The next morning, Thomas departed the San Francisco campsite and followed the prat nav, turning right out of the campsite heading up into the hills. Immediately the single track took him through a near by village where a line of bins blocked the way. Thomas stopped to see why and was then waved through by a couple of the locals. The lane was sprinkled in flower petals in preparation for a wedding that day, so Thomas tried carefully to avoid them but still scattered the petals.
The lane became steeper and steeper to the point; he had to turn back in fear of stalling the bike. Thomas found an alternative more gradual climb up into the hills again and the cobbled lane soon became a rocky donkey track which was just about capable on Nomad. The track took Thomas high above the morning mist all the way to the top of which made it a perfect last day’s ride in Spain. Totally overwhelmed and with tears welling, Thomas had to pull over to admire the magnificent view over the Pico’s, which stretched for miles with half the hillside in the hot, rising sun the rest in the shade of the surrounding hills. He was alone up there and that just about summed up the whole trip.
Later that day Thomas arrived at his campsite after an exhilarating ride around the Pico’s twisty roads, where there he used the busy but small swimming pool. Thomas befriended an older Scottish couple who invited him to join them for dinner at the campsite restaurant. Thomas found the local food fantastic and the best yet as it didn’t include chips!
Before bed, the couple made Thomas a good old cuppa of PG tips and in return he offered them some hot chocolate sachets his wife had packed for him. An exchange of gifts had become familiar amongst travellers.
During a sleepless, stormy night, it became cold and wet. Thomas peered out of the tent to watch the spectacular lightening crack above the mountain side. The stream Thomas had pitched next to now became a fast flowing river and as the water level increased, Thomas became worried it would flood during the night and had to constantly keep a check on it.