Zafra was a great place. Small, friendly, idealic, all apart from the fact I had yet another spoke go!!..anyway my luck got me going fairly painless, as there was a great shop that fixed it for 10 euro. This time though I bought and spoke and learnt how to say My spoke is broken in Spanish...Oh the other pic..How I start every morning -With a lovely Cafe con leche
700...and fourteen miles!!!!!!...Missed my marker
And it appeared it was time to pick the olives. That and also the right day for Ants to grow wings, and grapes to be picked!!..damn those ants though
The scenery becoming less mountainous, and more undulating green hills as we slowly drop in altitude...One more range to get over the downhill all the way to Sevilla
Thats the last mountain range to get over..The most perfect of days!!..
...untill...Bang...another spoke goes!!..could´nt belive it. I was in the middle of nowhere, without a bike shop for miles, and it was getting dark. What do I do. B-line it to the nearest Alberge, only problem was that was a 15km distance basically straight up into the mountains. Okay if I can walk at 4 miles an hour I could get there in just over 2 hours, as there are about 5km to 3 miles, that means 8pm...However there did apear to be some downhills, so I decided I could coast the downhills, and push it on the uphills. I made it at 7.30pm not bad...But I was still 35 km from the nearest settlement, with a knackard rear wheel...Lets eat and sleep on it, and a solution will come
A solution did come in the form of a solid day of downhill and flat riding. I figured If I kept to my rules, of coasting the downhills and pushing on the uphills I could make Saville in a day. However I opted for the route that led me past another Alberge, instead of the direct route to Sevilla, so I had the choice of accomodation if things got worse. I reached this second Alberge at midday, so thought lets keep going, the wheel is holding out, although severly distorted, and eventually made it into Seville at 5pm having done 43 miles on knackard wheel. Without the extra weight of paniers, this would´nt be a problem, but hte paniers are the problem to begin with as I´ve learnt you need very strong rear wheels for this type of cycling...
Part 2
However it was my coasting down to Seville when I started to feel pangs of stomach cramps, and an inability to withhold water combined with general fatigue, that I knew somthing was wrong. There was nothing I could do except keep drinking, and keep coasting. Thats all I had my mind set on..make it to Seville as theres nobody out here to help. By the time I made it, I was feeling very single minded and luckily found the hostel I wanted, checked in, and collapsed on the bed. This was at 5pm Tuesday. I did´nt get up again untill midday Wednesday. Somthing was wrong. I had a high fever, and felt incrediably weak. Water and medication. Thats all I could think I needed for whatever I had. After finding the local farmacy´, miming out what was wrong, downing the pills and a liter of water, I returned and collapsed again. This time it got more serious. I blacked out in the bathroom only to come back again but everything I could see was over saturated, and in black and white (I know this means sever dehydration). This is serious I thought..So scrambling for my phrasebook, I prepared myself to crawl downstaris and make them ´get me an Ambulance´ in spanish. Whilst looking for my book, my vision started to correct itself, and I rapidly felt better. Okay dont panic, I got a towel, dowsed it in cold water and covered it over my head and just lay there...over the next day and night, bed ridden, unable to move.
´Stay hydrated and rest and it´ll be better´, you´ve just cycled over 700 miles, I kept thinking, and laughing to myself everytime I thought it. I must be mad!
So i just lay there for 2 days, untill yestoday when I needed more tablets for another problem that had accured (wont go into that one), so had to get up again, get the meds, more water, and back to bed...The fever now dropping off, sweating stopping, untill this morning when I could actually go out and enjoy Seville!!...Ít was quite an ordeal, and I have lost a fair bit of weight, so need to eat like mad
The only thing I could think of what caused it was the tinned sardnies I mixed in with my pasta the night in Alamaden, as they did´nt sell tuna!!...It was the most ill I´ve been in a very long time.
Anyway I´m better so will move on with the next round of photos..Todays!
The order got messed up on these ones...These are back in Zafra, and along the route...
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