Friday 10th October 2014 - Almendralejo, Spain

The weather over night was really bad with lots of lightning and thunder that rumbled on for hours. The rain was very heavy making a tremendous noise on the roof and we half expected the car park to be flooded when we got up.
For Ian and Les, the day started misty and they had to use lights. The forecast was bad but luck was with them today as only the odd drop fell on them. They say that the sun shines upon the righteous - but only sometimes.
The plan was to aim for Almendralejo with the closer Merida as a backstop if the weather turned bad.
We caught them up between Merida and Almendralejo and they were going well. Hot drinks were dispensed and we arranged to meet at their hotel in Almendralejo. The town is the centre of a vast wine-making industry and the plains for miles around are covered in vines. It is very much a working town and not very attractive but it does have some pretty buildings. One of these is the terracotta and yellow painted bullring, unique in Spain as it has wine cellars underneath it. We had a very quick look around the large wine museum, which became more interesting once the staff had remembered to turn on the lights! It was all in Spanish but was still worth visiting.
Jane and I wanted to see Merida, another UNESCO site, so we returned there to find an aire in the centre of the town. We found the car park but the attendant told us that we were not allowed to stay overnight - obviously a change in policy.
We managed to find an open campsite a few kilometres outside the city and settled down for the night.
Meanwhile, Ian and Les met a Dutch couple and had dinner with them. They were also cycling but had set off from Holland on 11th July and had covered 3,800km to date! They cycled down through France joining the French Comino route to Santiago de Compostella. They then turned south, following the Spanish Camino route, heading for Seville. They were taking it very slowly, making sure that they had time to see all of the sights on the way.
Distance today 101km with 5hrs 5mins cycling time.
Photos: The foggy start; A mock castle north of Almendralejo; A shepherd passes with his flock whilst we were waiting for the boys; The coffee break between Merida and Almendralejo; The very attractive bullring in Almendralejo.

Thursday 9th October 2014 - Caceres, Spain

The first four or five kilometres were downhill but it was raining and the roads were wet and a little slippy. The N630 that they had been on for many kilometres hugs the new A66 motorway for most of its route but at Canaveral it deviates. The road skirts the Alcantara reservoir, which Ian and Les said was very pretty but it was still raining. Ian tried to find some shelter from the rain at one point but there was only a quarryman's hut and it had a quarryman in it! It did eventually stop raining but then the wind started and that is just as bad when you are cycling.
They are building a new railway here (HS2???) and it is a massive project. We passed a number of new, elegant viaducts and cuttings and as the N630 and the motorway came closer, we all saw a new bridge being constructed over the river Tajo.
Ian had noticed that the forecast for the afternoon was very bad and the hotel owner had warned them that severe weather was on its way. Ian decided that the sensible option was to hunker down for the afternoon.
We received the text to say that they were in Caceres just as we had secured a pitch in the very busy aire in the centre of the town. Les and Ian soon joined us and after a quick lunch the boys set off to find a hotel. We then joined them for a sightseeing walk around the town. Needless to say, there was virtually no rain and it would have been fine for cycling.
Caceres is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has some lovely old buildings including many towers. It was a very interesting walk and whilst the boys changed for dinner (!?) we made a quick visit to the museum that had a very strange selection of exhibits from the normal religious art to typewriters and the old control mechanism for the town's major fountain. We had another excellent value meal in the evening but the expected bad weather was on its way.
A short but tough 50km today in 4hrs 20mins.
Photos: Building a new railway bridge south of Canaveral; The main square in Caceres; An intriguing statue in Caceres - I couldn't find any mention of the KKK on the inscription!

Wednesday 8th October 2014 - Canaveral, Spain

We were woken by sounds of rain and twigs, dislodged by the wind, falling on the van roof. By morning it wasn't quite so bad but it was very dull and low cloud hid most of the hills.
We all had bacon sandwiches for breakfast made with Somerset bacon and homemade bread. Les was particularly pleased with a proper cup of tea.
For the first time we were able to see them off and we hoped that they would miss the forecast wind and rain.
We had two visits planned for the day. The first was to Hervas, just 4km from the campsite and famous for its Jewish quarter. The traditional buildings were interesting but were not a patch on Candelario. However, by contrast, Hervas was a vibrant town full of people and lots of shops, very much a working town as well as a tourist destination.
Our second visit was to the ruins of a Roman town, Ruinas de Caparra. We had been lucky with the weather up to this point but as we reached the furthest part of the open site, the heavens opened. We were soaked by the time that we got back to the van but we were able to change clothes, an option not available to Les and Ian. The site was interesting, especially the standing town gate, but the interpretation centre only had information in Spanish so we didn't learn much from that.
The Romans cultivated olives around the town and we drove through miles of olive groves on our journey. Extremadura, the region that we are in, is an important area for olives and we are likely to see many more trees as we move south.
We arrived at our campsite south of Placentia and soon after received a text to say that they had arrived at Canaveral. We look forward to hearing about their journey tomorrow.
Les and Ian reported it had been cloudy and wet for some of their journey but could have been much worse.
When they arrived at Canaveral they were waved down by a car driver. He turned out to be the brother of the owner of the Hostal Canaveral and he proceeded to take them to the hostal by driving ahead of them with his hazard lights flashing! Needless to say, they decided to stay there and had a good meal, comfortable rooms and were provided with sandwiches the following morning.
They had problems finding an open bar in the early evening and when they returned to the hotel the landlady took them on a tour of the village to find an open bar! What service!
Les told me that I wasn't to post this so here goes! They came across two French lady cyclists stopped at the side of the road and Les stopped to check that they were OK. I should explain that Les is a perfect gentleman and will always help anyone in distress, especially young ladies. They were fine and later turned up at the same hotel in Canaveral, no doubt escorted by a car with its hazard lights on!
78km today with 4hr 20mins cycling time.
Photos: Ian riding the white line; Ruinas de Caparra Roman town - a major Camino route to Santiago de Compostela runs underneath the arch.

Tuesday 7th October 2014 - Banos de Montemayor, Spain

Les and Ian covered 93km today and although this is less than the three previous days, it was a very good effort in adverse conditions. Les told me that it was uphill every kilometre and he had the wind in his face for the whole time. Or that is how it felt! They had lots of stops for coffee, mainly to warm up as the wind was cold.
I managed to repair the broken waste water pipe on the van before driving to the hotel to pick up Les and Ian's luggage. We then followed faithfully their route but again missed them probably passing them when they were having a warming coffee. We are beginning to suspect that they are avoiding us!
We went off route at Bejar, heading for Candelario, mentioned in the Green Guide and also by the lady in the Salamanca campsite. Candelario is a very pretty, traditional Spanish mountain village full of balconied stone houses. It was very picturesque and I took lots of photographs. We arrived at lunchtime and had a snack in the van before we walked around. It was noticeable that there were very few people around and we came to the conclusion that most of the houses are holiday lets or second homes. However it was very interesting and well worth a visit if you are in the area.
Just as we were finishing our walk, we got a text from Les to say that they would soon be stopping at Banos de Montemayor. I had researched on the Internet and found a campsite near Banos so we headed for it. Our route took us through the mountains and chestnut forest until we descended into Banos and there were Ian and Les in the main street. We agreed to go on to check out the campsite and found that it was open and had very reasonable cabins that the lads could stay in. They joined us there and we spent the evening planning, chatting and eating a very good meal at the campsite restaurant. Ian and Les enjoyed the luxury of having all of their luggage with them for a whole night!
The wind today signalled a change in the weather and rain is forecast for the next few days. Time to unpack the wet weather gear.
Cumulative distance cycled 693km.
Photos: Three photos of Candelario and its wildlife; A mountain village between Candelario and Banos; Ian has a coffee with a new Spanish friend; Planning at the campsite.

Monday 6th October 2014 - Salamanca, Spain

Les and Ian had a blowout meal last night at a very good restaurant close to the hotel. They needed to top up their calories - Ian's Garmin gizmo showed that he had burned 4750 calories yesterday!
The boys decided that they deserved a day of rest and considering that they have cycled over 100km per day for the last three days, we have to agree.
We all met up in the city centre for some sightseeing. The architecture is stunning and we saw plenty of it as we followed the Michelin Green Guide walking tour. First on the itinerary was the Convento de San Esteban with it's soaring beautifully carved stone frontage. We then took an audio guide of the new and old cathedrals. This was very informative and very interesting but by the end it all became a bit of a blur of artists, sculptors and religious figures. Lunch came as a welcome relief!

More sightseeing followed before we walked to the boy's hotel for a planning meeting. We had hoped to go to the same restaurant that the boys used last night but it is closed on Mondays so we walked a few more metres to a bar where we had yet another great value meal. At the end of the trip, Ian and Les are going to be super fit and slim whilst we are going to be the size of a house!
We left the boys to have a reasonably early night whilst we walked back into the city to catch the last bus. On the way we were able to admire the floodlit buildings and walk through the floodlit Plaza Mayor. This is one of the most beautiful sights in Salamanca - high, arcaded buildings surround the square and the lights give it all a wonderful honey glow.
Photos: It might be a rest day but it's also washing day; They have interesting garages in Salamanca!; Carving in the cathedral; The beautiful cathedral ceiling and cupola; With a man we met - he wasn't very talkative; Plaza Mayor by day and night.

Sunday 5th October 2014 - Salamanca

After an early start (we had to get the aire owner out of bed to let us out), we met up with Les and Ian at Castronuevo where they sorted out clothes for washing and took fresh clothes from the stock that we were carrying. As they left Villalpando with the sun rising, they came across a shepherd driving his herd of sheep. He was mounted on a horse and had his dogs with him and, in this desolate terrain, it could have been a scene from centuries earlier.
Although it looked perfectly innocuous, it became apparent that the place where we met was covered in large very spikey seeds. They stuck to our shoes and soon covered the carpet in the motorhome. None of us realised the consequences of this until we caught up with the boys outside the village, finding Les repairing a puncture. In the end, a new inner tube was required and he used the spare tyre just in case any of those nasty spikes were embedded in the old one.
Refreshed with drinks of cold water and a cheese sandwich, they were on their way again. All was well when we passed them again a few miles later.
It was at this time that Jane let out a cry and said that we had just passed a small owl at the side of the road. I reverse the van and to our amazement, it was still there just a few feet away! Jane was able to take a photograph before it became agitated and flew away. It was a very pretty Athena owl and it is the closest that we have ever been to an owl in the wild.
On then to Toro where we wanted to do some sightseeing and Les and Ian were hoping to have lunch. We managed to park the van high above the river Duero with a spectacular view over the surrounding countryside and within two minutes walk of Toro cathedral. A speedy walk around the centre admiring the lovely architecture was followed by a purchase of some local wine and then it was back to the van for lunch sat looking at that wonderful view.
We expected to catch up with the lads quite quickly but they had made very good time and it was many miles before we saw them. More cold water was dispensed and they told us that they had dropped the idea of stopping in Toro - the time lost with the puncture and the long distance to Salamanca weighed heavily on their minds. A quick bite to eat at the side of the road had to suffice.
The scenery was more interesting today as there were hills in view and the road was more undulating but we were aware that this also made the cycling more difficult. Still the weather was still perfect - dry, sunny but not too hot and virtually no breeze.
We arrived at our Salamanca campsite on the north-west edge of the city to discover that the next bus left in 20 minutes. A frantic few minutes were spent parking, hooking up and sorting out and we were on our way to the city centre. Les and Ian had established that the hotel was only half a mile out of the centre but that was obviously written by the owners as it was a very long half mile! We arrived 5 minutes before them and they looked remarkably fresh considering what they had achieved. They told us that they had asked for directions in the city and were immediately surrounded by ten people each with their own ideas as to how to get to the hotel. However one person took Les aside and told him the best route. He explained that he had been helped many times when in England and was very pleased to be able to help them in Spain.
125km in the day - the furthest yet
5hr 30mins actual cycling - the longest yet
600km cumulative - HALF WAY!!!!!!
A great achievement!
Don't forget to support Les and Ian's charities by visiting www.justgiving.com/teams/lesian
Photos: Traffic jam in Villalpando; Happy times - meeting up at Castronuevo; Not so happy times - mending a puncture just outside Castronuevo; The Athena owl; We past many of these elaborate dovecotes in this area; The impressive Toro Cathedral; Salamanca in all its glory.

Saturday 4th October 2014 - Villalpando, Spain

Les and Ian set off at 08:30 with the ambitious target of reaching Villalpando. Although we followed different routes, we all found the scenery rather uninteresting. The plain was exactly that, huge expanses of largely flat (cyclists may disagree) agricultural land with only occasional sleepy villages where mud-brick buildings gently decayed. We passed field after field of sunflowers that must have been beautiful when they were in flower but now wizened and dull, standing erect and brown, waiting to be harvested for their oil. The only sign of activity was the occasional tractor ploughing the dry fields and raising huge clouds of dust that could be seen for miles.
However, we did see a large number of birds of prey that seemed to enjoy those vast open areas. We must have seen at least thirty birds of many different species from those with huge wings circling above (looking for cyclists?) to harriers and kestrels.
We also managed to visit a National Nature Reserve - Las Lagunas de Villafafila. The lakes were rather short of water at this time of year but there were plenty of waterfowl and waders. Their claim to fame is that they have the world's largest population of great bustards, nearly 2,000. There is a connection here with our part if Somerset where the great bustard has just been reintroduced to the Somerset Levels nature reserve.
Shortly after we arrived at our aire in Bretocino, we heard from Les and Ian. They had another excellent day, having completed 110km with 5½ hours of cycling time. The told us that they had met a charming American couple walking on the pilgrimage trail. They were impressed with the cycling challenge and wished Les and Ian good luck.
Photos: Monument on the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route near Carrion de Los Condes; Les and Ian passed the very dry Canal Cea-Carrion; Most of the Las Lagunas de Villafafila Nature Reserve lakes were dried up but this one still had some water in it and was much appreciated by the ducks; The private Bretocino aire was very posh.