We were out early for breakfast at a panadaria/cafeteria where we also bought bread for lunch. Checkout from the hotel was 12 noon, affording us a couple of hours to conclude our exploration of the city though I’d have liked to have stayed longer. Everything was closed apart from panadarias and cafes but there was a market stall selling nuts so at least we’d have something to accompany our bread. On the way out of the city we saw an ethnic shop which supplied us with an avocado to spread on our bread, and some fruit. We stopped for lunch in the shade at Puerto Real, it was 28 degrees so rather hot for cycling and we were off to a late start. To compound this, it took forever to find our way out from the town onto the road we wanted, a task complicated by works for a high speed AVE rail line and conflicting road numbers. There was little shade along the road and we were in dire need of a break at Paterna de Rivera where we sat under an awning with a beer. It was 17:00 and we still had another hot 26km between us and Arcos culminating in a very steep push to the summit of this hill town where we checked in at Hostal El Patio, beautifully cool inside.
After a much needed shower, we looked round the narrow streets of the old town where we were situated and had a good vegetable risotto with salad at an Italian restaurant a few doors down from the hostal.