Day 5 was a great day of cycling. I headed out of Cordoba and straight up a quiet road which took me up about 700 feet affording great views of the city behind.
There was a slight early morning mist which gave a great feel to the countryside and hills around. After about 18 miles up on the Moors I passed two cyclists from Scotland who were cycling down to the coast. They asked where I was headed and I explained I was virtually going all the way around Spain to the North Coast and up to Santander for a ferry.
Just before Castro Del Rio I cycled on leaving the two behind before I paused briefly for a coffee. Before heading on to Baena where I stopped at a great roadside restaurant and had some nice tapas and refreshments before leaving town with a bit anticipation.
Because one mile outside town, I would pick up the Via Verde del Aceite which is a former railway line running virtually all the way to Jaen. The surface was excellent and the countryside was spectacular.
At the start of the the route there were some old railway carriages, bright red. Next I passed a big large dried up lake. Before suddenly the countryside just opened up into thousands of olive trees after which the Via Verde was named (Del Aceite).
They disappeared on the rolling hills into the distance. This was fantastic cycling. After several miles. I saw a steel framed bridge in the distance going over a ravine. It was the viaduct over the river Viboras and the Via Verde was about to cross it. This was definitely a highlight of the day the bridge was 100 feet above the river and the countryside surrounding was fabulous.
This cycle would ride seemed to get better and better. After about 70 miles I passed several towns such as Martos and Torredelcampo before the Via Verde fizzled out.
As I entered Jaen the cycle path turned into more of a nature walk and lots of people were out walking and exercising. Once in the city I made my way to my hotel just on the Plaza de la Constitution.
What a fantastic Days cycling - up there with the best