Santiago to Santander Many, many kilometres ago in a village in Valencia, when I admitted I’m not musical, the cellist, Edgar, asked if I sing. It’s a relative term for what I do, but I told him that Graham and I usually sing one-song-to-the-tune-of-another when we are cycling along. Thankfully, most of our songs have …
Author Archives: weazelo
Spain Again
Porto to Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, in the northeast of Spain, is famous as a pilgrimage destination. Third only to Jerusalem and Rome, 200,000 people make the journey each year. Being uninitiated in the ways of pilgrims, when I first heard of the Camino de Santiago, a walker’s route, I thought it referred …
Portuguese Silver Linings
“Portugal in October? That could be a bit wet and wild!” This was a friend’s reaction to Graham’s outline of our cycle tour plans. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t had any reservations about cycling along the Atlantic coast this late in the year, but our other options were 1) to start earlier …
Sharp Elbows & Sardines
Seville to Serpa Did you know that among its multiple attractions, Seville is the warmest major city in Spain? Ironic then, that we got the first big drenching of the tour and a dip in temperatures as we neared Seville, though not enough to dampen our sightseeing plans. Seville has had a glorious past as …
Destination Gibralta!
Graham, Gaza, Gibralta & Gianluca. It’s been a curious week of fantasy and reality. Last Saturday we watched events in Gaza on Spanish TV news as we ate dinner in a hotel cafeteria, then cycled off to Granada for a wonderful couple of days. From Granada, we cycled over the mountains to the west of …
The Roads Less Travelled
Life Lessons in Andalucía On a metro in Valencia, I overheard an American father gently pointing out to his young son why he wouldn’t be getting the $2000 go-kart the son was requesting as a Christmas present. The father explained that some families’ entire Christmas budget was just $500, so $2000 for one present was …
Ups & Downs in Valencia
We’ve been on the road for three weeks and I’m starting to hit my stride. Graham always jumps on his bike and appears to be in his most natural state. Yesterday, on our way to València, a group of around 30 cyclists, in identikit yellow and black club jerseys, whizzed past me with friendly greetings. …
Bikeless in Barcelona
We had a happy couple of days exploring Barcelona, visiting Gaudí’s fairytale Casa Batllo: the one with the feline-balconies, Mr Whippy ice-cream swirly ceilings and the dragon-scaled rooftop. Yesterday we spent a sunny afternoon in Güell Park. Today, as we cycled along the coast, I retrieved Graham’s peaked cycling cap which had fallen from his …
Surreal Spain
Yesterday we left France and cycled over the Eastern Pyrenees into Catelonia, pausing only to put on cycle helmets, which are a legal requirement here in Spain, except in towns apparently. Temperatures have dropped and we had to shelter from a couple of downpours, but it was actually refreshing to cycle into the mountains in …
Warm Showers
Marseille & La Camargue Our first experience of using Warm Showers cycle tour hosting, as guests, certainly set the bar high. We had a warm welcome from Katja, Olivier and his son Gabriel (plus a friendly nuzzling from their cat, Bicyclette). Soon after we arrived Katja asked whether the 42 on my T shirt was …
Louise's Brexit Cycle Tour 