Where there’s a will

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post we are having a rest today before we embark on the Primitivo, but I thought I’d share with you a photo of Linda enjoying ordering her evening tapas. We followed the rhythm of Oviedo and headed out for our evening meal well after 9pm. The paseo de las tardes…

The weather was cool and overcast with encouraging signs of blue appearing; ideal conditions for our approach to the mountains of Asturias. An easy ride brought us quickly to one of the most important junctions on our entire journey. At the tiny hamlet of Casquita there is an even tinier chapel dedicated to San Blas.…

Our hotel in Ribadesella was located in the old town near to the very sheltered harbour with virtually no view of the sea. Within metres of leaving the hotel we crossed the bridge over the Rio Sella, turned a corner and joined the esplanade along a wonderful beach. It was bitterly cold with a strong…

I confess I was quite tired yesterday evening. At one point I came to suddenly as I was writing last night’s post, and my final sentence consisted of a series of “j”s as I had fallen asleep on the keyboard. Perhaps “z”s would have been more appropriate! Anyway because of my torpor I completely forgot…

A peaceful night was brought to a gentle close by a wonderful dawn chorus of birdsong, and we realised that our night in Santillana was the first since we had landed in Spain that we had spent in a rural location. We opted for the earliest breakfast available as today promised some intimidating ride data.…

We were woken around 4am by a monumental rainstorm; the proverbial cats and dogs came to mind except this was Spanish rain, Norte style. Slightly spooked by the implications for our forthcoming ride to Santillana del Mar, we turned over and placed our trust in our patron saint. Which brings me to a thank you.…

We expected today to be a bit complicated but, as with all adventures, unexpected complications can arise. But more of that later. Today’s journey was bracketed by two ferry crossings: the first from Laredo to Santona right at the start of the day, and the second near its conclusion taking us right into the heart…

Our departure from Castro Urdiales this morning was a little complicated for two reasons. First, the small Pension we were staying in was unable to provide breakfast and so we had to go out to a cafeteria in the town flourishing our voucher for dos desayunos! Secondly, and somewhat more problematically, the room to secure…

Another early start was called for as we were conscious that we had to negotiate the rush hour traffic in Bilbao to access the Viscaya Bridge at the mouth of the Bidasoa River; a distance of about 12 kms through suburban and maritime industrial Bilbao. Shortly after first light Linda took this photo from our…

It was a very bright but cold start to the day as we headed into the centre of Gernika in order to find the right way out of the town. After several false starts, with us leaving behind a GPS trail resembling spaghetti, we found the correct way: up! We knew we were in for…