I left the keys in the wrong place,oops.

We set off early this morning with rain and high winds forecast, we hoped to miss them.Tim took us on an interesting route out of the city , we only did an extra side of a triangle,so Tim said!The first 25kms were very slow the road being very narrow with a concrete wall in the middle so we were forced onto the cycle path.This one was typical of Spanish cycle paths.One minute you had a lovely section nice smooth Terra cotta bitumen, the next there would be a big step where they had forgotten to put a slope in to cross a driveway and it wouldn’t be just one driveway there could be 10 in a row, stop,start and don’t get me started on the exceedingly raised drain covers!.Then the cycleway might decide to cross the road or even better turn into a gravel path for a while. If we were forced onto the road it was generally uphill with traffic lights every 500m and you guessed it, we hit red every time.The towns for the first 25kms almost merged into each other .We did find a bar/Cafe as we left one village and were able to grab a hot drink much needed as the wind was quite chilly.

The sky darkened and the threatened rain looked imminent.The countryside started looking beautiful with oxeye daisies,lavender,lupins all in full bloom.We cycled over river bridges and the rivers looked really swollen, rushing torrents.We saw a few cyclists on the other side of the road they were tearing along with the wind pushing them from behind whilst we were at snails pace.We were obviously going the wrong way.

The wind picked up and the rain started.Rain gear was donned, Tim sporting a new rainjacket acquired in Seville after discovering his old one did leak.I did respray my jacket but not sure it’ll cope with a deluge.Rain was a light shower so we didn’t have to test out rainjackets but the wind picked up, branches down on road.It was hard to stay on the road without being blown sideways.I had to go up to higher speed normal or risked being blown off.The effect of the wind on our battery power was huge, both battery’s were depleting fast.Tim stayed in eco + as long as he could but eventually he had to go up to normal or risk being blown off his bike.

We reached the outskirts of Las Palmas del Condada.Lines of Palm trees greeted us being buffeted by the wind.Tims battery was now at 1%, ie.defunct.Mine was 19% but liable to also deplete quickly if I put Tim’s luggage on it, and how would it fit? We walked into town, past rows of small terraced houses painted in different colours with tiled windowsills jutting out into the street. Fruit was being blown off the laden orange and lemon trees, if I’d had the energy I would have picked some oranges up.

In the town square was a signpost to a restaurant so went in search,the restaurant owner said he was opening at 1600hrs but I’m sure he really meant 1800hrs nobody here opens ar 4pm.He said the tavern was open now for tapas so it was tapas.We are getting better at ordering tapas after our first attempts ending with a plate of cheese or a plate of cured meats, both tasty but not filling.Today 4 tapas included 2 veggie tapas and 2 hot fish dishes, really scrumptious the chicken peas and spinach and a dish of broad beans and onion,yum!The waitress was very happy she had understood what we wanted.

It was another kilometre through the town to our hotel slightly downhill so we managed to cycle.Only hotel in the town but room surprisingly good and indoor storage for our bikes, great with rain that didn’t eventuate today definitely happening tonight. We have a stork nesting on the church roof opposite, bird watching tonight.

Tomorrow weather is worsening and we have further to cycle….Tim might have a long walk…

Tim wants to stay here he didn’t realise there was a very good racing track here Monteblanco, Tim could have had a track day..