Day 5: Arcos de la Frontera to Jerez

Arcos de la Frontera to Jerez 38kms

Another scenic sunrise looking over the valley of the Guadalete River greeted us this morning. We caught up with our e-bike mates over breakfast. One of them had to push their bike up to the hotel yesterday, no mean feat considering how heavy they are and how steep it was.

It's Saturday, which brings out the professional looking cyclists to tour the countryside. Lots whizzed past us but everyone said ola. Today was the shortest route, but we managed to extend the time by going to the wrong hotel, which was good, as by the time we arrived at the correct place, we could go immediately to our room.  

We did ride right through the centre of town, passing many people dressed in their finery. We thought there must have been many weddings happening, but it turns out it is first communion day. Spaniards go all out to mark the occasion.

After a refresh in our room, which only has a view of the three jumping castles and the caravan set up for a communion party, we set off to explore Jerez by foot. There was a slight climb into the city on a bike path, but it was nothing compared to the previous days.

We found the usual churches, fortresses and ruins, along with very long cues at the ice cream shops. Ray was prepared to stand in a queue, but I thought it was too hot. I dragged him to some ruins in the shade, and by the time we decided to head back to our air conditioned room, we found an ice cream shop with only a few people waiting. Thank god, a happy ending.

Pics

One more look at the view from shortly after the start of our journey to Jerez from Arcos de Fontera

You've seen all the countryside before, but you haven't seen this. It's not that easy to tell, but this is a car park in a field, it also goes off into the distance in another direction. To hazard a guess, maybe 20 or 30 acres of carpark about 10klms out of town. Why? That would be because of the Jerez Moto GP event being held nearby in about 2 weeks time. It's a massive event and all the accomodation in the the area (maybe within 100klms of Jerez), is booked out months in advance. We also came across a motor bike car park of around 5 acres closer to town. We see a field full of weeds and a few white lines. The owners of the carpark see money, money and more money.

I tried one of the mandarins but they were bitter, unfortunately. But they were everywhere.

Now that we have had access to hotel bathroom slippers, Brenda and I walk a little taller, speak a little better and feel a little richer. Yes, we have finally made it. And we didn't even wear them, not even when prancing around the pool.

Old stuff, Jerez style.

Quite an attractive cobbled plaza on the edge of the Jerez Old Town.

That silly old bastard in the middle of the city bound mandarin orchard.

Finally, we have Brenda in a shot. These were taken just adjacent to the Alcazar de Jerez, a famous landmark in Jerez.

Part of the fortifications of the Alcazar, some dating back to the 12 century. It has a long history including being part of the Moors fortifications, becoming run down on the verge of demolition only to be saved, by private interests (more than once), and finally ending up in the hands of the State. They also played a part in Franco's regime of repression

A more recent addition to the complex. If this was there 500 years ago, the marauders would not have had any doubt about where they were.

Opposite the Alcazar, is the back of the Jerez cathedrale, but here we are around the front. We didn't go in, as our tolerance for church iconography has hit an early limit. You can't turn around without running into a solid gold alter or hitting your head on a flying buttress. The stuff is everywhere.

Ride Notes

• This is a route provided by the tour company
• This route was quite a mixed bag from some cobbles to start, then some scenic country riding, then finishing with a pretty ugly city route, on gravel at first, and then on bike paths
• There are food and drink options along the way
• Not sure where the discrepency in distance from our journey to this map occurred