10/06/2023 Bikepacking Spain Day 59 : Pilon Azul

Early morning start in the dark - only light was the 49% moon. We left early because we needed to get to town before the grocery closed. Stores being closed after noon until 5pm is quite an impingement on our routine. By 5pm, we are looking for a remote camp, meaning that we really need to get to a town before noon. This is an looong exposure as Janet is pushing her bike by. 🚴

And then a shortcut to avoid the highway. We would later split up and Janet would ride the paved road (due to less climbing). I mind cars more than steep ascents, so I continued on the trail with more up and down. —

Today I was looking at my Euros. I have only paid in cash once on this trip. On the bills, they all are pretty much the same - the front has some non-descript building, and the back has some Roman looking aque or viaduct like this one here. Janet postulated that maybe the boring currency is to keep the countries from arguing with each other about who/what should be on the bills. —

Speaking of Cash, Janet pays cash for the coffee each day - which is about $1.40 USD each. I always get an espresso shot and she always gets an “Americano”. Neither with sugar or milk. It’s almost always good coffee too. We revel in telling the locals how much coffee costs at home. Plus tip! —

Speaking of coffee, during today’s stop, Janet noticed a crushed cigarette package on a nearby table. She went to look at it because we have both been curious about the gruesome images on the cigarettes that are meant to deter people from smoking (hint: that technique isn’t working! Much more effective to socially ostracize people who smoke like we do in California if you really want them to stop). Anyway the locals always notice what we are doing - so a man at a nearby table called out, “cigarillo?” while holding his pack to offer Janet a cigarette. Haha, the guy thought Janet was trying to scrounge a cig out of the empty pack! We thanked him, but no thanks. 🚬

Speaking of cigarettes, the other day we were hanging out with some folks telling us how they were smoking, and an American boldly walked up to them and commanded them (in English) to “put that out.” They understood, and obliged. You probably can figure that I don’t like cigarettes… but I constantly am thinking about how subjective “right and wrong” are - depending on your culture. Hopefully I’ll do a deeper dive on that in a later episode because I think the variety of human perspectives is pretty fascinating. —

Water! You can’t see it, but behind this beautiful bougainvillea, is a fountain that has water coming out of the mountain. I always have considered myself to be a “cold weather lover” and a heat hater.. but daytime dry heat is so convenient- you can dump water over your head and wash your clothes at 5:30PM… and everything is dry in an hour. In fact, I used to always tell Janet, “I’m a mountain person and I hate the desert…” but tonight we were talking about our favorite routes of all time, and my top 3 were: Baja Divide, Death Valley, and the Trans Nevada… all 3 desert routes!! —

Speaking of being a certain type of person, I also always thought I was a dog person. Dogs are so cute and loving… except 95% of the dogs I meet on bike tours are vicious, BARKING, destructive, and mean. Sorry dog lovers… Did I tell you about the time (in the USA) when a dog came and bit Janet’s leg… and the owner walked over, wiped off the blood, and said, “It’s OK. You’re fine.” ???!!! Yeah, dogs. So if the next thing on your to-do list after reading my boring caption is to watch some cat videos on YouTube, I salute you. 🐈

Speaking of barking dogs, today at coffee, an owner tied up her dog next to our table, and departed the scene of the crime. Of course the dog barked and barked at the loss of the owner. I went to my bag to get my earplugs! 30 minutes later, the owner came back and said to the dog, “porque ladras?” (why are you barking?!) 🐶

Todays objective… our happy place. Cool water at Pilón Azul. Ahhhhh…. 💦

Long exposure… Good night 💤

Did you swim near the refreshing looking waterfall? Morro Bay is having a heat wave, 90 today. We don’t have AC so are just keeping the windows closed and hoping for the coastal breeze to return soon.

Paula G.