Devall Travels

From Ávila the route was curiously north instead of south-east as it looked as though we were being taken to an autovia. I stopped by a "mirador" overlooking the walled city but the sun was directly facing us making the camera useless. Maybe in the afternoon with the more golden tones would be perfect? I changed TomTom and we turned 180 degrees and the ignored the signs to Toledo and headed off into the mountains to the east and then south again along AV900. The scenery was as bare as the previous day. We passed fields of black bulls with large horns and a few Fincas with the names including "toro". We went over the Puerto de Navalmoral at 1534m but not convenient to stop for the photo opportunity! Once back on the main road to Toledo we encountered a few trucks but they were easy to pass and we had lots of empty road ahead. Over the river Alberche that is lucky enough to be dammed twice in a few miles. On the lake were lots of pleasure boats and the...

Is it Day 4 already? Check-out is noon at the Parador and that gives plenty of time to walk outside the walls to take a look at them from the outside.  The Parador is not all that much different in price to other hotels in the area, more expensive inside the walls than outside it had to be said.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walls_of_Ávila It is very impressive. The city is surrounded by a huge plain and the "new" City is built outside the walls. Even though the wall goes right by the Parador garden there is no access, up or down here. After a walk around the inside we found a pay desk near the cathedral. As we wwre leaving for Toledo, we didn't pay the entry fee to the walk on the Walls. We had breakfast in another café in the same square as last nights dinner. Before packing the bags for the get-away. Tyre claimed today we have only 78 miles to ride. TomTom turns the numbers around to 87! We'll see. ...

We finally arrived at the Parador in Ávila at about 6pm.  We opted to park in the garage at €14 rather than leave Döra in the street. A good choice but it seems that €14 buys a car space but the knob in the adjoining space thought it was okay to park on my side of the painted white line.  Luckily I was on holiday and didn't have to scrape his/her paintwork to get out. Once showered and in civvies we walked up to the main square for a beer or two and ended up staying in the same place for dinner. The two course €12 menu included wine. Excellent value that the French might like to consider! Tomorrow we better check out the medieval walls!

Leisurely breakfast. For €3 each there was no meat but loads of pastries and even the famed Spanish 'Donuts'! Then we packed, paid the bill and set off. We had  gone a few yards when the Scala headset stopped working. A quick stop and restart and reconnect and it was okay for the rest of the day. The plan today was to get to Ávila and our  overnight hotel. I programmed TomTom to go via Burgos and thereby increase the mileage a bit but at least keep us off the autovias that are replacing the N roads everywhere. The N623 takes you from Santander to Burgos through villages and on the Michelin map it is mostly a green lined or scenic route.  It also takes you through the Cantabrian Cordillera. A range of mountains at about 1200 to 1500 metres. Gentle grades and a few hairpins to keep you on your toes. There are three main "puertos" and all are about the 1000m mark. We stopped at the first, the Puerto de El Escudo at 1011m. ...

More research on hotels left me looking to replace another one. Maybe the Ávila, selection was a bit rushed but with parking always a problem in these old cities. In the end I opted to cancel the hotel and switch our allegiance to the Parador. Another one. The Parador is situated inside the walls and it comes with a car-park! And as older people we can claim a small discount. So. How many more changes? Dunno!!