{"id":5965,"date":"2025-12-05T12:53:52","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T10:53:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kommt-zeit-kommt-rad.ch\/hola-espana-our-extra-virgin-adventure-in-the-olive-groves\/"},"modified":"2025-12-05T13:05:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T11:05:10","slug":"hola-espana-our-extra-virgin-adventure-in-the-olive-groves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kommt-zeit-kommt-rad.ch\/en\/hola-espana-our-extra-virgin-adventure-in-the-olive-groves\/","title":{"rendered":"Hola Espa\u00f1a – Our extra virgin adventure in the olive groves"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Route to the blog:<\/p>\n\n

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After a stormy night in a former bunker in the Pyrenees, we had a beautiful descent towards Figueres ahead of us. We rolled past numerous idyllic villages, rustic houses, a church in every town, and finally reached Girona, where our Warmshowers host Pau was waiting for us. We were able to send him a replacement part for our gasoline stove, and on top of that, he offered us a place to stay for the night. Fun fact: one of his hobbies is collecting stoves of all kinds! He owns over 200 of them\u2014gas, gasoline, wood, even one from the Swiss Army, he proudly tells us.He is also a real surprise package in other ways. Who would have thought that a Spaniard had taken part in igloo building meetings in Switzerland several times and even taught others how to build a two-story igloo out of snow alone? In addition to his stories, he also spoiled us with culinary delights; homemade pickled olives were of course a must. Later in the evening, his wife joined us, and the two told us about the many Warmshowers guests they have hosted \u2013 on average one person per week. Once, they even left their car outside and covered the entire garage with mattresses to accommodate a French family with four children, all of whom were also traveling by bike. <\/p>\n\n

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First descent in Spain towards Girona<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Typical village<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Finally got our replacement part for the stove<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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From Pau, especially for us; a great breakfast<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n

We love traveling without fixed dates, as this gives us enough time for spontaneous encounters. We felt the difference all the more when we realized that we had to be in La Palma in a month’s time because we had rented an apartment there for 1.5 months and were therefore under some time pressure. <\/p>\n\n

It quickly became clear that we wouldn’t be able to cycle the entire route across Spain \u2013 we started late and then got sick. So we considered how we could best “shorten” our journey from Girona to get as far south as possible and, as an added bonus, warmer weather. The train would have been our first choice, but the decent routes don’t allow bikes, or only in a cardboard box. Flixbus would also be ideal, but they don’t transport bikes in winter because demand is too low. The fact that they dismantle their entire bike rack system and forgo the extra revenue makes little sense to us, but some economist must have calculated it correctly \ud83d\ude05. Flying wasn’t an attractive option with our bikes either.Then we had the idea of \u200b\u200brenting a car and returning it at a different location. And lo and behold: Europcar made it easy \u2013 and it wasn’t even much more expensive than the train! So we booked the largest available car from Girona to Ja\u00e9n in Andalusia. Since we didn’t want to spend the night somewhere with all our luggage in the trunk, we had no choice but to drive the 900 kilometers more or less in one go. We were at the Europcar counter at 8:00 a.m. sharp to avoid wasting any time.Once we were cruising at 140 to 160 km\/h, we could finally breathe a sigh of relief, as we were making excellent progress. You know that feeling when the estimated arrival time keeps getting earlier and earlier? Wonderful. The roads were in excellent condition, and there was hardly any traffic. So, quite exhausted, we arrived in Ja\u00e9n an hour before closing time (7:00 p.m.). <\/p>\n\n

There we were, standing in the dark, in the middle of this city with 112,000 inhabitants. Like two zombies, we sat down in the first park we found and cooked our meal for hard times: pasta with tomato sauce \ud83d\ude05. Then we walked a few meters further and pitched our tent under the nearest olive tree. Spoiler alert: that wouldn’t be the last olive tree. <\/p>\n\n

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Fortunately, everything fit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The driving went like clockwork…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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…only once were we slowed down for a few kilometers by a wind turbine transport.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Finally arrived in Ja\u00e9n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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All these impractical fountains; you have to know how to help yourself \ud83d\ude05<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Our first night under olive trees, right on the outskirts of town<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n

From Ja\u00e9n, we mainly follow the European Divide Trail<\/em>,<\/a> a bikepacking route to C\u00e1diz. There, we will take the ferry to the Canary Islands on December 13. Just beyond Ja\u00e9n, an amazingly well-maintained gravel bike path took us through olive groves toward Martos\u2014right into the heart of olive oil production. It was only when we had climbed the first few meters that we realized how incredibly large these plantations are. With around 175 to 200 million olive trees in Andalusia, an estimated 30\u201336% of the world’s olive oil comes from here. No matter where we look, there are always olive trees on the horizon. <\/p>\n\n

Irgendwie wirkt es seltsam, dass man so oft von der Abholzung des Regenwaldes wegen Palm\u00f6l liest, aber \u00fcber die 1\u2019700\u2019000 Hektar (allein in Andalusien) Oliven-Monokultur kaum etwas h\u00f6rt. Wenn man durch die Felder f\u00e4hrt oder sogar darin \u00fcbernachtet, merkt man schnell, dass hier jegliches Leben verschwunden ist. Keine Insekten weit und breit \u2013 f\u00fcrs Zelten zwar angenehm, aber f\u00fcr die Natur? Begr\u00fcnungsstreifen sucht man vergeblich. Wie viel ein solcher Streifen ausmachen kann, merkten wir, als wir unser Zelt einmal in der N\u00e4he eines kleinen Bachlaufs aufstellten. Dort standen aufgrund der Topografie noch ein paar \u201enormale\u201c B\u00e4ume und B\u00fcsche \u2013 und pl\u00f6tzlich wimmelte es nur so von V\u00f6geln. <\/p>\n\n

We had planned a break in Martos. We really liked the town. High above it, the Castillo de la Pe\u00f1a<\/em> towers on a huge rock, and below it, the town nestles into the slopes \u2013 beautiful. After the first night in our accommodation, Beni actually wanted to just relax. But the good flying weather \ud83e\ude82 and the direct view of the official launch site were too tempting. It was more than worth it: he had the sky to himself and landed safely in Martos. For those interested: https:\/\/igcviewer.burnair.cloud\/?file=https:\/\/www.burnair.cloud\/igc\/2025-11-20_11.54_LA-GRANA_BENI-GASSER_11-5617_1001.igc<\/a><\/p>\n\n

After the flight, we spent a few days focusing on the Lightning Process. Put simply, old patterns emerged that we wanted to break as quickly as possible. In moments like these, it is incredibly valuable for us to have Lucia as our trainer. With her help, we were back on our feet in just a few days, so that on our last day in Martos we were able to climb the rock above the city.Beni had already assessed it from the air \ud83e\ude82 a few days earlier and said that it might be possible to take off from there and that he might be able to fly his paraglider again \u2013 more on this in our blog video \ud83d\ude0a. <\/p>\n\n

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Out of Ja\u00e9n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Steep streets of Martos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Santuario de la “Virgen de la Villa”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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La Grana launch site with a view of Martos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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On the rock above Martos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Castillo de la Pe\u00f1a<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Launch site \u201cBeni freestyle\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n

Despite the monoculture of olive trees, we enjoyed the vastness, the colors of the hills, and the incredible tranquility on the bike path towards C\u00f3rdoba. There is nothing easier than finding a good place to camp among the olive trees in this area, if it weren’t for the fact that it is peak harvest season \ud83d\ude0a. So we had to make sure that we were more or less invisible in all directions and settle down where the harvest had already taken place. Farmers tend to be cautious with trees that have not yet been harvested, as criminal gangs have often stolen large quantities of olives at night. In Andalusia alone, police estimate that more than 500,000 kilos of olives disappeared from the fields during the 2023\/2024 winter harvest season. As a result, farmers now monitor the cultivation areas with drones, night vision devices, and helicopters. <\/p>\n\n

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Out of Martos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Harvesting net: depending on the terrain, the olives are shaken into the nets by hand or by machine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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executive position<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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For even more insight into our everyday cycling life, check out our latest video:<\/p>\n\n

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