OK. A bit of catching up to be done. I’m sitting in a darkened room at Camping El Rosa – excellent site by the way – with three bored teenagers for ‘company’. They aren’t saying much, just staring at their phones away from the prying eyes of their parents. If only they knew they were in the presence of an international travel blogger. The Judith Charmers of his day. We are all in this room because of our desperate need for electricity sockets. There is a light in the ceiling but I’m sensing the teenagers don’t want it switched on so I’m not going to suggest it. Anyway, on with the show. Here are the statistical details for the aficionados of such things… And are are the video highlights (Sky have exclusive rights to the live coverage…):

That just about sums things up. But the catching up thing. There were quite a few cyclists on the ferry from Plymouth and, over our 24 hours at sea, I got to know them a little. We all went our separate ways at the end of the mini cruise although three of us did end up at the campsite in Santander and it was a good evening shared with Bob from the Isle of Man and Mick from Northampton. We finally broke the bond of ferry friendship this morning and I haven’t seen either of them since.

Today? Well, it was my first day cycling on the continental mainland since August 2015 and I’m delighted to say that everything went very well. So much so that I was able to concentrate on my surroundings rather than the route. That was easy. When you have the sea to one side, mountains to the other and only one of two roads heading west, it’s difficult to get lost. And I didn’t.

One nice tale to recount… I bought four beers at the campsite last night in Santander to share with Bob and Mick. Come the morning, one was left so, rather than carry a can of beer in my pannier (bad idea) I left it by the tent of a chap who was also camping on the site. Before I left this morning we exchanged nods but never spoke. Tonight, upon arrival at this campsite in San Vicente, the same man appeared. It turned out he was called Markus and from Flensburg (remember that?) in Germany. He asked if I had left the beer and I said I had. About half an hour later, after having pitched our respective tents, Markus appeared with… four beers. We shared them. And that, my friends, is friendship on the road. Wonderful!

10pm Update: Markus has just emailed me a picture of himself enjoying the beer I gave him last night. He’s currently on the beach next to the campsite. This internet thing is nuts…