Day 15 — Thursday 12 May 2011

San Martin del Pimpollar – Avila

The following morning I had desayuno in the bar and set off climbing steadily but without difficulty to the Puerto de Menga. The weather was good with bright sunshine but the air was cool. I was quite high at 5,000 feet and it was early summer. Although I was on a main road the traffic was almost non-existent. Looking behind I could see snow on the sierras. I bowled down into the valley leading to Avila in top gear on a perfect road.

I had a good lunch and arrived in Avila at about half past three. The walls of the city are amazing and were glowing in the late afternoon sun. The lady in the tourist information office said the campsite had shut about three years ago but gave me a city map and directed me to a number of possible pensions and I took the nearest. It turned out to be a bit of a doss house. The man in the bar seemed to be doing nothing but peeling potatoes every time I saw him, and although it boasted a restaurant I didn’t trust it but walked into the centre of the city for a snack in the main square. I walked round the attractive walled central area and did some essential food shopping. An English couple asked me where I had bought my bread. It’s strange how you are spotted as being English, perhaps it was the cycling shorts and lobster sunburn. I found another tourist information office by the cathedral and was told that Segovia definitely had a camp sight and given a guide book to campsites in Castille y Leon. Quite a tome and a bit of an embarrassment as I have nowhere to put it.

That night I was bitten while in bed, which summed up my thoughts of the hostal.