This and that whilst sipping a fine malt.
Bilbao had been a blast. I must admit, though, I was surprised by the obvious presence of the regional Euskadi language. All signs were in Spanish and Euskadi with English included sometimes. On occasion, Euskadi took preference. I’m aware of the campaign to save Euskadi as a language and if nothing else, certainly the campaign… Continue reading Days 17 and 18 – Bilbao – Laredo – Santander
With the freedom to be entirely reckless, for now, at least, before the next adventure in our lives kicks in, Mrs. Monkey decided at 4 days notice to join me in Bilbao. So, I thought, I shall hand over the reins of the blog to my wife... for one day only. 😅 Ladies and gentlemen,… Continue reading Rest days in Bilbao – Guest Blogger – Mrs. Monkey !
There are essentially two routes to Vitoria G from Logroño. The city is due north and after Laguardia, ringed by bodegas and vineyards, you can go around the Herrera peak, 55 miles, or over it, 45 miles. I had decided to go over it! As I dug into a constant 14% gradient I seriously did… Continue reading Days 15/16 Logroño to Vitoria-Gasteiz to Bilbao
Logroño is a city that styles itself as the capital of the rioja region. As an outlet for all the various styles and wares of the bodegas around these parts there can be no challenger. There are hundreds of variations, and, supporting my long held belief that the European countries don’t export their best wine… Continue reading Day 13/14 Logroño rest days
I had an interesting encounter in Tudela. On arriving into the outskirts I decided to cut short my two night stay here and press on to Logroño the following day. Time to check-in was 4.00pm so I hung around having made good time. At 4.05 I walked into Reception to find no-one but a young… Continue reading Days 11 / 12 Zaragoza to Tudela to Logroño
Sunday morning lie in. I had selected two treats for the day and intended to keep it to that. Too much walking around Alicante had made recovery and then riding a bit of a challenge so I’m trying to be sensible with what I can see in a day. First stop was the Aljafería, a… Continue reading Day 10 Zaragoza rest day
There were times during the last few days when I thought that I was cycling to the top of Spain and whilst I clearly wasn’t, you know what they say, perception is everything. Surely then I must come down at some point. You see, this is the benefit of hills; Great views Makes you stronger… Continue reading Days 8 and 9 Albarracín /Daroca/Zaragoza
Teruel to Albarracín is a mere 24 miles or so of a flattish ride until you drop down into the river valley. Ochre coloured rock to one side, lush green forest of the Guadalaviar River to the other.Today was the day I had been looking forward to since I planned the trip. I’d read so… Continue reading Day 7 Albarracín
I am sure that I remember it correctly. In Laurie Lee’s “A Moment of War” he describes arriving in Teruel and “liberating” a van which was parked outside the church. Nothing was done or said but the van was commandeered and proved useful, no doubt. When I arrived in Teruel,sure enough the van had gone.… Continue reading Day 6 El Toro to Teruel
Valencia is one of those cities I could have spent more time in. I was getting the feel for the place and was enjoying wandering around. Today, however, I leave this area and the tourist spots behind and head into the hills. Wandering on the wild side...well, as wild as it gets, this is the… Continue reading Day 5 Valencia to El Toro
