Spain 5/13

We’re headed toward Ecija today.  I don’t know as much about this town as usual since the tourist map and info is in Spanish. I do know that artifacts have been found that date back to the 8th century BC and that today’s population is about 40,000. As we rode into town you could see 8 church steeples.  I hope to get a photo of them in the morning. The river Genil runs through town.  One thing Ecija is famous for is it’s exceedingly hot temperatures, with a record of 125 degrees Fahrenheit.  (The English Wikipedia and the Spanish Wikipedia differ on what the record is but, for sure, it is hot.)

Today’s ride has been along the Guadalquivir River (the Genil river is a tributary to this).  So we were in farmland riding through crops of tobacco, wheat, sunflowers, various vegetables and orange groves.  Early in the ride, at about 24 km, we decide to take a shortcut which will save us maybe 3 to 5 km. This turns out to be a very pleasant road with smooth pavement going through the farms. But when we get back to the main road we find the road is closed due to construction.  After much discussion and consulting with our guide, we decide to try to ride through the construction.  It’s pretty dicey for about 5 km.  See Brenda to the right.  But then, based on the wonderful short cut we took earlier, we and another couple decide to try other shortcuts.  Of course we have no idea what the road surface is or even if it’s passible.  But the ride surface turned out to be fine and we end up with 68 km instead of 95 km.

We’re been doing well with Spanish food, in spite of the late dinner hour.  Last night we went to a place close to the hotel in which you could order from three portion sizes, full, half or tapas. We ordered a couple, found that wasn’t quite enough and ordered an additional 1/2 serving. --- When we get to the hotel today we find they have a three course lunch of the day for less than seven Euros.  You had 4 or 5 choices for each course.  The food was quite good.