The day was grey, but it didn't rain. I rode due south to the Portuguese coast and then east, across the border into Southern Spain and decided to call it a day in Lepe.

As I got into town, there was a commotion in the town square. Six cops were trying to get a couple (dressed in furs like cavemen) and three donkeys off the square as they were attracting a crowd of curious people and blocking traffic. The cops asked me if I spoke English and, since I did, if I could explain to these people to get themselves, with their donkeys, out of the town square... As it turns out, they were a couple of Norwegians who had walked (and rode their donkeys) 70,000 kms all over the world and financing their way by selling their travel journal. They spoke many languages, but not Spanish and were really put off by these Spanish cops saying they would phone their consulate to complain... Anyway, the couple understood my explanations and moved on... The cops were happy and directed me to nice and cheap accommodations for the night.

Lepe's a pretty rinky-dink town... everything's dirty... and there's dog pooh everywhere... What can I say ? I'm back in Spain ! Couldn't find a trash can to dump my napkin after eating an ice cream cone... I guess that's why there's so much trash on the ground ! Ah well... my room's clean at least !

Continuing on east, I wasn't sure whether to go through Seville or not... I wanted to see bull fights and Seville was a good spot to catch some, but in the end I decide to avoid the hassles of a big city and stopped at Bollullos de la Mitacion, south of Seville.

The whole day was hot and dry, and the sun was scorching... Since I'm heading towards Morocco, I better get used to it.

While buying groceries in the evening, I met a French couple making their way back up from Morocco. They said the temperatures there varied from -5 deg.C. in the mountains at night to 40 deg.C. during the day in the desert.

I beat my record... 136 kms to Medina Sidonia. The last 3 kms or so were walking the bike up the hill to the village on a bad road since it was too dark and I was too tired.

My original aim for the day was Arcos... but I decided to push for Paterna and cut 30 kms off the next day's cycling. However, it took me 2 1/2 hours to get to Paterna on account of the bad roads... By then, it was 8 PM and the only hotel was sold out. So thinking I'd camp out I bought some stuff to eat before the stores closed for the night and cycled out of the village towards Medina... All around me were open fields with no woods to hide in and camp... So I made the last 11 kms to Medina and found a cheap room for the night.

A little village built around a castle on a hilltop overlooking surrounding fields. A typical scenery in the south of Spain. In medieval times, villages and castle were built on hilltops because they were easier to defend this way against attackers.

I felt a lot better after a good night's sleep. Cycling out of Medina, coming down the hill (my brakes screaming like hell, I'll need to do something about this) I spot a candy manufacturer's building on the side of the road. I couldn't resist... I went in and bought a pastry and a chocolate milk and a bag of every candy/chocolate they made... That was my 3,000 km celebration ! Munching while cycling, they lasted me the whole day.

The sun was shining the whole day and the scenery was beautiful. Up the Sierra Bermeja (the mountains of which the Gibraltar is a part of), then back down to the straits (of Gibraltar). I decided to spend the night at Algeciras and in the evening I spent some time cleaning the rims of my wheels with emery paper to stop my brakes from screeching.

The south of Spain offered quite a novel territory to cycle in... hot... REAL HOT... and almost desert-like... It's also pretty flat (except for the southernmost point which has some real nice mountains) and I was glad because I would have sweated like a pig otherwise...

It's so dry, a lot of bridges were spanning dry riverbeds and the economy of the region appears pretty depressed except for efforts at irrigation and the cultivation of fruit trees... The slump is apparent in the towns and villages through poor maintenance and many vacant spaces.

JULIEN & TITUS' CYCLING TRIP

> HOME > TRAVELOGUES > EUROPE (2001) > GIBRALTAR

I checked the ferries in the early morning, and there wasn't a suitable one for Morocco leaving that day, so I decided to visit Gibraltar.

Just a bridge away from Spain, and everyone speaks English. Gibraltar is still British territory, but everyone is worried that the UK will give it back to Spain.

I walked Main Street, lots of little shops and pubs, then took the cable car up the "Rock", walked around, checked out the caverns (with stalactites and all) and walked back down. The colony of monkeys (reputed to be the only monkeys living in the wild in Europe) were pitiful... I then spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the city and sampling the pubs, then dined on fish'n chips drinking Guinness beer on a "terrasse". It was a nice restful day.