Day 6 Caceres

 Friday didn't start well but it ended worse. On arrival in Caceres I headed straight for a nearby main square for something to eat. big mistake. HUGE. By 8 pm I didn't feel great. The bottle of cava I had purchased lay stubbornly half drunk. By midnight I was in the "bano" and by 06.00 I was still there.

Suffice to say the I endured one of (if not the worst) episodes of food poisoning ever. Saturday disappeared with sporadic sleep and whenever I vetured out to buy water or visit the farmacia I returned totally wiped out. Having slept all Saturday night I awoke feeling a little better and ventured downstairs for tostado and coffee. On the way back upstairs I had to stop twice on one flight of stairs. Decision made. 55kms uphill was not going to be possible.

As ever my wife came up with the solution. Go back to Seville and fly on form there. so began a frantic round of cancelling what I could of my booked accommodation and booking a flight from Seville to Toulouse. (My only bit of luck the flight was €12.95) In spain not much happens on a Sunday but I found a bus going from Caceres to Sevilla  at 13.30. Perfect. Only it wasn't!!

All of the ticket offices (21 in all) were closed. So I downloaded the Alsa app and paid for my ticket and €10 for my bike. The bus arrived and the driver refused to allow me to board with my bike because it wasn't in a box or a bag as the rules required. No amount of wheedling or begging or explaining that I had a ticket I was ill and I had to get the bus was successful.

So back to booking.com (I should buy shares) for another room for the night in Caceres. (€30 and it is absolutely fine) My alternatives for tomorrow are:    persuade Alsa to honour the ticket I bought once I find a bag or a box for my bike (UNLIKELY) or get one of the three bike spaces on the one train that goes to Seville tomorrow (possible) of hire a car for a one way trip (possible but expensive) One way or another it is Caceres adios tomorrow.

If I was in any doubt about having made the right decision when I arrived back from the bus station, a flat journey of less than 10 kms I was exhausted and had to lie down.