Return from Espana

The reality is I've been home from Spain for 9 months, but I needed to back date my Blog so I remember where we were and what we've been up to.  I'm not sure if it was the hundreds of pictures to sort through with Spain or the busy summer and fall, but either way, I've severely neglected my Blog.  The likely answer for stalling was the fact that I enjoyed our Spain trip so much, it was kind of painful to go through all those pictures.  When a memory of a place is fresh and fun in my mind, the pictures feel disappointing. But as time passes, I can appreciate the travelogue of pictures I accumulated during that time a lot more.  So the questions remains, "What did we do in Spain for 17 days?" 

The short overview is we flew into Barcelona, rented a car, picked several destinations to stay along the way that had great mountain passes to climb with our road bikes and that seemed like interesting cities.  Then we flew out of Madrid.  We explored 5 different cities/towns, traveled 700 miles in a car,  rode 400 miles on a bike, climbed 72,000 feet of elevation on the bike and walked numerous miles on foot exploring the different cities. If you don't want details about the trip, click here and get the picture overview:  https://picasaweb.google.com/108360286648812110649/SpainJune2014

I'd like to add to each place we visited when I have time and energy to regress into memories of the trip, but in case I never get around to it, here are a couple of pictures from each of the different cities.

Barcelona:

Barcelona Cathedral

Bryant and I were on the fast track when it came to the city tour.  We climbed mountains around Barcelona during the early part of the day and later in the afternoon toured all of what we cared to see of Barcelona in the remaining 10 hours.

Local Games in the Park

Narrow Streets

Bike Ride 1 - 29.5 miles, 4.938 feet of climbing
Strava Track:  http://www.strava.com/activities/151398515
We rode a loop in some smaller mountains right near the hostel where we stayed.  Tibidabo is the mountain top where this church is located.  There are also some tourist shops, an amusement park, and great views of the city. 

Temple del Sagrat Cor vist des de la Talaia del Tibidabo

Ride 2 - 58 miles, 10,177 feet of climbing
Strava Track:  http://www.strava.com/activities/151876709/overview
We reached the summit of Turo De l'Home at 5,418 ft. and climbed some pretty steep grades to get there. 

 



Looking down at the Switchbacks of Turo De l'Home 

On the downhill, we then looped around on a ridgeline, swooping into a valley of deciduous trees experiencing "the best downhill ever!" And I think I repeated that phrase for every downhill I was on for the rest of the trip. Somewhere along the way, we enjoyed a huge "El Menu del Dia," which is a three course meal including bread, a beverage, and dessert. It is served daily between noon and three. I came to love and look forward to the big mid-afternoon meals as the trip progressed. 

 

Tarragona:

On route to Tortosa, we stopped off in Tarragona.  It is about 1 1/2 hours south of Barcelona.  Here we toured Roman Ruins from the 1st and 2nd Century including an Amphitheater, praetorium, and one of the best preserved circus complex built by the Emperor Domitian for chariot races. 

Amphitheater

Circus Complex

And there were tunnels in every direction . . . .

Tortosa:

I stayed in a castle; this castle was at the top of a knoll near a river.  It was built by the Moors in the 12th Century and then added on to by the Christians in the 16th Century.  Now the Spanish government owns and manages these historic buildings, Castles, Palaces, Convents, Monasteries, and Fortresses, for tourist hotel accommodations.  Most of them are located in small medieval towns. 

 

Bike Ride 3:  Tortosa to Mont Caro - 32.4 Miles, 7,500 ft. of climbing.
Strava Link: http://www.strava.com/activities/152642931

Driving up to the castle . . .

Looking over the wall . . .

Mont Caro is the highest peak behind the wall.

I'm happy because I just spent the night in
a castle and I didn't climb the mountain yet.

Looking Ahead!

And a couple hours later, we made it!

Castalla:  

Bike Ride 4:  Xorrent de Cati - 11.5 miles, 1,835ft. of climbing

https://www.strava.com/activities/153039854

Castalla is a little town off the
autovia on route to Tabernas

The cycling professionals in the Vuelta a Espana ride up
the Xorret de Cati, a steep short climb right outside town.

We decide to give it a try!

It may have taken a few more minutes
than the elite but we made it to the top!

Tabernas:

Tabernas is a town of about 3500 inhabitants located in the edge of the Tabernas Desert, not a true desert, but one of the only semi-arid region in Europe.  This desert became famous when it was used as the location for filming the Spaghetti Westerns (The Good, Bad, and Ugly, etc.) starring Clint Eastwood.  This area was used by the Italian director of the films because it resembled the landscape of so many westerns that had been filmed in the United States. 

 

Bike Ride 5: Calar Alto Loop - 68 miles, 11,598ft of climbing

Strava Link:  https://www.strava.com/activities/153407768

Strava Link:  https://www.strava.com/activities/153487129

View from the Top

Descent into Bacares for a late lunch followed
by more climbing back up for dessert.

The long downhill ride back into Tabernas

Granada:

Granada is one of those cities that has a little bit of something for everyone. 

The Sierra Nevada's highest peak, Pico Veleta,
looms in the background behind the Alhambra .

Walking the streets of Granada

Bryant thought it was important for us to incorporate this area into our trip so we could ride our bikes up the highest road in Europe and conquer the 11,135ft Pico Veleta.  When we left Monachil, we were sweating to death in our shorts and jerseys but by the time we reached the top, we were both shivering and wishing for more clothes.  It was a cold and shivery ride down.  The coffee, in the gas station around half-way down, never tasted so good. 

 

Bike Ride 6:  Monachil to Pico Veleta, 48 miles, 11,012 feet

Strava Link:   https://www.strava.com/activities/154304142

Looking down the valley  at the little town of Guejar Sierra

 

Sierra Nevada ski hill is on the left

The road is starting to deteriorate and so is Bryant.

Just because one can ride,
does it mean one should? 

It's not much further now!

The last few 50 feet are a hike up!

 Happy to have mission accomplished 11,135 feet high!



Ronda:

Ronda is a real cool historic town with a long history of occupation by various groups who have all left their mark in some way shape or form. 

The new bridge in Ronda

The town is located on a hill, which was great for every bicycle ride leaving town, but coming home each day I dreaded the last 5 miles climbing back into town. 

Surrounding Ronda are small white villages on quiet country roads.  We created several loops through these little towns that went up and down the different mountain tops.

Bike Ride 7:  Rhonda to Grazalema Loop, 65 miles, 9,131 feet of climbing

Strava Link:  https://www.strava.com/activities/155553239

Setenil de las Bodegas

The white village of Montecorto

Bike Ride 8:  Rhonda to Ubrique Loop, 67 miles, 9,255 feet of climbing

Strava Link:  https://www.strava.com/activities/155907316

Ubrique in the distance

The streets in Ubrique



Benaocaz, another white village, nestled in the mountains.

 Bike Ride 9:  Estepona to Los Reales, 26 miles, 7,572 feet of climbing

Strava Link:  https://www.strava.com/activities/156294679

From the Mediterranean Sea

Winding our way up the twisted roads

 



To where the road ends at Los Reales



    After Bike Ride 9, we packed up the bikes the following day and toured more around the town of Rhonda trying to take the entire trip, hardly believing what we were able to accomplish and yet bemoaning the fact that the trip was already over.  Soon we'd be returning to the day to day life in Alaska.

       We didn't have enough time in our trip to visit the city of Madrid and figured we'd leave it to explore on our next trip to Spain.  But on the way to the Madrid airport, we had to stop in Consuegra and take pictures of the windmills that were made famous by the book Don Quixote when it was first published in the 16th Century.  Millers used the windmills to grind grain from the wheat that was harvested in nearby fields.

Consuegra Windmills

 

Just Add Water

Chugach Mountains from the house

Amazing the results one sees when water is added. The grass looks the greenest it has ever looked for this time of year.  The recent rain was accompanied by very cold temperatures, so the snow levels dropped to about 3,000 feet.  While not unheard of, it was a change of our recent warm spell when the temperatures dropped to 40 degrees last weekend and it started to rain.  Since then, the temperatures have warmed up to their average 60 degrees during the day and about 15 degrees colder at night.

Pioneer Peak from the Old Glen Highway heading South

When I was driving home from Palmer the other day, I took a quick snap shot of Pioneer Peak from the car.  The peak rises to 6,000 feet only a few miles from the highway and while it doesn't look quite as impressive with an iPhone pictures, it is one of those close to home scenes that catch me on a regular basis and I say "wow that is an impressive mountain."