Glacier – Morteratsch It’s really cool. (And I’m not even sorry for saying that.) What an opportunity. What a moment. This turned from a good idea on a whim into a lifelong dream being realized. Sometimes, life gives you those rare chances to stand in awe of something greater than yourself, and this is one …
Switzerland – WOW The Swiss government has organised a planning App called “The Grand Tour”. It is very helpful for planning where to go within Switzerland and what to see. It weaves its way through backroads, B roads and generally mind-altering scenic places. I mean, Switzerland is the manifestation of your most wildly vivid, idealistic …
Porto – Ah, you have been truly wonderful. Last day in Porto. Last walk around the tiny streets. Last climb down the, uneven, misshapen and wonderfully rickety city stairs. A lad walks past with a very apt print on his shirt, “Porto-It’s got hills”; that it does, that it does. Within Porto and across the …
Read more “Bouncing back beyond bountiful Barcelona … err to Montserrat”
Barcelona will be our spring board or base camp over the next few weeks. A day here, Porto for five days, three days in Barcelona then 10 days in Switzerland, 4 days in Barcelona again then home to Australia. Camping – Rain 5:30am we heard the first drops of rain on the tent roof. It …
Panniers What’s in all those packs? I have been asked this so many times and I did intend to do a breakdown of our equipment list from the beginning of the trip…but I didn’t. So, here is the full-ish list. Firstly, we are using Ortlieb Panniers. They have seen 13 countries, rough and smooth conditions, …
Tarragona Tarragona, a large industrial town with major ports and active industry. It’s so good to see all the manufacturing and industry throughout all of Spain, each small town appearing to have its own factory/plant. Everything from raw materials to finished articles, ceramics, cars and all sorts of things are produced. Employment and financial security …
Delta – from La Rapita to L’Ampolla What’s a Delta? I didn’t know either. It’s not an Australian singer or a country song. In this case, a delta is an area of flat land that is farmed using flood irrigation. Open aqueducts, gates, rushing water, and healthy new growth surround us, creating a landscape both …
Lookout
Madrid Wandering into Madrid, we found the May Day public holiday in full swing. Luckily, this was a tourist day for us. Our whole focus was to chill out, wander around and see the sites. The park in the middle of the city was absolutely chock-a-block with people relaxing, families eating, playing games and making …
Moving on from Burgos Negative temperatures and morning showers awakens every element of your being, like the blissful melodies of a three month old with a tummy ache. It’s 8am and nowhere is open to grab a quick breakfast. Luckily we know of an important landmark where many, many, many, cafe’s reside and early starters …
Inland we go. Burgos is a city with many sides. My initial introduction to the city was that the city was quite sterile and modern. The apartment blocks looked like newly constructed student accommodation, not that there is anything wrong with that, it is simply my first thoughts. Cycling past this newly constructed facade toward …
San Juan to San Pedro A friend once told me, when travelling and someone gives you advice on a must-do direction, “always choose the YES option”. Yesterday’s climb included a stop half way up at a rest area and church. This was shortly after a brief police interaction, but that is another story. A local …