11th Jan
We are off, thank you Castilla- La Mancha, and the hospitable Hostel Vina, but we have to go, heading to Huescar and Pete from "maximumbikes". A steady 50 mph sussing Kirst´s temporarily repaired rear wheel and slowly the flat plains, vinyards and olive groves of Castilla- La Mancha give way to the vinyards, olive groves and mountains of Andalucia. We rode the Ruta de Don Quijote to the fantastic 317 into the mountains heading toward Puebla de Don Fabrique until Kirst noticed "a shortcut". Onto the A4380(ish) and over La Sagra (2381mtrs) skirting the Parque Natural de la Sierra de Castril. A fantastic concentration sapping antidote to the plains we have left behind us. Proper XT country- dodgy wheel or not. Only us and the birds of prey on this road. A quick phone call to Pete upon arriving in Huescar and we are welcomed by Sandra and Anton, proprietors of the Cuevas Ansaca, the cave hotel to be our home for the night.

12th Jan
What a nights kip. After promising to be up with the larks, Sandra, Pete, Anton, the dogs all ended up knocking us up at 11.30ish to make sure we were all right. Another dead day then as we settled in looking forward to another night of Gypsy music, cervasas and tapas.

13th Jan
Up early as Pete had put the hours in to give him the free time to show us around Lake Negratin. Unfortunately a stomach bug had laid Kirst out and we delayed our start by a couple of hours. Sorry Pete i feel really bad.
Relagated to use the autovia it was off on the N330 onto the A92. Boy this ain´t like any motorway i´ve used. Hugging the Sierra Nevadas it swooped and soared, the veiws breathtaking. Dropping into Grenada and the nightmare begins- it is a rabbit warren. With more ignored road signs than i`ve ever seen. Riding up a back jigger in sheer frustration at not being able to find our digs, we arrive outside the Funky Backpackers Hostel. Washed, dressed and off to Plaza Nueva and the tapas bars of Granada. Great atmosphere, food and drink.