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My next destination was Barbate. When I checked out, the lady on the reception suggested I ride through the natural parc, but that wasn’t the route, the route was along sand duned woodland.

There was a few kilometers of road riding, to and through Los Canos de Meca, a lovely seaside town, mostly closed, but is probably buzzing in the summer!

The very clever thing that has been done all along the Cadiz coast, over 100 years ago, to stop sand dune creep, was the planting of vegetation and pine trees that could survive in sand. Hence creating many wonderful woodland areas, with the added protection of inland areas, from the off-sea winds. Alas the Levante where I am, is coming off the ocean.

A short road ride took me to a natural parc, running along the cliff tops, a sand dune woodland. I started this, what would be hike-a-bike (pushing or carrying your bike), I managed to get around 200 metres and decided I couldn’t do it, I just couldn’t move the bike in the deep sand. I turned back and took a road that I thought would take me to Barbate, which it would, over the top of a mountain. But noticed on my right was a gravel road into La Breña y Marismas del Barbate Natural Park, so I took this road, thinking it would go to Barbate, alas my no-sense of direction didn’t tell me that it took me back to the sand dunes woodland!! Oh blast it I said, or something similar!!

And I learnt something from this, I give up too easily, anything for a quiet life. That had always been my personal life trait, as soon as there was trouble, I’d choose flight over