By this Author: Jenniferklm

As so often happens with travel, things went really well - until they didn’t. We had a lovely couple of nights in Vancouver with friends Donna & Werner who then took us to the airport at 10 am for our 1:30 Air France flight to Paris.

Great flight on Air France. We were happy to find that our Premium Economy seats had been moved to pretty comfy bulkhead seats. The snowy mountains just above the clouds looked like icebergs.

But we left Van about 45 minutes late and unlike last year on the same flight, our connecting gate at Charles de Gaulle was in another terminal, requiring a tram ride, endless walking - well, sprinting actually - going through security again, all to find our connecting flight had gone. Arghhh! Dark, drizzly & 3 degrees in Paris.

Rebooked on the next flight - not til 9:40 pm, 12 hours hence!! So marooned we were all day. Very busy Terminal 2 with flights going to everywhere in Europe. Very little seating that would allow one to nap comfortably & I lay on the carpet a couple of times as I could not keep my eyes open. Oh well…we were given €30 food vouchers and told we will receive some kind of compensation, which is good as our Malaga pickup bike van company will be charging us twice.

Arrived at Malaga Airport about midnight, relieved that bags & bikes also arrived, our pre-booked bike transport van was waiting as was Julia, our host at the Air BnB we stayed in last year.

To bed at about 1:30 am but both slept very well. Julia had bought us some supplies so we could have coffee & breakfast in the morning. So good to get up & see that blue sky!

Headed out to the nearby supermercado for groceries. Love that fresh orange juice machine!

Next stop was the phone store for SIM cards. So cheap - Móvil 5G with 60GB data, 400 min. International calling for €10/month.

Then a lovely walk along the Paseo Marítimo with the sun shine on the blue Med, almost into town. We are in a residential neighbourhood called Playa de Pedregalajo, a couple of blocks up from the beach promenade. Cafes in the sun. Already 21 degrees. So happy to be back here!

Our plan WAS to take a bus to the Spanish coastal town of Tarifa, just west of Gibraltar. Tarifa is at the southernmost end of the Iberian Peninsula on the Costa de la Luz ("coast of light"), and across the Strait of Gibraltar is Tangier and Morrocco. It is the southernmost point of the European continent. The Med & the Atlantic meet here. The influence of the ocean creates a very small annual variation in temperatures. The average daily high in the hottest month, August, is only 9.3 °C above the average lowest temperature during the month of January. It’s a windy spot however, famous for wind and kite surfing. We have booked 3 nights in a hotel in the old town there and will do some hiking and beach walking - it has vast expanses of golden beaches and a bridge to a small island. Hoping to see lots of birdlife.

From Tarifa, we plan to make our way via bike along the coast to Cadiz, a place we really enjoyed last year. It is one of the oldest, continuously inhabited cities in Europe and is almost entirely surrounded by water. From there, the current plan is to go into Portugal, along the south coast, the Algarve. The green line on the left side of the map below is the Portugal border. Neither of us have been to Portugal. Climate and tourism-wise, this would seem to be an ideal time of year - not too hot or crowded. We’ll see what the biking is like….

As those familiar with our mode of travel will know, we stay pretty flexible regarding our routes and don’t book all our accommodation in advance, except for the beginning and end of our trip in Malaga. That allows for diversions, staying longer in places we like or hunkering down in case of bad weather - or illness. We have had little trouble finding places to stay as we are off-season, also making for very reasonable prices. Our little hotel in the old town of Tarifa is €63/night including breakfast.

Arriving and departing from the same place, Malaga, allows us to leave our bike boxes & hockey bags that contained our packed bike panniers - and any extra clothing with Julia, our host in Malaga. Packing for a bike trip is always a challenge for me, a chronic over-packer, unlike Jim, the minimalist. Here’s a pic of my first attempt at home. I have another chance now in Malaga to re-pack.

We actually went to bed at 7:30 pm our second night here after coming back from a late lunch at one of the beach restaurants, our solution to the dinner times here in Spain! Jim had a starter of the espeto de sardinero, skewer of grilled sardines, a traditional dish here. Most beach restaurants have a hut with a wood fire in what looks like a metal boat where they grill them and all other types of fish and seafood. Then we shared a seafood paella with clams, mussels and prawns. Along with a glass of wine and 2 beer, the bill was a very reasonable €43, including a €2.40 servicio.

Yesterday, Jim spent a long morning putting the bikes back together and solving the problem of a missing part for my front bike panniers.

Meanwhile, not being any help with bicycle mechanics, I went for a walk in the neighbourhood shopping area, found a very nice charity shop and got a cashmere/wool sweater & scarf, 50% off for €9. Will it stay behind in Malaga?

That afternoon, we did the lovely bike ride into central Malaga all along the Paseo de Maritimo. As it was Saturday, everyone was out walking or picnicking or eating in the restaurants or lying on the beach. No real swimming going on as the locals think it is too cold.

Our mission was go to the bus station to ask about tickets to Tarifa. To our disappointment, while there are 4 buses a day there, that particular bus line, Avanza, the only one going to Tarifa, will not accept bikes. We took buses with our bikes last year with no issues. They just had to be wrapped and while we used garden refuse bags and tape last year, we came prepared this time - with single bed plastic bags from U-Haul. Back to the nearby train station - no trains to Tarifa from Malaga. Back to the bus station to check with the Alsa bus line, the one we used last year. No, they don’t go to Tarifa. Un problema!

We discuss various options. We could ride - one day we rode almost to Torremolinos last year - but from there it appeared that in order to stay off busy roads, we would have to do a considerable long climb into the Sierra Nevadas. Not exactly how we want to start our trip and we would have additional hotel costs along the way. Eventually, we decide to throw money at the problem and have the bike shuttle deliver us to Tarifa. Not the usual option we would choose, but as we have applied for compensation for our flight delay and it appears we will qualify for €250 each, we will still be ahead. Problema solved and we don’t have to think about it any more.

We had consolation lunch near the harbour at a favorite place, La Canasta Panderia, a chain bakery cafe that makes the best sandwiches ever. We split the yummy Club that comes with little patatas.

Celebrity alert! Richard Gere was in Malaga. He and his Spanish wife have apparently moved to Madrid - good timing I would say - and he was in town to see the show, Gypsy, a production of his good friend, Antonio Banderas.

After a bit of a recoup at home, we walked down to the beach again to watch the sunset.

I managed to read until 9that night and slept til 8am. Think I am caught up now. Today Jim finished putting various things on the bikes. Unfortunately, I realized my new cell phone holder that would allow me to take photos from the bike, won’t work as the camera is blocked by my handlebar bag that rides quite high. But my dashboard is quite full with Jim’s old Garmin, my handy bell, and a new mirror.

Then we rode along the beachfront in the other direction to meet Marianne’s sister-in-law Lori and her husband Ron for lunch in Rincon de La Victoria. They have been coming here for 3 months in the winter for 4 years. They stay in Malaga central for all the Xmas festivities which they say are wonderful and then move to a townhouse in La Cala del Moral, a little further east from where we are. They say it’s not very touristy and people are very friendly.

I wore less clothes today as the temp was supposed to be 24C. It was hotter! But always a nice breeze when you are biking.

We had a great ride, one we did last year, on a bike and pedestrian path along the ocean. Again, all the locals were out walking and biking and we had to occasionally dodge dogs and very small children careening along on tiny bikes.

We found the restaurant on the beach and had a lovely leisurely lunch, getting to know Lori and Ron. Jim and Lori were in high school together in Campbell River but really didn’t know one another. We talked a bit about how much we all miss Jeff, Lori’s brother and Marianne’s husband. Jeff would love Spain. It was fun to actually know someone here to have lunch with - and their Spanish is much better than ours!

So tomorrow is our last day in Malaga before heading into the unknown. Stay tuned!

We had a last leisurely day in Malaga, with a few things to do before our departure today. We moved our bike boxes and our hockey bags into Julia’s shed - a wonderful benefit for us in not having to worry about finding bike boxes at the trip’s end. We went for a lovely visit with Eva, our BnB host when we arrived in Malaga last year. Eva is the aunt of Julia, where we are staying now, and lives two blocks away on the same street. We will be staying in Eva’s apartment when we return to Malaga at the end of our trip. She said she likes Tarifa, our next stop and recommended a few other places down the coast.

Temperatures yesterday were about 10 degrees cooler than the day before but still sunny. We had a good hike up into the hills behind our neighbourhood, enjoying the different architecture of the houses from traditional to very modern and all the tropical plants. Development is continuing up into the hills as it is in our part of the world.

Back down by the beach, we stopped at one of the bars for a drink - my first sangria. I know it’s a tourista drink but I find it a nice change, light on the alcohol and very refreshing. Jim is always in search of draft beer and found unfiltered Aguila, brewed in Sevilla since 1904 but currently owned by Heiniken, which he thinks is pretty good. Cruz Campo is another one he likes. Beer is about €3-3.50. Mixed drinks like my Sangria are more - €5. Cheaper than home.

We decided to get takeout at the Mercadora. I was having a little carne craving so ribs, really good patatas and a sauté of sliced peppers and onions, with pannacotta for dessert did the trick.

I was able to join in on my Friends of the Gulf Islands weekly Zoom meeting - 10 am at home is 7 pm here - though the internet was a bit shaky at times. Will keep this up as I can.

The shuttle van came for us at 11 am this morning so we had lots of time to have coffee and breakfast and pack up our panniers. Much as we have come to love Malaga - and our accommodation - we are looking forward to new sights. Our street was blocked at one end so we moved everything out to the corner. It requires a lot of tricky maneuvering for big vehicles like this van to negotiate the narrow streets with all the parked cars.

Eventually we made it up onto the A7 freeway up above the coast. It’s pretty amazing infrastructure with multiple tunnels with 4 lanes of one way traffic. It all makes the George Massey tunnel look pretty sad. Again the development going on everywhere is astounding and disturbing. The coast has pretty much been built out and there are cranes everywhere in the hills.

Housing is a big issue in Spain (though we have not seen many unhoused people like we do at home - not sure why) as it in our part of the world and the Costa del Sol and Malaga province have seen huge increases in the prices of housing in the past year with the pace of the rise doubling. People are getting priced out of the city of Malaga and are moving out to other communities. Tourist accommodation like AirBnBs are the target of people’s anger, as it is at home too, and limitations on these are being implemented in certain areas. Tourism is a big economic driver but the distribution of wealth is more and more problematic. Big issues everywhere and what are the solutions?

We passed Marbella and then Gibraltar with the Rock looking astoundingly huge and out-of-place from up above.

Then we descended onto the smaller N34 highway to Tarifa on the coast. The van let us out in a little square not far from the hotel, Posada Vagamundos, on a narrow little car-free street where we will be staying.

It’s a very small hotel with rooms on 4 floors and a very small reception space. I am feeling dubious about their promise of safe storage for our bikes, but yes, we can bring them into that tiny space and leave them blocking what seems to be the only entrance into the breakfast room. OK! The very friendly woman at the desk does not speak any English but we meet Tom from Brazil, also working at the hotel, who has spent time in Ireland & has pretty good English.

We are initially given Room 10, on the 3rd floor, which in Europe is actually the 4th floor, a bit of a hike up with no elevator. Then he asked if we preferred a room on the 1st floor, actually the 2nd floor, and we said yes. But that room is very small and dark - and cold & I think I will not be happy there for 3 nights. I had asked Tom if they were busy & he said no, so I thought it was worth asking if there was a brighter, larger room. Yes, #10. OK, I will happily go up and down 4 flights of stairs for a better room. It’s not that much bigger but it’s a corner room with windows on both sides & and even a bit of a view of the Med out one window and a view of an old church steeple and a tiled roof out the other. Definitely atmospheric if much tighter quarters than we had in Malaga. Plus there is a small sunny terrace next door. I immediately feel more cheerful!

We do some negotiating about where we can each keep our stuff in the limited space, and head out to explore. As mentioned, Tarifa is a place for wind sports and we soon found a long beach promenade where we could walk and watch all the kite and wind surfers. Kite surfing is a pretty amazing sport - we could not believe how much air these people got. We are happy to see that the beach Paseo also has a paved two-lane bike path that will be the one we take west when we leave. We are even happier to see some signage for Zahara de Los Atunes, our next port of call.

The beaches remind me of ones in Australia - huge with golden sand, so beautiful in contrast with the blue sea - or seas rather as here the Med and the Atlantic meet. It must be packed here in the summer. We see lots of motor homes and read that it is a popular spot for digital nomads to base themselves. There do seem to be a lot of young people around.

Terifa has some old city walls and towers along the ocean for defense beginning in the 10th C. It’s strategic location meant to has been the site of a lot of military action between the Moors, the Christians, the Spanish and the British against the French and there are bunkers remaining from the Spanish Civil War. This peculiar building, the Castle of Santa Cantalina was contructed in the neo-Gothic style in 1933 as a semaphore flag-station.

The whitewashed old town is really lovely with many very narrow, virtually car-less streets and lots of cafes, bars, restaurants and small shops.

It really is cold with the strong wind and I am glad I brought my long rain jacket and puffy. It begins to rain a bit so back in town we duck into a little French-style cafe. Cafe con leches are typically about €1.5, also cheaper than home.

We finish our long walk on the other side of the old town where we find signage indicating a Sendero (path) Europe’s, 26 Km trail, the GR92/E12 going east to Algeciras. There are the remains of several old houses on the beach, and a nice concrete lookout has been added to one by the Sociedad Española de Salvamento, the Spanish Shipwreck Rescue Society. No doubt there have been many shipwrecks in these waters over the centuries - we can see lots of rocky shoals and the winds would we problematic. I read that Algeciras is one of the largest ports in Europe and the world and we can see lots of large container ship traffic. North Africa is very visible from Tarifa with Ceuta, still Spanish to the east, where Lyn and I started our Moroccan adventure in 1971, taking the ferry from Gibraltar, and Tangier to the west..

On the walk back, we watch an amazing bit of seamanship on the part of one of the large catamaran car/passenger ferries that go between Tarifa and Tangier, only 14.4 Km. A tiny pilot boat went out to meet it as it approached the Tarifa port which is not large. We couldn’t see if a pilot got on board but likely. Then the ferry proceeded very slowly into the small opening in the breakwater, and then in a very narrow space, rotated on its axis to basically parallel park along the dock. A lot could go wrong!

We headed back to our hotel to warm up. There’s a heat pump on the wall that seems to only emit cold air, no mater what we tried - maybe only used for air conditioning in the summer, and a plug-in heater that worked. About 7:30 we went out to look for dinner. Some places are closed for vacaciones but we ended up in a very atmospheric little bar perched on stools in a back corner with a good view of the very small one-cook kitchen. It was a limited menu, also in English and we both had their delicious home-made grilled sausages that came with with the best fries ever and an ensalada. With a copa of vino de rioja for me and a beer for Jim, we were cosy, happy campers. We ended up chatting to our neighbours at the bar, a couple from Aulbfeira, Portugal who told us we will love it there, and a couple from Garden Bay on the Sechelt Coast! Who knew!

Back at the ranch, we discover there is no running water in the bano. Fortunately we could send a message on What’s App and we quickly had a phone call to say they would be investigating and if it was only our room, they could move us. We said that wasn’t necessary; the tap dripped enough water so we could brush our teeth, but a short while later, there was a knock on our door from a guy with bottled water for us and who said that their had been a broken pipe and that entire street was affected but it would be fixed soon. And when Jim got up sometime during the night, we did have water again. Whew! We had seen workers out on the street earlier with a manhole cover up and Jim thinks they maybe had the water off then but forgot to turn it back on.
It was very quiet at night; always a relief that there isn’t a nearby bar we didn’t know about. A good first sleep in

We will have had three nights in Tarifa by the time we depart, finally on our bikes. We have really enjoyed experiencing a place whose name we did not even know before - and it really is such a pivotal place geographically and historically. Though small, the port sees the highest number of passengers due to the frequent ferries between Tarifa and Tangier. The port served as a base for German torpedo boats with Spanish crews during WW II. It is still a fishing village with red seabream and red tuna being the main catches and Jim had some very nice grilled red tuna for dinner the other night. The fish boats in the harbour look very small compared to the boats in our part of the world. There is a small but very attractive market building with lots of fish and seafood on display.

We roamed around the old town and out onto the walk leading to La Paloma Isla that marks the official divide between the Atlantic and the Med. We were not able to walk on the island - perhaps you need to be on a tour. It was used as a burial site by the Phoenicians but limestone has been quarried there since Roman times and it has been used for various military and prison purposes. However, it was a great place to watch the wind and kite surfers. Looks like crazy fun - if you started at age 10.

It’s a very pretty old town and it is great not to be dodging vehicles or hearing traffic noises, though the odd car makes what seems an impossible journey down the tiny streets.

We also discovered that there is a 26 km trail, the Sandro Europa Arco Mediterrania, all along the coast heading back from Tarifa to Algeciras, part of the Camino. We did an initial exploration but it looked pretty treacherous so we decided to research the route further before risking a disastrous plunge down the cliffs. Having done that, we realized we should have followed a small road, not the goat path, so made that became our planned activity for the following day.

After breakfast in the narrow little breakfast room (enticingly surrounded by lovely pottery but it is much too early in the trip for that kind of purchase), with the resident dog, Chico, we headed for the path.

We found the marker we had missed the first time and ended up having a great 3 1/2 hr. 14 km round trip hike in brilliant sunshine, though we did not make it as far as Algeciras. Planning ahead, one could do the full 26 Km and take a bus back to Tarifa, but that would be a long day.

It was wonderful to see miles of undeveloped coast with just the odd house on higher elevations, and the company of a few cows and horses roaming free. This area is called the Parque Natural del Estrecho.

There are the remains of wartime bunkers every so often, always a weird reminder in Europe of how much tragedy and violence an area has seen.

The path was fairly rugged and you had to watch your footing but it was stunning scenery with some interesting succulents, cacti and wildflowers, the blue Med below and Morocco so close. We were both wishing we had worn shorts. Still getting used to the warm sunshine.

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I found the perfect waterfront home. Only a wee bit of reno work required.

We finally turned around and made our way back to Tarifa. A restorative coffee and pastry was required!

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Jim worked on the bikes for a bit while I worked on my tan! Not really. Eventually we walked down to the harbour to see the sun set over Africa. It’s chilly with the wind when the sun goes down so we had a drink in a glassed-in bar right on the beach, and then headed back into town for dinner.

This is a typical outfit for people in Tarifa - toques (wind) and sunglasses (mucho sun).

We decided we couldn’t do better than Vaca Loca, the first little bar/restaurant where we had dinner the first night. It’s tiny little inside but lots of people sit out around heaters and it is literally around the corner from our hotel. One server, one cook - and it’s all done on a wood fired grill.

We sat at the bar next to people from Switzerland. I had a steak & mushroom pie, probably the best I have ever eaten & Jim had the “secret Iberian pig”. Definitely time to stop eating frites though, delicious as they are here. Good thing we had a 28,000 step day and will be on the bikes tomorrow!

Other than two day cycles in Malaga, today was our first day on the bikes. The ponies were pawing the ground in impatience to get on with it - actually that was Jim - but all four of us were ready to go.

As we were packing up just before going down to breakfast, it poured - for about 5 minutes. I think due to the wind, the odd rain cloud gets blown in and just as quickly blown away - people have told us that rain is usually of short duration. We hope so!

I seem to have already lost my good pair of warm cycling gloves - grrr! But hopefully I won’t be needing those now we are leaving sunny but chilly Tarifa.

We are going north west along the coast from Tarifa to a town called Zahara de los Atunes.

We headed out on the bike path along the beach and then onto the N340 for about 10 km. Fairly busy road but a good shoulder. Then we made a izquierdo turn (left) onto a quiet country road, the CA8202 with a rougher surface and began to climb. Whew! I don’t as yet have “good legs” (as they say in professional cycling) - or good lungs, and it was a slog. I had to get off and push when the grade got too steep. OK, I AM regretting ALL my extra clothes.

But it really was worth the huffing and puffing as we climbed from sea level into the hills. It was good to leave the car traffic behind. The Atlantic looked so blue against the golden sand beaches and we began to see some amazing rock formations.

Up we went for a number of km on the winding road until we finally were on a crest - and what to my wandering eyes should appear but a tiny alimentation (store) and cafe. Such moments are priceless. We parked the ponies and joined 3 men in biking gear on the porch. We had a good chit chat with one man who spoke English (after realizing we could not understand his Spanish or German, we of the sad uni-tongue). They were on electric bikes and were satisfying impressed that we were not.

Turned out he lives near the town we are headed for. His town has a full-time population of 1000, that balloons to 40,000 in the summer, at which time he decamps back to Germany. He says that now, in the winter in Spain, it is paradise. He gave us some other local cycling tips and told us there is only one restaurant in Zahara open for dinner at this time of year. In Tarifa, we noticed signs on hotels and restaurants, saying either closed for renovations or for vacaciones. I guess they have gotten through the summer, fall and Xmas/New Years business and now if the time to do those things before the next onslaught of tourists.

After coffee, we carried on, dodging about a dozen horses wandering freely on the road and a few cattle. We noticed cattle grids at either end of the road we were on so I guess their freedom to roam is limited. The cattle here are all reddish in colour with big horns. Along with the red tuna, this region is famous for the red-skinned Retinto cow. They seem very placid as we pass, even with those fearsome horns, and appear to be just enjoying the spectacular views as we are.

More climbing and bike pushing and then we descended into the small village of Bolonia, situated on a beautiful curved golden sand beach. Bolonia is where the most complete Roman town in Spain, Baelo Claudia is located. The site is noticeable due to a very large modern building located on the hill above the beach.

“On the shore of the Strait of Gibraltar, the town was originally a fishing village and trade link when it was settled approximately 2,000 years ago. Although prosperous at the time of Emperor Claudius, it went into a decline partially fueled by earthquakes and was abandoned by the 6th century.” Wikipedia The village had a population of 117 people in 2005.

We would like to have gone there as we really enjoyed the Roman sites we have seen elsewhere in Spain but we had miles to go. You could certainly see why they would have chosen this site - the bay, the hills behind, the fishing, the weather. We had stripped down to shorts by this time, having left the cold wind of Tarifa behind.

The two older cyclists that we met in the cafe whizzed past us and up the hill. Sigh….They told us they like to bike further on on some military property where you are not supposed to go “but everyone does”.

However, what goes up also goes down. We could look back and see the high bluff we had come around on its lower slopes, and we had a beautiful descent towards the sea - and then up again on the quiet country road into the Parque Natural del Estrecho, and finally onto a walking/cycling path. We are happy that we are seeing lots of signage, not always the case.

Again, beautiful rock formations on our right and the sea our left - and we were descending again to the Cabo (Cape) de Gracia, a point of land with a tower known as el Faro de Camarinal or the Camarinal lighthouse. It was built in the 16th C on the order of Philip II, as one of the coastal watchtowers to protect the Cádiz coast (we are now in the province of Cádiz, not Malaga) from the pillaging of Barbary pirates. In 1990, it was restored and converted into a lighthouse. It really is beautiful and there is a staircase down to the beach.

When we went to retrieve our bikes after looking at the lighthouse, we again had a nice chat with a local man who was put for a walk. This is really a gorgeous area. Below, on the far side of the point, we could see our destination, Zahara de Los Arcos Atunes (Sahara of the Tuna). It lies on an oceanfront plain fronted by gorgeous beaches and surrounded by hills.

Our descent into Zahara tooks us through a hillside community of very beautiful expensive homes, the Uplands of Zahara. Lot of dinero here for sure.

I found this Guardian article about Zahara but we are seeing a very different off-season Zahara - very quiet and with most of the many restaurants and bars closed. But there is so much accommodation here and more being built. Lots of big high end condo developments.

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/aug/02/zahara-de-los-atunes-spain-holiday-guide

And we had no difficulty, just a couple of days ago, booking a really nice place to stay. Apartamentos Zhr was easy to find on Calle Maria Luisa, just off the main beachfront street. It was one of the Bookings.com “no contact” checkins where we were sent the codes for the front door and apartment. Very efficient but depersonalized. However, we were thrilled with our accommodation - and the price. For €69, a new, bright and large studio apartment in a 4 story building of other apartments, with an elevator, spotlessly clean; new modern, furnishings (all IKEA I think), good lighting, a functioning heat pump and with a huge balcony, perfect for the bikes. When we told them on booking, we had bikes, they told us to bring them into the apartment. After our tiny, old room at Vagamundos in Tarifa (€63 incl. breakfast) where we were tripping over our panniers, this was happy town for us!

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After settling in, we headed out for a walk and found a promenade along the river that we followed down to the beach. Back towards town right on the beach we found Chiringuito La Luna, the one beachside restaurant that is still open off-season according to our cycling friends. Chiringuitos are the beach bars that go from late lunch to near dawn with lots of music. Apparently many well-known Spanish musicians come to play at these bars in the summer and La Luna has its own record label. It is definitely a much more sedate Zahara we are seeing now but I had no complaints with a lovely glass of vino tinto Rioja in front of me and my feet practically in the sand to toast our first day on the road.

Our day - 34 km and a fairly strenuous 489m of elevation cycled. Beauty immeasurable,

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