I am currently stuck in Sevilla, because there where some problems with the postal office and the customs. So I now have to stay in the Hostel and wait for my badly needed bicycle lamp.
It was't easy to get out of Madrid, because there is sometimes only a motorway or a bad gravel road. I took the gravel road. But nevertheless, i was glad beeing out of Madrid and back on the road. Madrid is just a city, which some very pretty buildings and all you imagine for a spanish city. The nightlife is endless und starts at midnight until the early morning. But I didn't go partying this much. I had to save the money. Overall, I wasn't much impressed by this city.
The road took me through endless plantations of olivetrees, harvested red fields. The Brown of the grass, the grey of the olivetrees and the red of the soil can get you quite bored after some time.
It was on my second day on the road, when I sat in a Café around noon. I was just checking the weather, when everywhere was a hurricane warning. Well I said fuck, booked in a hostel half way and made sure to get there before the hurricane would hit me. I had a strong headwind all day, and when I got to the Hostel in Malapica de Tajo, everything was gone. The wind, the clouds and the rain. I wouldn't have needed this expensive (for my budget) room...
The road took me to the Embalse de Orellana, I am now in the extremadura. The begin of this province was just an eye candy. Little Mountains with forests of decidous trees and finally green grass. But not for very long. Instead of Olivetrees, there were now cork oaks. There was only soil under the trees, no grass, and everything was just fenced. Every little spot. At least I could see some sheeps or cows grasing under some of the trees. But this landscape would give me a hard time to find a place to pitch my tent, continuing until Sevilla.
One day I found myself in a pretty uncomfortable situation. I had been cycling in the rain for the whole day, and it was already short before sunset. Whenever I tried to stop for a moment, the rain hit me again. I froze and I was looking for a space to pitch my tent, but there in the flats was just nothing. Only plain fields, some barns and some farmhouses far away from the street. The only tree in visible distance stood right next to the street and I was desperate. It was still 10 Kilometers to the next city and I didn't know if there was any possibility to find a roof for the night. behind me pitch black sky and in front of me nothing, no cover only a few trees belonging to a plantation.
Then I saw some farmworkers a few hundred meters away from the street and decided to ask if I could sleep in the barn. Nope. The barn would be to dangerous for me, and it is only ten Kilometers to the next city.
So I went back to the street again, pushing hard, as the light began to fade.
I was scared of the thunderstorm behind me and suddenly a pickup truck stopped in front of me. I wanted to do the whole journey on my own muscle power but this was the false Moment for such kind of thinking. I was just fucking glad to get faster to the city of Azuaga. We loaded the bike on the truck and drove to the city. Jose Louis, the driver was one of the farmworkers, but I hadn't seen him because he was in the car when I asked them.
We talked with e mixture of english and mostly spanish, about where I am going to sleep this night. I didn't know.
Guess what, he invited me to his house. There I could have a shower, then he gave me a decent breakfast and his mother and father and his girlfriend Yasmina made sure I had enough to eat. Otto was in the middle of the table and with the google translator, we could have a decent and funny conversation. I felt so welcome and just couldn't grab the luck I had. Jose told me that he used to travel by hitchhiking so he knew what I felt in the moment he saw me.
He told me that they grow cereals under the oak trees and feed it to the porks. 2/3 of their food is cereals and 1/3 the acorns. A whole landscape, half a country just beeing farmed for some Iberico ham...
They geve me a bedroom in the guest flat and I even had Wifi to check my mails.I was just happy but there was a little problem. My package was stuck at the customs and I couldn't get it out because I would need an ID from the EU.
I told Louis and Yasmina at the breakfast about it and while I said goodbye to him, because he had to go to work, Yasmina suggested to go to the post office with her. I was glad about that and I was just again overwhelmed with their kindness. The Correos (Post in Spain) wasn't very helpful and Yasmina decided to take me to a friend who might could solve this problem on the computer. Nope. It was just impossible. Yasmina even tried to phone the customs in Madrid but as you might guess, nobody is available.
In the end we went to a librarie and printed the documents and sent them to Madrid. What a patience Yasmina had.
Back in their Home, she gave my a big lunchpacket, we took photos and even Louis came back again in the right moment to say goodbye. Did I mention the four sausages which his father laid on my bike?
So, I said goodbye, hoping I will be able to give this huge gift back one day. I must admit that on this very day, my faith in the good of humanity was restored.
Happy and with good weather, I took the way to Sevilla. Only the night before I arrived in Sevilla, I was forced to go to a hospice, as there was no cover from a thunderstorm and the only place for a tent. I was told, was full of dangerous people.
So I ended up cycling almost at night through a thunderstorm, everything wet, scared of the flashes and not knowing where the hospice was. I arrived there when it was already dark
. It was a pilgrim hospic belonging to the Santiago pilgrim way in Castilblanco de los arroyos.
The staff was really kind and friendly, and with a warm tea in my hands, the world lokke already better. I had a nice converstion with the pilgrims after the dinner and when I laid in my bed, dry and warm, I began to understand why people do this pilgrim stuff. Somehow I am a pilgrim too, just a little bit less religious.
Finally in I arrived in Sevilla, the most beautiful city so far. Here I have to wait until my package arrives.
I had received a message from the correos. They didn't accept my passportcopy. But the hostel manager himself gave me his Id Number after a lot of questioning at the correos, and now I hope it works out. Well really good and friendly staff here in the Samay Hostel in Sevilla.
But I won't write much more about the city as I already wrote too much. I let my pictures speak, which were taken when Sevilla shows its real, hidden beauty. At night.