Stage 2. Herrera del Duque/Orellana la Vieja
88 kilometers. 1,020 meters of elevation gain.
Compared to the previous stage, the second day of the trip is a pleasant walk through the vast rural and livestock plains of the Guadiana River, passing through the pastures of the García de Sola and Orellana reservoirs. The first contact with the inland sea of García de Sola is the serene river environment of the beaches and piers of Peloche; when the reservoir level is high, the water reaches the town streets. The route continues along a fairly quiet and scenic road to the Puerto Peña dam, tracing the curves and inlets of the reservoir's shore. Puerto Peña is a narrowing in the course of the Guadiana River that was used to build the García de Sola dam. There is also an active tourism center and hiking trails. The surroundings of the river gorge and the canyon's cliffs are an important wildlife reserve. There is a large colony of griffon vultures, white and black storks, cranes, falcons, eagle owls, buzzards, and kites, and it is possible to see flocks of the rare long-tailed wagtail. The mountain range is a lush forest populated by strawberry trees, holm oaks, cork oaks, pines, eucalyptus, pyrénergos, and the rest of the scrubland typical of Mediterranean forests.
The route crosses the Puerto Peña gorge and continues along the Canal de las Dehesas track, one of the large canals built along the middle course of the Guadiana River during the Badajoz Plan hydraulic project. The path is completely flat and the surface is excellent. In some places, panels display environmental values and interesting landscape features. In spring, the rockrose flowers fill the green hills of the dehesas with white dots. The kilometers fly by on a bike, contemplating the meanders of the Orellana Reservoir. At the Casas de Don Pedro junction, the Guadiana Nature Trail turns toward Talarrubias and, before reaching it, enters a Cordel de Merinas (Merinas Cordillera) toward the Roman site of Lacimurga. The ruins are on the banks of the reservoir; it was a strategic crossing for the Guadiana River for centuries, even before the Romans built walls and expanded a primitive oppidum from the 5th century BC, founding a powerful Roman city of the Flavian dynasty on the plains of the Guadiana and Zújar rivers. The road surface is excellent for gravel bikes; it climbs along the foothills of the Maribáñez mountain range, passes through Orellana de la Sierra, and ends the stage in Orellana la Vieja.