Harvest For The World

Last night we strolled out in search of food with the confident swagger that only a properly clean pair of pants can impart.  Despite our spotless undies we struggled to find anywhere that satisfied the THREE GOLDEN RULES: 1/ Open 2/ in budget and 3/ Sells stuff we recognise as food.  We ended up back at the little place next to our hotel which served us an acceptable salmon salad and a chicken paella for a modest sum (by Seville standards).  We sat outside and were surprisingly warm, even at 9pm, thanks to an outstanding day of sunshine.

This morning we were saved the whole 'will there be eggs?' trauma because breakfast was not included.  Instead we feasted on stuff we had purchased the previous evening: jumbo pain au chocolate, orange juice, bread rolls and jam.  By the time we vacated the room it was knee deep in crumbs and little flakes of pastry and the bed sheets were quite jammy.

It took almost 10 quite tricky miles to get out of Seville, ending with some of the most deprived areas I have seen outside India.  We particularly liked the two old hags who were cooking something on their portable bbq on the pavement......half a 50 gallon oil drum mounted in a shopping trolley.

We then had another 15 miles on a busy road before turning a bit south onto some lovely smooth roads across an agricultural plain.  It really is quite astonishing how much stuff they grow in Spain: citrus fruit, grapes and salad crops obviously but olives, almonds, artichokes, cereal cops (i think I saw a field of cocoa pops this morning) and masses of other things we can't identify.  

For the last dozen miles the sun put on a particularly big hat but also served up a stonking great headwind and it was 8mph flat out at times.  As we ride into town we spotted a little locals bar with tables in the sun so we stopped for a cheeky beer while we moaned about the wind and generally cheered up.

We are now staying in a rather grand old hotel Osuna and I am already worrying about eggs.

Tomorrow will be our last day and it should be a full one.  We have 72 hilly miles to do and must then get bike boxes, pack the bikes, drink some beer and still make it to the Chinese Buffet for 8pm.