Day 7 Portugal/Spain trip: Lanjaron to Ronda, Spain

 We enjoyed sunny skies in the morning as we rode out of Lanjaron, a gorgeous location on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada Parque Nacional that covers 212,221 acres in the Andalusia region of Spain and contains the highest mountains in the Spanish peninsula - which we thoroughly enjoyed riding through.

We've been seeing motorcycle caution signs for the narrow, tightly twisting mountain roads and they always make us smile:

After a period of rain showers we stopped in the lovely small town Alhamada da Granada for coffee, and enjoyed the mural that covers the side of one of the buildings on the main plaza.

The name of the town comes from the Arabic al-Hama, which means hot springs due to the thermal baths build by the Arabs in the 9th century on the ruins of Roman baths. We didn't visit the current hot springs spa, but did walk around the city walls that look down from the high cliffs to the river and mill ruins below.

We set off again under cloudy and sometimes rainy skies on the twistiest, narrowest, curviest roads we've been on this trip. Mike estimates the paved roads, which supposedly are wide enough for 2 vehicles, to be about 15-16' wide, compared to American 2-lane roads (not highways) that are 12' for each direction. Many times the roads narrow even further on the tight corners, which means waiting for a tour bus or truck to go through before we take our turn.

this road looks wider than it really is!

We rode through an agricultural valley devoted to growing numerous types of vegetables, a perfect spot due to the Mediterranean climate.

We then started climbing again, this time riding past fields field with large rocks and stones, and mountains that remind us of Granite Mountain in Prescott, AZ where we used to live.

We then rode into Antequera, another gorgeous, ancient Spanish town built on top of a tall hill and found a wonderful spot for lunch on the Plaza del Coso Viejo. 

Today is Monday of Easter Week, or Semana Santa in Spain which is packed with traditions such as the red bunting we saw on churches and many home balconies.

After lunch we rode up the steep, narrow, twisty streets until we came out above the town, looking down on the castle and basilica.

Our route in the afternoon continued to head east as we rode past incredibly green fields and field after field of olive trees - there are even olive trees planted on the steep sides of the mountains.

We stopped a couple of times at Gaitanes Gorge and Desfiladero de los Gaitanes national park - basically towering cliffs with a reservoir at the bottom. It's a stunning location, and if you're not afraid of heights there is a narrow walkway 328' above the water that was walked by King Alfonso XIII in 1921.

We continued on our way toward Ronda, our destination for the night, continuing on twisty roads. We rode short distances on 4-lane highways today, and those were the only times we rode on straight roads. We were able to get a photo on a reflective tanker truck on one of those straight sections.

 Otherwise, it was twisty curve after twisty curve which made the day a lot of fun.

Ronda is an ancient town in Malaga, and what makes it impressive is it's site on top of towering cliffs.

The town is divided into the 'new city' and 'old city' by the Tajo del Ronda, a 328' deep gorge that is spanned by 3 bridges.

We're staying in Ronda for 2 nights, and will have time tomorrow to explore the city. 

Day 6: Grenada through Sierra Nevada mountains to Lonjaron Spain

 Today was filled with towering, snowcapped mountains, twisty and curvy narrow mountain roads, gorgeous vistas - and rain. Despite the rain we had a glorious time riding a big loop around the Sierra Nevada that boasts the highest peak in continental Europe outside of the Alps - Mulhacen at 11,414'.

look closely at the snow on the middle mountain

It's Palm Sunday and there was very little car traffic, but we encountered several groups of cyclists climbing up as we rode out of Grenada.

It was a lot of fun leaning into the curving roads, and as we climbed there were more pine trees.

We passed a gorgeous mountain lake and periodically rode through a small town.

We started to see homes built into the sides of the mountains. Known as trogloditas, they look like a typical house from the front entrance, but then are entirely within the mountain. We were lucky enough to stop for a visit to the Cueva Museo, or cave museum, that encompasses a family home (Paco, the father, introduced us to his wife and 2 kids) as well as two older cave homes.

Paco explained that there are about 1000 cave homes in the Purullena town area, and that a cave house is just like any other house except the only windows are in the front entrance and there are no doors between rooms to maximize air flow (they hang ceiling to floor curtains in doorways for privacy). 

Families hand-dig their cave homes using shovels, smooth the inside clay walls and paint them white. According to Paco, the cave houses are watertight and maintain a consistent temperature of 17-19 degrees Centigrade; about 62-66 degrees Fahrenheit. People in this area have lived in cave houses for many generations. We climbed outside steps to cave houses on the second and third 'floors' and were rewarded with panoramic views of the town - and lots of cave houses.

We continued to gain elevation and not long after leaving the cave home museum the skies darkened and it started to rain, so we stopped to put on rain gear. We continued to climb over a high pass, but really couldn't see much due to the rain. Plus the temperature dropped to 40 degrees! 

After a few miles on twisty mountain roads the rain stopped, and we enjoyed lunch in a cafe in a small mountain town. During lunch the skies turned black again and we heard thunder, but by the time we started riding the thunder had stopped although it continued to rain off and on.

With just a few miles left to ride, the rain stopped and skies cleared so that we had wonderful views as we descended into Lonjaron, a beautiful town on a ridge with terraced homes and gardens.

This was the most technical riding day of the trip and we didn't let the rain put a damper on our enthusiasm for the fun, twisty roads through the Sierra Nevada mountains. Tomorrow we ride west and south as we begin to head back toward Lisbon.