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Today started (rather harshly) with a long, long hill and our day ended with an even longer hill, with more hills along the way, so now it feels far more than 49 miles. The final hill was a real challenge in the heat but with the prize of an absolutely stunning village at the end. We crossed open plains and cycled through quirky tunnels cut through mountains. We looked forward to cycling through ‘Miranda de Ebro’ as it’s such a lovely name, but were disappointed to find it was busy and dense with factories and noisy roads, bearing no resemblance to its beautiful name. At the start of the day I felt a little ominous about the rain clouds over the mountains, but by lunchtime they cleared giving us blue skies over vast plains full of sunflowers as the day heated up. No complaints! And I had a yet another puncture in a rather desolate and probably deprived area. A little old lady walked down the empty street in the distance while Neil fixed my bike so I took a photo. And finally the last long hill brought us to this beautiful ancient village where they’ve made salt since long before Roman times. It’s steeped in history which we’re about to explore. The Romans certainly have left their mark through most of the places we’ve cycled. We’ve encountered so many long straight road which seem to go on forever. I prefer bends, guessing what might lie around the corner! When we reached our destination, Neil was so hot he headed straight to the nearest bar for a beer while I checked the bikes in etc. He absolutely deserved that beer as it was a 7 km steady climb in the heat. Well done Neil. All in all, a good day. 

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