The Val de Zafán railway was approved in 1880, intended to link La Puebla de Hijar, where we joined the trackbed, with Sant Carles de la Rapita, fulfilling the long-held dream of connecting the Bajo Aragon with the sea. However, the project suffered many setbacks and construction was slow.
In 1936 the Civil War broke out. The purpose of the railway changed to suit the wartime needs: the route between Alcaniz and Bot was used as a corridor for supplying weapons and soldiers to the Francoist army during the Battle of the Ebro. This actually accelerated construction. Finally, in 1941, the line was completed to Tortosa but the section to Sant Carles de la Rapita was never finished. Passenger and freight services began between the two endpoints.
In 1971 a new setback disrupted the line: the tunnel at Prat de Compte collapsed, forcing a bus replacement service from Bot station to Tortosa. On September 17, 1973, with the tunnel still unrepaired, the line was closed for good.
Christine was restless last night, I eventually moved to the other bedroom, feeling bad at the owner having to wash two sets of sheets, but was too stressed and too hot to sleep there either.
We started the day’s ride on a fast level secondary road, past wind turbines. It went to Azaila but we turned right by a vast solar farm onto a quieter alternative. The scenery wasn’t so interesting as previous days, flat and featureless, past smelly industrial farm sheds where unfortunate animals would be seeing out their short grim lives before being despatched to a slaughter house.
We reluctantly chose the N232 as a faster alternative to the unpaved via verde, a fast slog taking us to the exit for La Puebla de Hijar where we stopped for lunch in the shady centre. We returned to the N232 which seemed to go on for ever, with some slow uphill and the relentless headwind. At last we could turn off to Puigmoreno where we rested a while in shade.
Hilly minor roads took us to the edge of Alcañiz, I was tired and thirsty, the warm water in our bottles didn’t compare with a cold drink but the inviting looking bar was closed. We pressed on down and up, the city looked well worth a day’s exploration, a pity we had only one night here.
We were shown to a secure room for bikes in a locked garage and given the codes for access to here and our apartment. I suddenly felt dizzy and had to sit down, with a rapid heart rate. This continued for a long time. When I felt able, Christine helped me across the road and to our apartment where I lay down for an hour, after which I was able to carry on as normal. It was a frightening experience, I was expecting at least to have to use my GHIC card, and at worst never hearing how York City fare on Saturday. I’d like to get more value from my pension contributions so will need to take more account of my age when planning future exertions.
On reflection, I think I may have had my first afib (atrial fibrillation) episode. I only became aware of having afib when Christine bought me a smartwatch, and it’s not bothered me until now.