Veleta Pass

After leaving Tremelez we headed for Granada for a couple of days before heading to the North side of the Sierra Nevada via the ski resort. The road up to and beyond the ski resort is purported to be the highest mountain pass road in Europe at 3380 m, unfortunately you can’t drive over the pass now however we did make it up to the highest point possible at 2600 m.
We  eventually ended up at Jeres De Marquesado, which whilst only 25 km as the crow flies from Tremelez  across the spine of the Sierra Nevada, is actually 180 km via the road.  This location is in the low foothills just where the plain starts to rise to meet the mountains and therefore slightly less steep for cycling!

Great backdrop to a days cycling

We found some great trails straight from the campsite and have spent the day exploring locally. We did have a route of sorts but it was a photograph of a 40 km ride on a smart phone so not ideal for navigation! Particularly as there did not appear to be any landmarks on the route apart from trees – so I think our exploring approach / mindset worked best!

The singletrack goes on …

and on …

and on …

and on.

The weather turned wet in Grazalema so we decided to head over to the coast until things improved before heading back inland. We ended up staying one night at Torre Del Mar, a typical Spanish seaside resort and not really our thing, but at least it was dry. On the morning we left we had a quick spin along the promenade (10km or so) and in my mind Torre Del Mar was redeemed by the excellent churros shed that we came across. Churros are a Spanish donut  but served as a long strip, rather than round with a hole in the middle, and are excellent dunked into super thick hot chocolate – the breakfast of champions.

An excellent find!

Master churros maker in action

Looking at this photo not sure that I have the churros to riding ratio quite right

On the subject of donuts the best donuts can be found at the beach side cafe at Dunwich in Suffolk – perfectly fried dough balls crisp on the outside cut half through with a generous dollop of jam – worth a detour!

With the weather improved we headed into the Sierra Nevada mountains and in particular to Tremelez reported to be the highest village in Spain at 1460m. It was a great drive up from sea level with the last 30km on a narrow twisty road with plenty of unprotected drops to focus the mind. We arrived at the campsite a further 2km up the road in bright sunshine and snow! Luckily not prolonged or settling at campsite level.

The campsite owner is into climbing and has loads of information on local walks and rides etc. all relayed verbally but with an eye for where navigation can get tricky and useful advice on how to find the correct trail. So armed with the knowledge of a 5 minute conversation and our stated desire to do a high level route we set off on our trek. The directions and advice were spot on and we climbed the 1000 m from the campsite to the top of the ridge with excellent views over Tremelez below. We started off with the sun on our backs but as always in the mountains the higher you go the colder and more changeable it gets and by the time we crossed the snow line we were in hats, coats and gloves. The round trip was just less than 15 km and took 5 ½ hours so now time to retire to the bar from where we are sending this update.

Tremelez far distance below

The climb to the top

Not so warm up here

Snow and mist

Mission complete

We have done a couple of touristy things over the last couple of days that didn’t exactly go as expected but worked out ok in the end.

Can you spot the sea mammal

The first was to go whale watching off Tarifa in the Straits of Gibraltar where we spent the first 1 ½ hours trawling up and down the Straits and along the Moroccan coast without hide nor hair of a dolphin, whale or any other marine life! We were just getting to the point where we were thinking this was a waste of 60 euros when we spotted a school of 30 striped dolphins, shortly followed by two pilot whales and finally topped off by a sperm whale sighting.

After the whale watching we found a great little campsite which seemed to be totally occupied with wind and kite surfers and came complete with beach side bar.

Campsite bar

Our second was a visit to Gibraltar which we figured as we were so close would be worth a look. We parked on the Spanish side and walked across the border with the intention of getting the cable car to the top of the rock. Unfortunately due to high winds the cable car wasn’t operating, so we decided to walk up the 426 m.

Top of The Rock

Don’t leave your bike in the wrong place in Gibraltar!

You have to cross the Airport runway to get in

Whilst  in Gibraltar we stopped off in Marks and Sparks to buy socks (a few more days without the need to do washing!) , W H Smith to buy an English paper and then had fish & chips for lunch.

From Gibraltar we have headed inland to the National Park of Grazalema and are currently camping just outside the town of Grazalema with a contingent of the Spanish Army, who arose a seven this morning with some regimental chanting.

We spent today walking along a goat track between Grazalema and Benocaz and then got the bus back. It was a great walk and was reminiscent of Derbyshire in places with rolling hills and limestone, The Quaraing on Skye with high inland cliffs above the trail and The Alps with alpine type meadows – a bit of everything combined with kamikaze goats and donkeys who sought pleasure in having standoffs with walkers.

A great walk

Cabo de Sao Vicente – The most South West point in Europe

After leaving Lisbon we headed down to the extreme South West corner of Portugal and in fact the extreme South West of Europe and into the Algarve.

We managed to negotiate Portugal’s new motorway tolls – in 2012 all motorways became toll roads with ANPR cameras installed on all motorways which were previously not covered by tolls. The system was introduced to raise additional revenue in the light of the recent financial crises, however not sure how successful this has been as most of the motorways we saw were practically deserted, we spent over 1 ½ hours on one motorway and I doubt we saw more than 50 cars in that time!

We also noticed a large number of storks in Portugal which seem to nest in some strange places, including motorway gantries, power pylons and factory chimneys.

High rise living

In the end we decided that the Algarve was not for us so after a couple of days we headed back into Spain.

We are currently camped up between Jerez and Cadiz where we have enjoyed a fiesta in Jerez, lots of flamenco dress and sherry (not me on both counts), and a good day strolling around Cadiz. We finally understood the need for a siesta after a couple of sangrias with lunch.

Party time

We have just spent 3 days in Lisboa and are about to head off further South down the coast.

In some ways it is a bit of a strange place for a capital city with what appears to be no iconic sights. However it is definitely a lived in city and the feel at street level with lots of small bars, restaurants and local shops is great.

Free runner

The town is built on a series of hills linked with a variety of trams, cable cars and elevators. We stayed at the main city campsite some 5 km from the centre, a 40 minute bus ride using 6 euro travel cars valid on all the local transport for 24 hour period.

Cable Car / Funicular

We spent most of the time just wandering around stopping off at the small bars to grab a Ginjinha (cherry liquor) from time to time. Some of the bars are so small in fact that there is literally only room for 3 people to stand inside so everyone spills out onto the street.

Ginjinha Bar

Also went to the Chiado district and went to a excellent Fado concert.

Definitely a good town to return to for a weekend break.

Throughout our trip(s) we have done little pre-planning, however when I knew that we were coming to Portugal there was one place I knew I wanted to fit in and that was the place of the big wave, Nazare.

I am not really into surfing in fact only attempting it once at Bigbury Bay in Devon some 30 years ago, most notable for getting badly sunburnt. As friends will know big waves and I don’t go together – broken shoulder Maracas, Trinidad comes to mind!

However I have always admired big wave surfers after seeing the likes of Laird Hamilton on the Extreme Channel, surfing the Jaws break in Hawaii with jet ski tow ins to get sufficient speed to catch the wave.

Back in January this year Garret McNamara rode a 100 foot wave off the Portugese coast at Nazare. So as this was on the way to Lisbon we went to take a look.

As you can see conditions at the time we were there were slightly different i.e. flat calm.

Garret McNamara – 100 ft wave

… and today!

We have just spent a couple of days in Porto. We ended up staying at a beachside campsite about 4 km south of the town after first driving around the outskirts trying to find a campsite which we had identified from trip advisor which no longer exists.

The bus ride into town from the campsite was equal to any driving we encountered in Italy as the bus careered down narrow streets with inches to spare between the walls on either side. It was obvious the drivers were well practiced as they did slow down on the sections with parked cars by the side of the road, I assume because walls don’t move day to day but parked cars may!

Pont Luis I – Porto

Once we got into town we felt a bit lazy so decided to get an open bus tour, great value at 10 euros, but after 2 hours we were bussed out. Time to taste some port, so we headed to the Taylors port house for 3 euro tour with 3 glasses of port, after which we headed for some bars where Sharon was determined to get white port and tonic, failed on both occasions!

Porto

The second day we decided to get the bikes out and cycle from the campsite up the south bank of the Douro river, across the Pont Luis I bridge, then down the north bank and north up the coast to the cruise ferry terminal, returning by the same route with the exception of getting the little ferry across the river as opposed to the bridge.

We arrived first so bike ended up at bottom of pile!

Riding along the prom

short cut

We  now plan to head down towards Lisbon probably stopping for a couple of nights along the way.

Displaced surfboards

We continued our journey down the West Coast of Galicia driving up and down all the Rias (large sea lochs) before heading east along the bottom of Galicia aiming for the Parque Natural de Montesinho in the top North East corner of Portugal.

Unusually, rather than to maintain the countryside. the park was set up to protect the sixty odd traditional villages in the area.  We ended up camping at the one of the two campsites in the park just outside the village of Gondesende.

Campsite at Gondesende

We decided that a bike tour around the various villages was the best way to get a feel for the place and so set off on 40 km(ish) ride around the national park close to the campsite. We didn’t expect many tea shops along the route so when we spotted what looked like a bar, a few faded plastic seats outside a house with an open door (although the bar sign above the door did give it away!) in Torroso, we thought we would grab the opportunity for a coffee. So we poked our heads around the door to be greeted by an old guy, with one false arm and a hook for the other, who appeared from behind us.  Once we had managed to communicate (poorly) that we were after coffee, he said “una momento” and disappeared down the street only to return with an old lady (assumed to be his wife?) whom he then instructs on how to use the espresso machine in the bar.

Coffee stop at Torroso

Church at Torroso

Two coffees later (for the princely sum of 1 euro) we were sitting outside the bar when the old man came out and presented Sharon with the gift of a pen knife and printed prayer in Portuguese and pointed across at the church directly opposite the bar. He then disappeared only to reappear talking into his mobile phone. Two minutes later another old lady appeared with the keys to the church and we were given an impromptu guided tour! Outside the church was plain but inside was it full of gold leaf and polished marble.

We continue our travels along the North Spanish coast moving into Galicia in the far North West.

Cathedral Santiago De Compostela

Up until now all of the campsites we have stayed have been virtually empty with no more than 3 other campers on site and sometimes us alone. However earlier in the week we stopped at Santiago De Compostela and things were much busier with vans from all over Europe full of pilgrims visiting the town.

Internet connections have been sparse over the past few days so we have had to really on a shortwave radio if we want any news in English, although bizarrely we can only get Australian radio in the morning and Chinese and Romanian radio in the evenings, however we have so far learned all about photo bombing in China and sign language in Papua New Guinea.

We (I) have made some modifications to our fridge! The fridge has a freezer tray however because it is open to the main body of the fridge it is of limited use, so I purchased a thermal camping mat and with those universal save the day items of duct tape and cable ties fashioned a door for the freezer section.  I faced much derision from Sharon as I completed this task, however with the prospect of storing Magnum ice creams the idea was deemed not so stupid! With the new door in place 6 mini Magnum new crème brulee flavour (highly recommended) were purchased. Unfortunately door was not as effective as hoped requiring all six to be eaten consecutively!

After leaving Santiago De Compostela , fuelled by Magnums, we made our way across to Cabo Fisterra, purported to be the most westerly point in Europe (although we understand a cape in Portugal has a similar claim).

Coastal ride

Coffee break

We are now travelling south down the west coast of Galicia and are currently camped on a site next to the beach just outside Muros.

Camping by the beach

The beach