Seven weeks in Spain and Portugal

[JohnnyBoxer]

It’s a well sorted 1100 with ungraded suspension etc and an owner who knows his bike very well inside an out through many long distance adventures, what’s on the clock now something around 103.000 miles, as they say, sure only just about broken in now
Do you ride with the spots on during the day ?
Would be interested to see if you get any hassle from the Spanish Police over the trip. I have always ridden with spots on in Spain and Portugal and never had any hassle but recently heard of more people being pulled and fined over having them on when no fog about. Could be the usual internet crap but always good to hear it from personal experience.

That’s why I still enjoy travelling/touring on my 1150’s - capable and enjoyable, perfectly set up for me (seat/screen/suspension & luggage options)

Now at 77000 and 43000 respectively
Both are worth less than a used 1250, so no depreciation worry either

 

[Wrigsby1]

I was thinking much the same about the very analogue 1100.

In theory, amongst the ‘greenest’ ways to travel on a motorcycle. Its build carbon footprint went years ago.

And around the Picos two up it's the most I've scraped on any bike... Many of the mountain roads seemed like semi Shellgrip...

 

[Simon_100]

They more or less are! Many roads are being resurfaced with 'eco' stuff that's the doggies doodah's here, including mine - see below ...

Potes, is perhaps an example of somewhere that became popular - at least for motorcyclists - simply because it started appearing in every ‘Biker friendly, must do’ article and route suggestion. That the town also gets listed in umpteen ‘Nice places to visit’ travel guides, means that it’s on just about every local itinerary….. a bit like Burton-on-the-Water.

I wonder how many of us keep our very favourite places to ourselves in these days of social media?

I do
First went in 1994 on our enduro bikes
We entertained the locals one evening by riding our enduro bikes up the river from the main square & under the main bridge towards the church
Bit of a fiesta night and even the Guardia Civil didn’t mind and gave us a clap
Times have changed now & in the 1990’s you didn’t see many tourists and bikers

We first went in the mid-eighties and it was rammed, all down to Fuente-de.

 

[ThreeDawg]

Well although not everyone does, I like Potes. A day off the bike yesterday was welcome and we wandered around the village, which was very pleasant.

Having done the 'Potes Triangle' (or is it TT?) to Riano and Cangas on a previous visit, we decided to head into the centre of the park to a village called Cain.

At first the weather was decidedly iffy, but as we got closer to Cain the mist lifted and stupendous vistas revealed themselves. It was a grand wee trip, and on the way back the tarmac had dried enough to allow us to press on a bit.

 

[ThreeDawg]

Sunny but cool today, as we made our way west to Santiago de Compostela. That's for tomorrow, today we stopped anong the way in Ponferrada. Virtually no traffic along the way, very relaxing. Bike has used a bit of oil - maybe 350ml since we left Inverness. I'd consider that pretty respectable.

Took a couple of pictures at Riaño.

I think Mrs 3D will demand I break out the Warm 'n' Safe leccy baselayers tomorrow.

 

[Wrigsby1]

I had a screensaver come up if Riaño and said " I know where that is!"... It's amazing that one visit and 25 years and it's still imprinted in there...

 

[ThreeDawg]

And Ponferrada hasn't disappointed. Large Knights Templar castle, attractive church and a backstreet bar where 2 beers and snacks are €5. Very civilised.

 

[ThreeDawg]

After a pretty uninspiring run across Galicia yesterday, we are now in Santiago de Compostela, dodging the pilgrims and getting ready to head south, where hopefully it will be warmer.

I guess the famous (and massive) incense burner is not in use as they seem to be doing some maintenance in the cathedral. Bit of a bugger if you've walked many miles on your pilgrimage to see it.

Understated..

I am still undecided as to how much (if any) of the Portuguese ACT we will do on our way to the Algarve. I enjoy tackling trails if they are part of getting from A to B, but I don't find putting us or the bike in harm's way just for the hell of it much fun, and the intel I have is that it's not very big bike friendly in places. We'll see. Anyway, we are staying with friends who ride tomorrow, so I am sure there will be tips a-plenty.

 

[grantmac]

your picture above at the stop with the mountain goat or whatever in the mist brought back fond memories of us a few weeks ago......

 

[Captain jack]

Nice bike and good to see an older model being put to good use

 

[ThreeDawg]

Our next stop was the village of Soajo, high on the hills of Portugal, to visit our friends Claudia and Guido, AKA Dusty Throttles.

The ride south from Santiago was nothing special at all, and again I felt sorry for the pilgrims walking through one no account town after another. Things improved though as we entered Portugal and headed east through the mountains of the Peneda-Gerês National Park. Arriving in Soajo we discovered that their rather lovely house was down some horribly narrow and steep lanes, but that's what you get in a hill town.

We had a tremendous evening, rounded off by the local forewater (Agua something) which reminded me of the Rakia we had in Montenegro.

One thing I must say is that having the lower 850LT FD on my bike makes hill villages and the hairpin bends on the way a deal easier - second is a lovely flexible crawler gear now.

Petrol in Portugal is pricey.

Coy coo.

Apparently these grain stores go for €20K, even though they are not used any more.

 

[Wrigsby1]

What great write up for the qualities of a bike than most modern BMWers either wouldn't know about or wouldn't take a 2nd look at in a car park...!
Also I love the fact it's the two of you on the extended tour... My wife likes the bike but long distance has only ended in bad reviews...

 

[ThreeDawg]

Unfirtunately we had to move on from Guido and Claudia's place, but they did send us off with a whole lot of useful information. Their touring is to continue, with their bike already on its way to the States for a several- years - long tour to Alaska and then down to Ushuia. This is what you can so when your other half is in to adventure touring.

Anyway, we headed off down to the famous Douro valley, via the lesser travelled northern bank. This was a brilliant, if short, ride with spectacular views over the ancient terraced vineyards, before we crossed over the river and rode the much better known (but slightly dull) N222 to Pinhau to watch the bewildered cruisers wandering about the fairly unremarkable town. Our base for the night was a little to the south, and as soon as we started climbing the riding got interesting again and we found a hotel offering a hefty four course meal with two beers and a bottle of wine for less than fifty quid.

G & C had recommended we visit the hill town of Monsanto, so we did, and it was fascinating. We followed the road through the 'Parque Serra de Estrella' into the hills towards the Spanish border, enjoying the warmth of the sun and pristine, deserted roads.

Monsanto was fairly typical of a hill town in that the streets were cobbled, narrow and steep, but we managed to park the bike without mishap near our hotel.

The village is famous for being built into giant granit rocks, and was a fine place to watch the sun going down over a cold beer, even if I did feel a little bit that we were being taken for granted as customers of the hotel, bar and restaurant. Never mind, it was a lovely place and well worth visiting.

 

[MickDB1]

Thats a great bikers sunset sir

 

[850GS-J]

Great stuff - thank you for taking the time to write up and post the pictures.

 

[ThreeDawg]

After succesfully turning the bike around and riding down the steep hills of Monsanto without falling off, we headed south to our next stop, Evora. This is an historic university town with a Roman temple to Diana, a very interesting 16th century aquaduct running right to the centre and what I believe is Portugal's largest cathedral.

The ride there was unremarkable through rolling plains and cork forests, but the weather is getting warmer and sunnier by the day, so I was happy. We did stop at a rather curious site where rows of large boulders had been arranged on top of each other. When, I don't know, but it was an odd thing to see behind a petrol station. Our apartment in Evora old town was cute and we were allowed to ride the bike into the courtyard, which was nice.

Donald Trump's bog?

The aquaduct runs into the centre of town. It's visible for miles as you approach Evora and has been incorporated into other buildings over the years.

We are now in Salema on the Algarve, a place where we had a couple of lovely Christmasses with the kids many moons ago. Happily it seems to be resisting the onslaught of mass tourism better than some other places along the coast and it's a fine place to chill before heading back into Spain.

 

[ThreeDawg]

Ah, Salema. Love it, even seventeen years on from our last visit. We dumped the bike in the courtyard and chilled for a few days. I definitely need this from time to time on longer trips...

Just big enough to support a few decent restaurants, without all the hideousness along the coast "cahm orn, best fish an' chips in Albufeira missus..."

 

[ThreeDawg]

Yes, Salema, a lovely place to chill for a few days. We parked the bike in the courtyard and strolled around a bit but basically did very little.

So, refreshed we hopped back on the bike and pointed it towards Spain, where we plan to spend ten days or so exploring Andalucia.

The Algarve hinterland is not that lovely, so we took the motorway to Jerez which was tedious but stress free. At least until we couldn't find our apartment in the narrow streets of the old town, but that's another story.

I liked Jerez as soon as we had calmed down. The streets were thronged with people out enjoying themselves in the many bars on pretty squares, and the vibe was good.

Sherry in Jerez, of course.

The following day, we strolled out without much of a plan, and encountered at the cathedral, a religious procession. I've seen a few of these in Catholic countries, but this seemed a bit out of the ordinary as there were TV crews there, as well as mounted police and local dignitaries. Turned out it was a sculpture of Santa Maria de Guadaloupe which has not been through the streets in 700 years. Seven centuries, and there it was! In England Henry the second was on the throne, about to get his arse kicked at Bannockburn by Robert the Bruce...

The icon was on a box carried by about 15 kids - we could only see their feet. There were musicians playing medieval music which Mrs 3D captured in a reel on our Faceberk page (OneWorld2Up)

After the parade went on its way we explored the Alcazar, which was a lovely Moorish oasis of gardens and fountains.

Heading out in the morning.

 

[ThreeDawg]

Yeah, loved the non-touristy vibe in Jerez, but I suspected our next stop in Ronda would be a bit different.

On the way out of Jerez I spotted a massive car park on my left, and nearly missed the entrance to the famous race circuit on my right.

Mrs3D had planned a route through the Andalucian hills, which was a delight. One curiosity was what looked like the ruins of a monastary but which turned out to be the handywork of a retired boxer. Gotta admire his ambition..

Mrs 3D put together a reel which shows a bit of the riding, and a numpty on a Triumph getting it all wrong.

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Riding through Andalusia in the November sunshine #adventureriding #gsadventure #gsadventures #adventurerider #gsadventurerider

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Ronda was indeed very busy, but we still had a pleasant wander round, being, well, tourists like all the others.