Ride to Galicia, NW Spain
At last we were heading to a housesit in Spain that required a motorcycle adventure for us to even get to it - and boy did we have an adventure. The sights seen on the journey to the sit are so extensive that this blog will provide the summary of the 1200km adventure, riding the bikes across Spain in the height (and heat!) of the summer….the next one will be of the actual sit.
Our journey included overnight stops in some of the most incredible, must visit, places in central Spain. 5 nights in total: Cuenca (2 nights), Toledo, Segovia, Ponferrada. Some will have already seen Facebook posts, it was on this trip that we also started doing daily short videos of the ride from each place of interest. Due to the general interest in these we have also now created a Youtube channel (Venga! Let’s Go!) to put them on and added a tab to this website aswell.
The general theme for the trip was get up and ride early - every day was high 30s/low 40s - and then visit the sights in the afternoon and evening to capture the night shots (energy permitting!).
Cuenca
After a long ride (550 kms) on Day 1 we decided we would stay 2 nights in Cuenca so that we had a whole day to explore the sights
Toledo
After a shorter ride of 200kms from Cuenca, we couldn’t believe it when our Google maps seemed to have our hotel right in the middle of the historic centre of Toledo, opposite the Alcazar. What a location and all the places were exceptionally good value (A$100 max budget and these were 4* places!). After the exceptional heat we were grateful to be able to check in early and cool off. Still 40 degrees outside we set off to explore as we only had the afternoon and evening before heading off again. After walking round the City and taking a few refreshment stops we headed back for a rest before venturing out in the evening, foolishly thinking it would have cooled down by 2000.
Segovia
Just when we thought things couldn’t get any better (or hotter!) we arrived in Segovia. Blew us away…Cathedral, Aquaduct, DIsneyworld castles…and beautiful city centre with lots of great restaurants and bars. After a fabulous lunch on the main drag, we did our customary walk around the City in the afternoon, took in the daytime sights and then went back for a rest before heading out again for the evening shots. All these amazing city sights are illuminated at night making them often better photos than in the day….the only being that as it doesn’t get dark till 2200 here it makes for a long day.
Ponferrada
The ride to Ponferrada had a little surprise for us. Stopping at a random castle, as you do here, we happened to meet a cyclist who gave us many tourist tips of places to visit along the way - so what was meant to be a reletively short day of 350kms riding, turned into an all day affair and many new discoveries along the way, thanks to Jose Carlos.
And then we arrived at our housesit…..amazing place, lovely people and well behaved dogs. Beautiful location to slow down and spend 10 days exploring the area and enjoying the beautiful lakeside home