The overnight forecast wasn’t great but I was hopeful. Really, you can overthink everything about a trip like this. Sometimes it’s simply best to let things unfold and see what happens. Except, that is, when you get cold and wet. I hate that, but usually it’s worse when you’re thinking about it than when it actually happens.
I’d chosen this route because I thought there were bail out options if the weather turned really sour, but this morning I checked further and no trains stopped anywhere near where I needed them to. That’s the second time I’ve done that in Spain. – thought I was planning a smart flexible route but ended up with no alternatives. I saw later today that there’s a great train line that goes from Malaga to Granada. It just doesn’t stop in many places.
Breakfast was included today, so I made my way to the restaurant around the corner and had jam on toast and a couple of coffees. Lovely people,and they only spoke Spanish which makes things more interesting. I got an ‘Hola’ from all of the locals as they came and went with their morning coffees.
I find that bread provides the stodge I need to keep me going til lunchtime. Also, the regular coffee with milk is really nice around here. It’s strong and doesn’t require instructions like Americano with just a little milk, or similar.
First up, I retraced about 5kms from yesterday then turned east. Today could be broken into a few sections. The first was easy and undulating followed by a long gradual uphill. Then there was the inevitable short downhill and the steepest climb of the day. You’d think after that, things would be easy but they weren’t.
The first part led me to Alameda where I stopped at the supermarket and got some food for the day. Alameda is in a steep valley, so the benefits of my rest were gone before I’d left the outskirts.
Pretty soon, the first climb started. The road was fairly quiet but coming the other way were quite a few impatient people who overtook as they approached me and gave me no room. This happens all around the world – there’s idiots everywhere. However, today, there was no shoulder and the sides were super steep. I literally had nowhere to go. Some internationally recognised gesticulations got my point across and I also got the sympathy of other more thoughtful drivers who shook their heads in disgust. Really, they were as reckless as New Zealanders. I never once saw this happen in France.
Once over the top, I was in a mist or cloud, so it felt like drizzle all the way down. I also couldn’t see the mountains around me, which was probably a good thing 😀 At the base of the hill, I looked up to see the village of Archidona. It was situated in a saddle way up above me on the next ridge. Turns out, that was the next climb.
And it was steep too. That’s ok, but as I entered the town, the roads became narrow and traffic struggled to move because of that and the parked cars. Then there were cobbles, and that was the final straw. I couldn’t get out quick enough.
The rest of the day was undulating. I’d plugged in the address of a potential place to stay to Komoot but when I got there,I realised I was wrong. There was nothing around. So I decided to go on to the next town, Loja, about 6 or 8kms further on. I stopped and booked a hotel, but didn’t notice a rain storm coming down the mountain. I feel like I’d been outrunning this storm all day but took too long to book the hotel and it got me.
The last part to Lola was hard yakka indeed – steep hills and driving rain but it was worth it to stay in a nice hotel tonight. When you’re wet, you just want to clean up and dry off, so I was very lucky that there were enough accommodation options here.
Tomorrow should be better weather, and I’ll be in Granada for a few nights.