The Wobbling Sprocket

We had a great ride into Ubrique. The weather was terrific and I discovered they had repaved the back road we use. It’s now great. That was a pleasant surprise. I thought it would never happen.

Ubrique famous for it’s leather. There are leather shops all over and we took good advantage.

Everyone is on their own for dinner tonite. About half ended up at La Herrada…The Horseshoe. It was nice. There were not a lot of things open later on that evening. We were told that everyone had headed to Arcos for the feria. A few of us stayed out, but most everyone headed to bed early.

Janice with Arcos in the background..on the way to Ubrique

We ride through some of the oldest cork forests left in Europe..300 years old... on the way in to Ubiique.

Graeme contemplating the descent into distant Ubrique

We had perfect weather for today’s ride. We did the opposite of the big climb yesterday. Lunch in Prado del Ray was quiet. There is a national strike day in Spain and pretty much everything was closed except for the single pizza place that we ate at.

Arcos was pretty much closed down as well. It wasn’t just for the strike though. There is a feria here which starts tonite. It’s a big deal and pretty much the whole town goes. Tom and Adrienne, Clara, Janice and Graeme and I ended up demonstrating our best dance moves at one of the many party tents until 1:30am. And we thought the riding was tiring………….

Alexandra and a friend at the ruins of Acinipo

Theatre at the ruins of Acinipo

Kids riding bulls at the feria in Arcos

Janice, Adrienne and Clara showing their dance moves at the feria in Arcos

We left Ronda and did a very loopy ride to Grazalema. Everyone stopped at the ruins of Acinipo (old roman town with a reconstructed amphitheater). Somehow Frank managed to make a wrong turn and Fred followed him down into Sentinil. Fred figured it out but he had a hard time convincing Frank so they split (everyman for themselves I guess). They did both eventually show in El Gastor for lunch.

In El Gastor the same gentlemen are sitting on the bench that were here 6 years ago. Not a lot changes.

We toured the 300 year old olive oil factory near Zahara. I bought some olives and some local wine and then 6 of us did the big Zahara climb. Fred did the shorter climb and Adrienne and Tom took a lift in the van.

The Grand Penon hotel in Grazalema was great. It was the first time we have stayed there and I would highly recommend. It has plenty of atmosphere and is in a great location. We explored the old roman lavatorio.

Jim and Clara at dinner. Jim, our driver, declared the day lady's day

The bridge in Ronda