The teenagers playing basketball next to us last night knocked off when darkness fell, although we could hear other children playing nearby until quite late. It didn’t keep me from sleeping and I had another very good night.
The next morning we had a bit of a time finding a spot to watch the day’s stage from – we took, as I call it, the ‘scenic route’, passing through almost every village on the day’s route before coming to a decision in the town of Caleruega.
We parked right next to the road under some lovely large trees.
As we had a bit of a wait we took the doggies up the hill for a walk about the town – once again El Cid is a big figure in the area.
The town is quite nice and we eventually found a little bar to sit at for a bit with a chilled beverage.
By the time we returned to the campervan locals were starting to show up to watch the race – we’re at a very sharp corner and with the trees for shade it seems a popular spot.
Even some professional moto-photogs showed up – one even joined me on the stone wall I’d chosen as a my watching place.
As I up higher I could see further around the corner and down the road when the first lone rider came – he was from the local Burgos team which made the crowd very happy.
The peloton was only about a minute behind, and arrived in one bunch, rounding the corner at an incredible speed.
The entire group passed in less than a minute and it was over – still worth the wait, though.
We parked for the night at yet another aire – these places in Spain are great. This one is also next to tennis courts, an immaculately kept soccer field, swimming pool and picnic area.
In the evening Colin was sitting outside with the dogs when a large bunch of local kids on bikes came up and almost swarmed him. But they weren’t nasty – just the opposite – they were very interested in the dogs, and where we were from, etc. One of the older boys acted as interpreter and they asked all sorts of questions. Then they played in the tennis area for a bit and left abruptly after a relatively short time on their bikes.
Sally McKenzie's European Adventures 