We caught a train from Barcelona to Figueres which would be the starting point for our trip through the Spanish Pyrenees. We planned to cycle through the foothills of the mountains all the way to the Basque Country where we would visit David's host family, the Alkortas. Figueres is the birthplace of famous surrealist Salvador Dali and there is a museum there devoted to him (he is actually buried in a crypt there). This was a fascinating way to spend an afternoon off the bikes and absorb a bit of culture.
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| Yes, those statues are holding baguettes |
Cycling through the Pyrenees was going to be a change of pace for us. We had got comfortable cycling up to ninety kilometres some days, however this had been on mostly flat terrain. Our legs were relatively untested on hills, let alone almost two weeks of big hills in a row. We set off well-rested and soon found the awesome views were a welcome antidote to the ache of those uphill slogs.
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| Besalú |
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| Coffee time |
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| Castellfolitt de la Roca |
We set off on the next day on a route we had planned using the cycling mode of Google Maps. After about an hour of uphill cycling we were gutted to find ourselves at the entrance of a 1800m long tunnel with a 'no bikes allowed' sign. To go around meant a significant detour and losing our hard earned height. We decided to risk it and push our bikes through on the path beside the road. Turns out there are cameras in the tunnel and a few minutes later we found ourselves apologising to the Spanish police after being picked up by a main roads worker halfway through. After a "I'm more disappointed than angry; it's for your own safety" speech (at least we think he said something like that) we were let off, and cycled away rather sheepishly. We actually saw the same cop stationed a few kilometres up the road and luckily we were on our best behaviour.
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We arrived at our destination for the evening, Berga, to discover it was the night of the "biggest party of the year" which for some reason meant we had to pay 47 EURO just for a campsite. After a thunderstorm which saturated Dave while out getting groceries we were well and truly over the day and settled in for an early night.
The next day was our most vertical metres thus far; 1650m, but we sure rewarded with some stunning scenery. We fluctuated between sweating up a storm on the uphills to needing our jackets with the wind rushing past us on the steep downhills.
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| One of the lord's beautiful creatures |
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| Looking back to Sant Llorenç de Morunys |
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| One of about five attempts... maybe we should rethink our stance on selfie sticks |
We set up camp in the tiny village of Cambrills, where we managed to secure a cold beer from the camp shop and even managed a load of washing. After watching an episode of The Wire (our new favourite T.V. show - check it out!) we had finished another great day.
The next day started with a slight uphill, followed by a huge downhill with lots of turns and some small mountain tunnels thrown in. It's a great feeling cruising down the hill passing through small villages with hardly any traffic around. However, we all know there is no such thing as a free lunch and we would spend the next few hours earning that next downhill cruise.
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| Cambrills and our campsite in the distance |
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| Second pass of the day can be seen in the top left of this picture |
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| Thankfully the grade was 5% rather than 15! |
We had been fairly lucky with the weather; but about 45 minutes before the end of the day that big, looming, dark, cloud finally caught up with us. The thunderstorm while cycling a steep downhill was a bit intimidating but it was all over within twenty minutes. This was enough to get us thoroughly saturated and we were glad to be staying at a "Casa Rural" (rural B&B) that evening. A hot shower and a home-cooked meal was exactly what we needed, and the ice cream for dessert finished off a big day.
We continued on our journey and headed towards the border of the states of Catalonia and Aragon. We had had a great time in Catalonia and we were excited by what the rest of Spain had to offer us.
- Sarah
Possibly the best blog yet ... breaking the law, "God's creature", rainstorms ... love it!
ReplyDeleteWant to see you cycle through Lyttleton tunnel when you get back��
ReplyDeleteWant to see you cycle through Lyttleton tunnel when you get back��
ReplyDeleteI am pleased to 1) hear of your adventures, and 2) hear that you're watching the wire
ReplyDeleteUnknown - how mysterious!
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