PARTITOUR to SPAIN May-June 2002Partitour Leader: Mike Shillitoe |
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We left home on Friday mid day and stopped on route at the M1 services to meet up with Christine and Dennis Saddington along with Ted & Sue Gray. On route for Portsmouth there was high cross winds and some rain, and I wondered if this was a foretaste of the weather to come since it was now late May, the last time we went to Spain was 5 years ago in late June and the weather was equally unpredictable then. It’s a sure sign of a rough crossing when the deck hands on the ferry offer to tie your bike down to the nearest bit of steelwork. Next morning after a choppy crossing we arrived in Cherbourg to light rain, I managed to miss the obvious exit south and ended up going on a circuit of Cherbourg side streets. Once we were on the right route south the rain stopped and things brightened up, since we had some 350 miles to cover we used the piage for 150 miles or so. Paying the toll charge at the end of the road in euros makes price conversion simpler. Now that the euro has taken over from the franc handling the currency from country to country is simpler but some of the converted prices mean that you may get handed back a lot of small change and equally the shop keepers like you to have the exact change. From our overnight stop at Pons near Bordeaux we headed for Torla in the Pyrenees, there was some uncertainty as to whether the Somport Pass (N134/N330, Jaca to Pau, altitude 1632 meters) was open, after contacting Llorens Banus a month earlier, (IMTC member in Spain) he was able to say that the Somport Pass is open and they are building a new tunnel, but there may be delays, a more direct alternative is to use the Pourtalet Pass, (D934/A136 from Pau - Biescas) but some guide books indicate this pass is closed until early June. As we approached the tunnel area of the Somport Pass from the French side there was a mass of bollards that directed us over the narrow twisty peak of Col Du Somport and as we descended towards Canfranc on the Spanish side we passed a brand new Tunnel entrance that was deserted. At Canfranc we stopped to warm up and check if the local bar would allow us to spend our French Euros for a cup of coffee! once warmed up in front of an open bread oven in the corner of the bar we set off once more for Torla, only to be stopped at a Guardia Civil road block three miles down the road, after a 5 minute wait we were waved through (in the following 2 weeks we came across two or three more of these impromptu road blocks in Spain) as we headed in the general direction of Biescas the road surface was so good I missed a turning for Torla. |
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Canfranc |
Torla |
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Torla is at the heart of The Ordesa National Park located in the middle of the Pyrenees. The park is an area of outstanding natural beauty, the towering cliffs of its main valleys, some say resemble the Grand Canyon, and the peaks above them rise to over 3,000 metres. Theres a huge variety of flowers, butterflies, birds, and mammals in the park and is well worth a visit when the weather is good. We had a free day at Torla then the next day we set off south along the valley of the River Cinca, past several large dams then whilst going through Albalate de Cinca we found the road taking us over the river and away from the main road, a few miles farther on we ran into full scale road rebuilding Spanish style, they rip off the old surface, re-lay a layer of limestone and dusty granite chippings roll it flat then spray it with water to keep the dust down, its fairly slippery when you ride over it and it sticks to the bike like concrete. We bypassed Tortosa and headed for the coast road, then went south to Benicarlo - and what a surprise, wall to wall hotels as far as the eye could see, our hotel was near to Peñiscola old town on the peninsula, facing the beach. |
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 Peñiscola |
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Balneario de PanticosaA little spa town half derelict and deserted at 5400 ft. |
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The old town of Peñiscola is situated at the top of cliffs that jut out from the coast line in the most dramatic fashion with white walled cottages built right up to the foot of the stone castle that marks its summit. The fortress is perhaps best known as the final refuge of the deposed Pope Benedict XIII in the 15th century and, with its little white town, has managed to retain a medieval charm even though the northern mainland side of the peninsula is now a modern holiday resort and the south is where the harbour is to be found. The free day at Peñiscola gave time to explore the old town and soak up a little sun on the beach, next day we headed for Teruel. The city of Teruel is located majestically on a hill above the surrounding Siera Palomera and flanked on the north side by a ravine that is spanned by an equally majestic bridge, the city centre is famous for its towers dating back to the Muslim era in Spain’s history. The hotel that we were booked in to for three nights was a quality establishment and was situated in a busy and sometimes noisy part of town. After a look around Teruel, with Stuart and Lynda Denny, Lynn and I took a ride out to Albarracin for the afternoon; we decided to make enquiries about alternative accommodation for Saturday night. We found 4 apartments in a hotel that looked like an old fortified house. The walls are several feet thick in places and some of the rooms are enormous. After some quick decisions at breakfast the next day it was decided that some of the tour members would like to stop at Albarracin for one night and the ones who were left at Teruel would move in to quieter rooms in the present hotel. Albarracin is situated in mountainous countryside in the Sierra de Albarracin about 20 miles from Teruel and the small medieval town is tinged with pinkish hues and stands in an exceptional site, it cascades down a mountain side above the Guadalaviar River. The ramparts extending up the hill behind the town were first built by the Moors in the 10C and then restored by the Christians in the 14C. The Sierra de Albarracin has been inhabited since prehistoric times as can be seen from the many rock engravings at sites at Callejón del Plou and Cueva del Navaza. A random wander through the narrow, steep and winding cobbled streets will reveal a fascinatingly different aspect of the town at every corner. |
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 Teruel |
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Alberracin |
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Our next destination was Toledo, Lynn and I decided to head across country towards Cuenca, on route we visited Cuidad Encantada (enchanted city), which is a secluded valley containing lime stone formations that have been worn down to leave strange shapes that have been named after animals and other everyday objects. Once we had passed Cuenca and joined the main road towards Toledo the temperature began to soar into the high thirties, as we approach Toledo the temperature kept rising, we took the precaution of purchasing a bottle of water and drank it when we were close to Toledo. Previous experience has taught me that navigation through the steep and narrow streets can be very difficult especially with local car drivers close behind and you need to keep an eye open for pedestrians. For any one who has not visited Toledo, this popular city is set above a steep ravine looking down on the jade-green waters of the River Tagus which runs in a horse shoe shape around Toledo. Renowned for its damascene ware (black steel inlaid with gold silver and copper thread).Its culinary specialities include braised partridge and marzipan. On the day we arrived, the people of Tolado had been celebrating Corpus Christi so all the streets were bedecked with banners and tapestries, many glistening with gold thread were streaming from each window along the procession route. On the pavements were scattered pine tree branches and a canopy overhead to protect the procession from the strong sun. Next day there was still a pungent smell from the pine leaves, herbs and flower displays along the streets. After our stay in Toledo we moved north for a two-night stay in the city of León, one-time capital of the Kingdom of León. The nearby Monastery of Saint Mark (Monasterio de San Marcos) was originally the Primate House of the Knights of Saint James, who guarded the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela and in the centre of the city is the magnificent cathedral. Today León is a busy bustling city just like any other. The Grays had booked their ferry home direct from Bilbao to Portsmouth so we waved Ted and Sue goodbye the following day, Thursday we departed for Tolosa with a forcast of heavy rain, Lynn and I decided to head north with the intention of crossing the Picos de Europa but with the rain getting heavy we kept to the major roads and headed for Oviedo.
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Cuidad Encantada
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Toledo |
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The main road N630 towards Oviedo starts off very wide and then becomes narrower as it ascends the Puerto de Pajares. This road is busy with large Lorries and on the way down it becomes quite twisty as well, at one point a car travelling too close behind me as I approached a bend got a surprise when a lorry travelling up hill over shot the bend forcing him to make an emergency stop. Approaching Oviedo the road turns into a motorway. On at least two occasions we had a scary moment, in torrential rain the large road markings can be very slippery especially on inclined surfaces and bends. The drivers in the north appear to have a total disregard for safety when it’s raining heavily, consequently at one point we witnessed the aftermath of an accident when a car had run in to the rear of a slow-moving lorry, the occupants would have been lucky to have survived the accident. A couple of miles further on Lynn had to gesture to a lorry driver to back off as he wasn’t keeping a safe breaking distance. From Oviedo we headed east along the main coastal road towards Bilbao, we pulled in for a lunch stop at a roadside public house, the bar was full of locals watching the World Cup, fortunately it wasn’t against England. At one end of the bar there was a large barbecue grill where there were several large hams roasting in the heat from the wood embers, alongside the hams were several jumbo sausages, the landlady said it would be another five minutes and then we could have a sausages platter which tasted great fresh from the barbeque. We carried on towards Bilbao along the motorway until just after Durango we decided to take a shortcut towards Tolosa over the mountains, the rain was still pouring down but it was becoming hotter and steam began to rise from the road to hedge height making visibility terrible through the rain. |
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 Tolosa on the edge of the Picos de Europa |
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Eventually we reached Tolosa and we followed the route through the towns’ one way system to the hotel. We were surprised to see all the buildings around had totally change since we were there last. The comfortable sleepy little border town had transformed in to a rather chic designer dormitory town serving surrounding cities, though it was no less friendlier for all the new money coming in. On the Friday morning we left Tolosa and said goodbye to Scott, Walter and Barry, and headed towards San Sebastian. As we circumnavigated the large city we had more trouble with the traffic in this short period of time than we had in the previous two weeks around Spain, The motorway at several points filters off left and right, at one point it splits the Centre Lane into two separate sections that inevitably gave car drivers the best opportunities to cut each other up. By 11 am. we had reached the French border and continued north back towards Pons for our last overnight stop before taking the route back towards Cherbourg and the overnight ferry to Portsmouth. On Sunday morning we disembarked from the ferry and set off north for home having covered 3000 miles around Spain and back without any serious mishaps or incidents after having 16 days of mainly dry weather and sunshine. |
