Day 49 - Seville

30 January 2022

Up before the sun. Not hard, sunrise is 8.30 am. Make some breakfast and feel no rush. It really is a beautiful campsite. It was a mild night, 9 C so everything is dry. The sounds of shotguns bring in the sun. This time, they are close. Are we on private property? Should we be here? We break camp quickly and head off to the safety of the busy road. One of the best night’s sleep I have had in a tent.

We were planning on camping another night. Seville is only 60 km. We knock out some very good kilometers early and decide to head straight for Seville. The track is mostly off-road. More pine forests. Similar to where we camped.

The GPS is having difficulty and directions are left to Shell due to me not charging my phone and battery. The trails are all over the place. We sail right into a hunter. Turns out they are shooting ducks. We were safe.

A few turnarounds and a change of navigation software and we are back on course. Winding through farms and ancient vineyards. Olive groves and horses. We hit a gate. Open. This leads to a closed gate and a large dog. The fence and the dog are on the road.

We walk around the stables and it is fenced. No gate. Shell takes a close look at the last panel. The bolts are not fixed. I slip them out, hold the cross beams, and Shell wheels the bikes through. Brains and brawn.

“She was free in her wildness. She was a wanderess, a drop of free water. She belonged to no man and to no city” ― Roman Payne

Just after we pass another farm. On the road is a huge dog. It is massive. A mastiff type. He looks up as we approach and ducks off the road out of sight. As we ride past we are preparing to be mauled and savaged. He is standing in the long grass hiding. He watches us go past. I am certain he thinks we can't see him. He jumps back on the road. It is cute. This huge dog, hiding in the grass.

The rest of the day is road riding. We grab some lunch. Not memorable. Now we just wear down the distance. Google tells us flat. Lies. Hills.

We hit Seville and it looks like a mess. Rubbish, graffiti, a burnt-out bus. Crossing the river and the centre of town is stunning. Finally our accommodation. Exhausted. Pizza and beer for dinner.

Walking home, the place is beautiful. Explore tomorrow. There is a garden here we want to see.

“A person does not grow from the ground like a vine or a tree, one is not part of a plot of land. Mankind has legs so it can wander.” ― Roman Payne

Read. Bed.

Today’s ride -