Bicycle Trips from Puerto Real - Banana Farm (part 3)

The image on the left shows the trail as it passes by the stables.

The day after I wrote the previous post, I pedaled through here, and I got to see this mare with her foal lying down right in the middle of the road. I got off my bike and tried to pass quietly, but I startled the colt, or filly, and all the horses ran off into the field. (Click on the image if you want to try to see the foal a little bit better.)

At this point, you are probably already about 4 km from the train station, but it seems like less because it's such a relaxing ride.

After going almost completely around the hospital complex (you have to cross the road twice - careful with traffic, especially ambulances and buses), you enter an extremely pretty and well marked section of the trail. This section follows an age old royal livestock track, which is over a hundred meters wide at most points. It offers a lot of shade, and you can usually discover pretty little goat tracks running parallel to the main marked trail.

Some 8 km out of town, at the second major trail
intersection, there is a group of signs and information boards. This area is just in front of a large vineyard. The signs indicate the direction of the main trail, but you can also turn left on the alternate trail - Corredor Verde Dos Bahias Trazado Alternativo. The main trail goes through some beautiful and quiet inland farm country. The first few kilometers are perfect, but as you continue, you may find that during the rainy periods it is flooded and covered with thick sticky mud. The trees also start to disappear, and it can get incredibly hot.

The alternate path to the left stays closer to the coast. It offers more shade, initially flatter riding and more places to stop and rest. This route also follows the TransAndalus, an unmarked (well, almost - look closely at the image on the left), yet well thought out and documented selection of trails that loop the entire perimeter of Andalucia for over 2000 km.

If you turn left at the signs by the vineyard, remnants of a short, but very pretty bike path visible in the photo on the right. The old bike path runs parallel along the right side of the more evident dirt road.you can also follow the You will soon come to a paved country road, which is the only access to the tiny rural community of La Chacona. This road has very little traffic. In any case it can be avoided completely by following a little goat track on the left side of the roadway. The image on the left shows the green houses that contain a banana plantation, something not very common in this region. It is possible to take a dirt road right up the farm and buy some bananas. There is also a good possibility that the friendly farmer may offer a free tour of his unique installations. In the distance behind the green houses and pines, you can see huge windmills spinning slowly.