The landscapes became more and more spectacular and we were accompanied by lots of bird song, the only ones I recognised were larks and cuckoos (lots of them).
We were fresh, so before we expected it we rounded a corner and there was the first Puerto.
We donned more layers for the descent. It was cold! After whizzing down a few hundred metres and passing through a village the next slope started.
This one proved to be quite challenging as we were tiring a little and the 8% gradient seemed to last forever as it rose along a grim ravine. Eventually we reached the Puerto de Villaroya which at 1700m would be the highest point of our entire journey until we reached the Pyrenees.
The view from the top was superb though!
As we descended the heavens opened and we were caught in a hailstorm. There were thunderclaps behind us too, so we sheltered for a while in the next village. When the rain stopped we headed off up the next col which wasn't anywhere near as high or steep and spurred on by the looming grey clouds and distant thunder soon made it to the top and over into the next village. Here we met a Dutch couple following the same guidebook in the opposite direction and exchanged experiences. They were on e-bikes. I could certainly be tempted after today ......
They reassured us that after the next day or two there would be less climbing to do. This has been quite a baptism by fire as we have had to climb in the region of 1000m most days.
One more little climb and short descent in the rain brought us to the Hostal Casa Ramiro in Cedrillas. A very typical Spanish village bar - full of locals chatting excitedly. Football followed by bullfighting on the TV.
Cantavieja to Cedrillas 61km,
1200+m ascent.
No comments:
Post a Comment