Day 38: Cartagena (Drive/Cycle)

An early start for me. I set off for the Obrador (specialist bakery) shortly after 7.00am. Only to discover that los martes (Tuesdays) were days when integral (wholemeal) long stick type bread were baked: wholemeal loaves are baked on los jueves (Thursdays). I left with dos (two) stick breads! I'll return on Thursday for a loaf.

It was good to be out on the bike again today. It wasn't a spectacular ride, but I enjoyed it.

I did pass through Los Alamos, but saw no evidence of the first nuclear bomb tests!

There were a few climbs, the first of which was to here:

(Cuesta: Spanish for cost, hill, slope, grade, ascent, incline, rise ...)

A little way beyond the summit sign, this Eurovelo 8 sign (European Cycle Route 8: ~7,500 kilometres (~4,600 miles) from Cadiz to Cypres) warned me that the descent was dangerous!

It was an enjoyable descent to the coast.

I also enjoyed the climb up here (photo taken approximately half way to the summit):

Cycling a little further we come to this false summit, which drops down to a sharp bend (there always is!) before the final push to the summit kicks-in:

It's about 9pm (CET), I'm parked up adjacent to Cartagena's football stadium. Apparently, the local authority is happy for us campers to park here on non football days. How nice is that?!

Here's a photograph showing a subset of tonight's campers:

And, since approximately 7pm, a marching band has been practicing there marching, drumming, trumpeting and rifle work. I did pop out to see what all the racket was about! It was quite interesting, the range of participants was from young kids to seasoned adults, and many a camper was out watching them perform.

• Distance driven: 33 miles
• Distance cycled: 75 kilometres
• Weather: Some sunshine to start, clouding over, then some more sunshine. T's about 14 - 16°C. Moderate wind speeds. It did rain a little after I'd finished the ride.
• Location: Google Maps

Today's ride: