Greetings from Zafra

Thankfully we were the first down to breakfast as there was a bit of a shortage of bread rolls and by the time we had eaten our fill and stuffed our pockets for the ride there were not really very many left. Jeremy thought it safer to wear his helmet for the remainder of the meal as slowly the frustration of the other hungry residents turned to anger.

Playing it safe

We escaped and headed east for the Spanish boarder.On the way to Reguengos de Monsaraz, our first scheduled coffee stop, we experienced the great digital divide.Jeremy and my trip computer dictated that we should navigate through a small village in one direction, Graham's finely honed analogue sense of direction, felt that we should pursue an alternative, Chris and Harley looked confused. After we had circled the village several times, Jeremy finally resolved the issue by shouting at an old Portuguese woman... Which way to Spain... in French, for reasons we didn't fully understand, still it made him feel better.

The road to Spain

There was a good straight road to the boarder and Chris led us off at a frightening pace leaving confused BMW drivers in our wake as we sped past. Not much to report about the boarder crossing, an empty checkpoint and a bullet hole and that's about it. Our first stop in Spain was Villanue del Fresno. Nice cafe in the square there which sold good custard tarts and coffee, nearly as good as that to be found in Sudan only without the ginger. we consumed our food under the watchful gaze of an enormous number of very old men all wandering about the square, presumably waiting for something exciting to happen and I think we were as good as it got. Then deeper into Spain wonderful scenery, a landscape changing in colour and shape all the time. The long road to Zafra though was a real killer. Sharp descents and long slow climbs. we got in about 7. Large G and T's in this wonderful old castle where we are staying. Off into the town for Paella then home and bed.

105 miles \ 167km and 6,600 feet of climbing and looking at something similar tomorrow.

Keep you posted

Link to GPX file of route
Evora to Zafra Day 2