A heavy day, at 100 km and 1280 metres total ascent. It was about 8km up the busy (no parallel motorway) N630, before turning off into the country roads. I went via Ahigal, Guijo de Granadilla, La Pasga, Vegas de Coria, Riomalo, Cepeda, Miranda and Santibanez.
One seems to go up and down a series of mountain ranges, so on this section you are continually going up and down, and there are some particularly grueling climbs.
The villages are quite small and are well spread out, there was a striking abandoned village (see photograph below) in the middle of nowhere, with no indication of why or when the inhabitants had left.
The area is rich in reservoirs, but after a long hot summer, they were severely depleted. Much of the area is extensively planted with olive trees, and by extensively planted I meant olive trees as far as the eye can see.
100 kms cycling through this country and you know that you have done a days work. The climbs grab your legs, but at this time of the year (end September) the weather is pleasantly warm, without being too hot.
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Dried up reservoir bed, with old bridge now visible |
Shepherd tending flock on reservoir bed |
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Abandoned village |
You can make out the ruined houses in that village |
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The eponymous Lale Cubino in his prime |
Cubino Hotel near Bejar |
I stayed at the Cubino Hotel owned by Lale Cubino a former professional cyclist, who won a stage in the Tour de France. It is well off route, and if you were doing the ride, you might well consider other alternative hotels, or indeed a slightly different route between Plasencia and Salamanca The Cubino was obviously built with money that the great man earned from cycling, but although reasonably comfortable, is certainly not one of the great hotels of Spain.
The main advantage in taking the route I did is that it avoids a day on the N630, at a section where the motorway has yet to bypass the N630. If the motorway were to come here, then the then bypassed N630 would be an alternative. Take it from me, the N630 bearing full lorry traffic is not really a road that you would want to spend a whole day cycling along. The occasional cyclist whom I met that had attempted a day on a section of the N630 carrying full traffic, is probably still under sedation recovering.
Camino de Santiago - Via de la Plata Map of my route
Day 8 Day 8 of my route