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Friday April 4 2008
Hard to believe it's almost over!
The start for today was in the middle of a town, Loja, along a main road - cars stopped by a police escort - over a highway, and finally out of town onto trails.
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Today's route was fairly flat, much of it along the Genil River, on a few dirt roads, but challenging with a good amount of asphalto roads, and a great amount of rocky roads.
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The horses went past wheat fields, chopos - black-poplar trees with a silver bark and golden leaves,
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orchards, and asparagus fields. People were working in the asparagus fields, picking it from the ground and stacking it in enticing little teepees every few yards. It was a pleasant 21*C in the shade, and climbing to near 26*C in the sun, if you had no breeze.
The horses did have a little altitude to gain into some hills of olive orchards and golden flowers. We had a great view down onto the horses as they were little specks at the bottom.
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Lunch was in the middle of a large village, Lachar,
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and from there it was a short 22 km fase to the finish in Granada, mostly along a canal framed by the chopos plantations, and over most of the baches, potholes, in Andalucia. The still-snowy Sierra Nevada mountains
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were the backdrop for the city
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that was last major Muslim stronghold until 1492 when it was conquered by the Christians. A lasting legacy of the Moorish reign in Iberia is the Alhambra palace and gardens, and the white-washed houses and the narrow winding streets of the Albaicín quarter. We of course wouldn't have time to visit, but it's always a goal for next time.
More stories and photos at
www.endurance.net/merri
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