I ride up the valley of the Rio Gudalimar and after a few kilometres I find a phone on the side of the road. The display is broken, but it’s still working and so I take a small detour to Siles to drop it of at the local police station. That done, I tackle the first longer climb of the day, 7 km and 300 m elevation to the Puerto de Arenal. Up here it’s time for a snack before rolling down to Riópar.
The next uphill turns out to be a hiking path, so I turn aside and find a quite magical lunch spot at the Fuente Grande. The fountain looks a bite like the fountain of youth of some tales and after I’ve put my feet in for a bit I already feel quite refreshed. There are even some small salamanders growing in the fountain.
I the afternoon I ride up to the Puerto de las Crucetillas, where a monument celebrated all the cyclists who have come this way. A long downhill follows and one last mountain pass for the trip. Tomorrow, I’ll roll down into the valley and turn towards the sea and Alicante.
