Marta & Rita's Iberian Tour

Thank you so much for another kind help offer, this one on the south.
You guys rock!

Hi Marta, long before you were born, 1960, I was in Spain, while in the US Navy. Wonderful country. I had a great time back then. I even included some Spain adventure in my book. Way back then, I remember the local people spoke with an added accent, such as, Barcelona would be pronounced Barthelona. Some said, in empathy with the King at that time.
Have you ever heard that?

Hi Marta,

So jealous of your trip! But I've been down to the south of Spain myself this summer.

You should really try to incorperate the Sierra Nevada, the route to Pampaneira and Trevélez, and the route from Velefique to Bacares. The roads to and from those places are spectacular too.

Here's a picture from the Alto de Velefique. We drove up this road from Velefique. In Bacaras is a great hotel btw. Can't miss it.



Looking forward to reading more!

Enjoy your trip!

Daniel

Spain has many dialects. And what you say is true. Barthelona... Cerbetha...

more pictures please!!!!

Looking forward to your RR
Have a great and safe trip

Hi Younz, what you say and what Big Daddy D confirms is right.

Spain has quite a few dialects. One of the most special ones (for me) is the one spoken in Andalusia (south of Spain). They speak very fast, eat half of the words and also have some 'picturesque' words of their own . Know it well, my grandparents from mum's side are from Andalusia (but after Spanish Civil war they emigrated to Catalonia where they live now).

But not only dialects. In Spain there are also other official languages in addition to Spanish. The most widely spoken are:

Galician (spoken in Galicia)
Euskera (spoken in Euskadi - Basque country - and Navarre)
Catalan (spoken in Catalonia, Balearic Islands and Valencia - well, some people from Valencia even claim that the language they speak is different from Catalan, they call it Valencian).

And there are even some other languages that are not official. A couple of examples:

Aragones ( spoken in some valleys of the Pyrenees)
Asturleones (spoken in Asturias and Leon)

It's a really interesting topic!

Hi Daniel,
Thanks a lot for your suggestion, taken good note of it!
Love the pic you've posted!

But surely, if you are a Spaniard, I assume you can communicate effectively anywhere in the country?

Sunday night, about to go to bed... Tired but happy.

Great weekend at home!

Saturday took plane to Barcelona as scheduled, had great lunch with family and visited uncle & aunt. Relaxing eve with parents at home.
Today, Sunday, have driven to sea and spent day there diving. Great fun! The more I dive, the more I love it! Bit of traffic on way back, so got home late, just had dinner!
Enjoyed every minute of the weeken!
And didn't want to spoil it, so haven't worked at all.

But this means... I still have to finish all my pending tasks... And really have to before leaving (not taking with me laptop & smartphone from work - really want to do hols!).

So just decided I will stay at home tomorrow morning to make sure I finish all this working stuff. Then have to pack all my stuff in Rita. Not quite sure at what time will be leaving... And wouldn't surprise me that I end up leaving Tuesday instead of Monday...

Will keep you posted!

Absolutely, everybody speaks Spanish :)

About to go to bed, getting late here...
But all is packed and ready to load on to Rita tomorrow morning. Yay!
Had a bit of a stressing day, working to close as many open items as possible. And feeling i was wasting one of my holiday days... But at least i have peace of mind now, and I'm leaving behind my work laptop and smartphone. Only taking with me an old cell phone with a Spanish SIM card and a little notebook to write my RR. My holiday hat is on!
Cant beieve all is over now... and everything is ready for tomorrow!

Still not sure where I'll b heading tomorrow. Think I'll go South. Something like:

Home
Manresa
Lleida
Fraga
Alcaniz
Teruel

Will see tomorrow!

So happy that everythig is falling into place now! :)

Whichever way the front wheel happens to point! Have a great journey!

Good choice on Rita, I'm onboard and ready to go

Hola Marta--

I was in Spain earlier this summer and kept dreaming of riding around the country. Spain has some of the most spectacular terrain, and I hope your trip is safe and fun.

Cheers, BP

Hey I live in A Coruña (my town is Fene) , if you need something when you stay near to my home...

Ask me for every thing.


Ahora mismo el tiempo es bastante malo así que... ropa de abrigo!!!

Good trip!!!

Today reporting from Cedrillas, very close to Teruel (northeast -aprox- of Spain).
Decided to go south, weather in the north bit too cold and wet right now.
Just had a big dinner (hadn't had proper lunch) and I'm falling asleep as I write.
Very nice and pleasant day. Bit chilly in the end, that's why i stopped here.
Now going to bed - tomorrow morning will post more comments and some pics (this area is a bit too cold to start riding early so will have a gentle morning in my room).
Tired. But soooo happy!

Nice travel Marta..!! Bon passeig..!!
You have a beer paid when visit Tarragona

Disfruta'l..!!!

Slept like a baby!

Yesterday's route (day 1) was very nice. Started in my home town and rode until Cedrillas. Around 450 Km.

First 150Km were not that nice. Wanted to get out of Catalunya as soon as possible (can visit whenever I'm there) so took a motorway-like road. Lots of roadworks (but not much traffic, thanks God!). Once I got to Fraga, then I left this boring road and started taking backroads. And here is where the fun started! Pretty landscape, funny roads, no traffic. The world for Rita and I (and Daniel, the Garmin, the third member of the team).

This is how what I did looks like:



From Fraga, I went to Mequinenza, Caspe and Alcaniz. There I had my first stop. Gas for Rita, croissant and coffee for me and a biobreak for me as well. Riding had been good until here, but the best was to start.

From Alcaniz went to Calanda and there I took road A-226 (HIGHLY RECOMENDABLE!).

Road A-226 is amazing! The route I followed was:

Calanda
Mas de las Matas
Castellote
Los Alagones
Olocau del Rey
Mirambel
Cantavieja
Fortanete
Villaroya de los Pinares
Allepuz
Cedrillas

Some highlight of the route above (will post pics too):

In Castellote there is a nice little church almost carved in a mountain called 'Ermita del Llovedor'. Didn't climb it, was feeling a bit lazy (shame on me!).

Between Castellote and Los Alagones there is a beautiful water reservoir: 'Embalse de Santolea'. Bit dry (hasn't rained much in Spain this summer) but beautiful.

Close to the water reservoir I saw a little group of wild goats (close relatives to the Steinbocks in Switzerland). They made my afternon (love animals!).

Between Cantavieja and Allepuz did 3 nice mountain passes:

Puerto de Cuarto Pelado (1657m)
Puerto de Villarroya (1700m)
Puerto de Sollavientos (1507m)

('Puerto' means 'mountain pass' in Spanish)

Bit disapointed with the signs marking the top of the mountain passes. Not close to the road, so couldn't take pics of Rita next to the sign (living close to the Alps have a bit of an obsession of taking pics of mountain passess signs ).

Started getting chilly and decided to stop in the first place I found. Saw a few places but all were closed (holiday season is over in Spain). Until I got to Cedrillas and found 'Hostal Ramiro', just in the entrance of the town. Was open so decided to stay.

Rita got a warm spot in the garage (1300m here, so nights cold now). I got a hot shower (yay!) and then got a good dinner. Basis of the dinner was Spanish ham from Teruel (speciality here). Love it!!! Could live on Spanish ham and bread with olive oil. Also had a warm chicken soup. And the rest you know: went straight to bed and slept like a baby .