Day 10 Portugal/Spain motorcycle trip: from Aracena Spain to Vila de Nova Milefontes Portugal

 We left Aracena Spain under heavy fog/rain wearing full raingear. It was another chilly morning with the temperature when we left at 52 degrees Fahrenheit, but within about 45 minutes the fog started to lift and we saw some sunshine.

We saw hundreds of cork trees on the first day of our ride, and started seeing cork trees again today with the distinctive removed bark on the bottom portion of the trees.

We rode today primarily on the narrow, twisty, curving roads we're getting used to, first riding through rolling hills sometimes dotted with open fields with brilliant colors.

The border crossing from Spain into Portugal is as uneventful as crossing from Colorado into New Mexico; there's a sign and nothing else since both countries as part of the EU.

One thing we did notice once back into Portugal was that the roads were even narrower and less maintained.

We stopped in the hillside fortress town of Mertola, located at the confluence of two rivers.

It's famous for Phoenician and Carthaginian ships sailing upriver from the nearby Atlantic Ocean to transport fruit and locally-mined minerals to Europe and North Africa. Later the Romans and Muslims ruled over this area, and the fortress castle was built in 1292 after the Christians retook this area. We enjoyed sitting close to the fortress wall with views of the river for a morning snack, and since we're back in Portugal couldn't resist the famous - and delicious - pastel de Nata custard tarts.

Back on the road we turned onto even narrower roads, at times no wider than an average driveway at home.

The landscape became quite steep; not quite mountains, but definitely more than rolling hills. We saw sheep, goats, horses, cows, pigs and once a Portuguese wildcat ran across the road in front of us. Just before the wildcat ran across the road we saw warning signs, similar to deer crossing warning signs.

We're staying tonight in Vila de Nova Milefontes right on the Atlantic coast at the mouth of the Mira River.

Just before sunset we walked out to the lighthouse which has gorgeous views back to the town.

We also watched big waves rolling in - no wonder this area is known for surfing.

We ended the day eating dinner at a restaurant on the beach, watching the sun set. Tomorrow is our last day of the motorcycle tour, riding into Lisbon and then flying home the next day. 

Day 9: Portugal and Spain motorcycle trip. Ronda to Aracena Spain

 We were looking forward to our last full day riding in Spain despite the drop in temperature - it was 43 degrees Fahrenheit when we left the hotel in Ronda. We wore all of our long-sleeve shirts, all of the motorcycle warm liners, motorcycle gear plus raingear for extra warmth. I even tied one extra long-sleeve shirt around my neck to improvise a scarf so I could pull the buff that I usually wear around my neck over my head for extra warmth. It worked and we stayed warm (Mike also has heated handgrips on the bike).

We enjoyed the tight, twisty curves on narrow roads as we descended out of the Sierra Nevada mountains through the lush Mediterranean countryside.

After about 1 hour riding we stopped in one of the most beautiful towns of the entire trip:  Setenil de las Bodegas. It's on the Spanish province of Cadiz white village route and sited on a steep gorge. 

Not only are many of the cobblestone streets narrow and steep, many of the houses are built into the limestone cliffs.

There are two especially famous streets that make full use of the limestone: Calle Cuevas del Sol (street of Caves of the Sun) and Calle Cuevas de la Sombra (street of the Shadow Caves) and each is simply amazing.

These are lively streets that happen to have a limestone 'roof' over the street and the cafes, stores, and houses are built into the limestone.

Our short visit was over too soon, and we got back on the road. 

We left the countryside behind as we rode on larger roads into the greater Seville area, finally riding the Autovia or interstate through town. Once past Seville we were in prime agricultural area with wide open views.

As we rode closer to Portugal, we entered rolling hills as we stopped for the night in Aracena, another beautiful town with an old castle, impressive churches and the ever-present steep and narrow streets.

We had time after arriving to walk through the town and visit Las Maravillas Grotto, a network of limestone caverns that first opened to tourists in 1914. The entrance is in the middle of the small town, and the main cavern is directly under the castle. Like other caverns open to tourists, taking pictures is not allowed since the flash negatively affects the caves. 

We're staying in the Hotel Convent Aracena, a restored 17th century convent in the heart of town. 

Tomorrow we ride from Spain into Portugal and are looking forward to seeing the Atlantic Ocean.

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.