Heat, an experiment, good friends and the ascent of Arcos de La Frontera

Yesterday morning I had another walk around Ronda and then took a "green edged road" in the direction of Algeciras, this had been recommended to me as a famous motorcycling road, deservedly so – because the views were splendid and the curves were nice constant radius curves ideally suited for a bit of fun. There were a couple of flies in the ointment being a bit too much traffic and the appearance here and there of the Guardia Civil who were stopping traffic now and then at junctions. The road was also undergoing repair in a few sections.

As I descended from the mountains the landscape came less interesting and more populated until finally arriving at Algeciras, I was confronted with the inevitable industrial landscape of a refinery and various factories plus of course lots of shops and housing plus a confusion of roads in all directions. I thought that since I was now close, I might well visit Gibraltar just to be able to say I have been there. Plainly the map in my head did not correspond too well with reality as I thought that I needed to go into Algeciras to get to Gibraltar, duh.  Realizing my mistake, I fought my way through lots of traffic to escape the confusion of the town and remedy my route by heading for La Linea. Nearing Gibraltar, I had the benefit of a nice cooling breeze from the sea and also had very good views of the Rock itself.

However a little further on and I could see an enormous queue for customs and passport control. I decided that I could do without visiting Gibraltar on this occasion and set course for Estepona where I was to stay the night with my friends Mercedes and Antonio. 

Because I was a little early arriving in Estepona, I decided to stop for a drink at one of the many watering holes near the beach. I followed a car heading for what looked like a bar surrounded by a collection of umbrellas and beach chairs. Suddenly the tarmac which had a light coating of sand turned into the beach and I was riding on sand, uh ohhh! Well you can guess what happened next, with both the back and the front of the bank squirming around like mad, I tried to make a big circle back to the tarmac and I almost made it but then dropped the bike in front of a sizeable audience. As a place to conduct an experiment into just how many people are required to lift a fully laden GSA with a full tank of fuel, I could not have chosen better for there was no shortage of willing helpers. The answer is that it takes three people to lift the bike, and two to hold it while I get on again. I must pay tribute to my Spanish helpers, they didn't laugh – only expressed concern, and in response to my "¡Muchas gracias senores! only said "De nada", although one chap riding a scooter pointer out that it was a vehicle better suited to la playa.

I arrived at my friends' flat covered in sweat, so the first order of the day was to bundle my clothes into the washing machine which Antonio kindly took charge of and then I had a much needed shower. After this, a cold drink and a lovely lunch prepared by Mercedes, and, feeling much more human, I passed a very pleasant afternoon and evening. It was a joy to be with Mercedes and Antonio again, to chat and then to bu guided around the town with them seeing the very attractive older part of what is mainly a heavily developed town catering for people who like sun and the sea, as do many well heeled Russian apparently.

Antonio had given me various suggestions for places to visit and when I bid them farewell this morning I set off for the first of these - a small town called Vejer de la Frontera. The day warmed up very quickly and by the time I left Vejer, the  temperature was already 33°. I decided to head back into the hills in the hope of finding cooler air. Well it was a little cooler but not much and at the bottom of hills the temperature had climbed to 35°. The roads I followed demanded the utmost respect. They were very narrow and although not unduly twisty,  at each side of the road there was a ditch 2 to 3 feet deep or simply bare  mountainside. It was mostly second and third gear work, frequently dropping into first.  The surface of the road had frequent longitudinal cracks with patches of shiny black tarmac that were very slippery, also the levels changed considerably across the cracks with the result that both the back of the front of the bike could be pushed sideways. It is Sod's law of course, then ensured most of these lateral excursions occurred in the corners - often when a vehicle was approaching from the other direction.

By the time I had been riding six hours, even though it was still early in the day, I decided that I had had just about enough. The level of concentration required and the heat made it a very tiring ride indeed. So I telephoned the Parador in Arcos de La Frontera and booked a room. I entered the address in my Garmin and headed for the hotel. Do not, do not repeat my mistake of following the lady's instructions, if you ever visit this place. The Parador is on top of the hill on which the town is built and the GPS had me climbing near vertical, extremely narrow, cobbled streets. The cobbles were shiny, slippery, smooth, round river stones. An instruction to turn sharp right or left, did not involve a hairpin bend but a street that doubled back on itself instantaneously. I was having to make multipoint turns in the steeply angled corners. Eventually I gave up and decided that I was bound to drop the bike again if I persisted. I managed exit the town with the intention of calling the hotel and cancelling my booking. Back on level ground and a few moments of reflection however, and I realised that there must be another way to reach the hotel. There is and I eventually found it in the bike is now parked outside in  the plaza. I have again washed my sweat soaked clothes, drun copious amounts of cold water and am relaxing in another lovely hotel (these Paradors are the bees knees!), waiting for the air to cool somewhat before I venture into town. I have taken a couple of photos that show the hotel to be a little like the one on Ronda - on the edge of a cliff.

I also have some video but every time I take of my helmet, I find squashed insects on the camera lens, so I don't know how the vide will turn out. I need to find a way of deflecting them. If I had the SuGru, that I bought following Dave's suggestion, I reckon I could use that to fashion a sort of air scoop on the peak of my helmet - maybe a bit of plastic metal will do the same thing.

Nearly as close as I got to the Rock

One of the many flower bedecked streets in the older part of Estepona

View from the terrace of the Parador

In the opposite direction