The road to Segovia

If in doubt, have a look:

When in Aranda I studied or rather glanced at my road map for that's all I have for the way to Segovia.  It seemed to be one long journey on the same road.  There was a camp site marked at Cantalejo which was around half way so it made for 2 reasonably short days which I felt I needed as I'm still acclimatising to the heat and a wee bit saddle sore.

Although it's the main road between 2 significant cities it's still fairly quiet with probably an average of 1 car passing me every 3 minutes or so.  Both days were hot and the road ahead seemed long, probably as it was often visible for several miles ahead.

 

 

I've learnt that it's best to buy lunch before leaving civilisation in the morning because it's not always possible to find something during the day.  The road to Cantelejo was short on villages to stop in as on previous days, all signposted villages were a big diversion from the road.  

After around 3 hours riding I generally look for a village to stop in rather than just stop at the roadside.  I tend to head for the church where there is normally a Fuente to replenish water stocks and a bench to sit on.

It's normally called Plaza Mayor, there is normally a dog which remonstrates at my presence but loses interest fairly quickly and there are usually very few if any people to be seen.

I was getting desperate for a stop and sustenance having ridden for longer than I wanted to in the heat.  In the distance I saw some buildings which barely looked like a village, more a collection of farm buildings and I couldn't even see a church, a bad sign.  I turned off the road anyway to have a look.  It was a village, there was a small church, a Plaza Mayor and a barking dog.  Furthermore there was a village duck pond where I spent half an hour devouring my lunch but sharing bread with the ducks.  Entertainment was provided by busy newts on the wall surrouding the pond.  Two old boys sat on a bench passing the time of day and taking no notice of the strange foreigner on an overloaded bike.  I liked Tajares, there wasn't much there but it seemed like a nice place to live.

I was pleased that I'd investigated so the following day in similar circumstnces I did the same. 

This time I ate my lunch watching and being watched by Storks nesting in the church belltower.

As I write I'm on my first of 2 nights in Segovia so tomorrow I'll get to have a look around a city I've looked forward to seeing. 

A couple of place names that caught my eye along the way:-

I thought about stopping here for

Steak and Chips but thought better

of it so I pressed on to the next village but it took me a long time to reach it!