Further on we went. From the seashore we headed inland where a few nice spots awaited us. Every day was brining some new curiosities.
From the shore, Gaztelugatxe, we went along the coast down to Bakio to have a coffee and to take a shower on the beach ;) Very refreshing one indeed, as it wasn't too sunny.
Later the same morning we headed towards Burgos, going round Bilbao, to the Nervión waterfall (es)- the biggest waterfall on the Iberian Peninsula, with a single drop of 222 m! Very impressive it was, indeed, although at that time of dry season there was no water at all, to our surprise ;)
Nevertheless the river's canyon itself was just breath-taking and was making you think about the earth's magnitude and grand self-creation forces.
On the way...
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| leaving the coast for good |
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| right before the Nervión there were herds of horses all around <3 |
After dismounting the motorbike and a short visit in the visitors centre we took a long, a few kilometers stroll to reach the Nervión waterfall as a furthermost point, the walk's destination.
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| runoff's natural formations - amazing how it evolved, cause the slope had such a minor angle! |
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| a wolf - symbol of the ancestral times when there were packs of them everywhere in the region |
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| almost there... |
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| it was quite windy... |
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| ...and very high! |
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| unfortunately no water this time of the year |
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| on the way back - quite creepy n foggy beech forest |
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| yep, gave me the creeps. |
After the Nervión waterfall we headed towards Vitoria to grab some food, have another coffee in a local bar and leave searching for a place to stay for the night to come.
So we found the place to sleep, cooked some dinner and enjoyed the woods around^^ We also had a chance to dry our clothes eventually, for which the bike served perfectly with its heated up pipes and engine ;)
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The next, 7th day, it happened to be very rainy... So we had spontaneously had to change the plan and instead of going to spend the whole day lying at the nearby lake (sadly ;) ) we were recommended, while having a morning coffee and tortillas, to go to the Izki Natural Park, to the south of Vitoria.
The further to the south the hotter it was getting, so all according to the plan. And all rain stopped as well! Lucky us. I also enjoyed the conversation with the girl running the visitors centre, where eventually we left all our stuff safe and, disburdened, set off for a few kilometers trek around the park. The park covers the limestone mountains with the highest point: Kapildui 1117 m, but I am not even sure whether we got there or not... Oh well ;)
A few shots from IZKI!
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| Korres - the village where the visitors centre was. |
Later on we headed towards the indicated place where we were able to have a swim and it happened to offer us a place to set a tent as well. All-inclusive! :)
It wasn't a very relaxed night though, as at the very late a group of very loud and, short after, drunk Spaniards set a tent too close and were disturbing the remaining campers to have a laid-back night. Charms of free-camping.
The day 8th we started by having great and cheap veggie "pinchos" - small snacks, with coffee at the bar near Araia where suddenly a bunch of cars arrived. It happened to be a rally of the old cars and even a few motorbikes were there. So it seemed we were in the right place :)
Afterwards, we headed to Araia, passing by Eguilaz where we got a bit lost, but at the same time Jędrek spotted a sign of the historical monument, which happened to be an ancient dolmen - a megalithic tomb. Great!
Araia was home to another visitors centre where another girl, a friend of the Izki girl :), was working and let us leave all the stuff there and gave us hints on how to go around the trekking path within Sierra de Urkilla - Aizkorri-Aratz Natural Park.
A beautiful place! Here are some pics:
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| he got in, tough one! |
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| ...I... |
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| ...didn't make it, nope :D |
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| on the top of the mountain in a little remnants of a castle |
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| extensive limestone mountains |
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| a symbol of the park - whatever that thing is ;) |
We spent the night a bit out of the park -> in La Leze, where a huge cave's crevice is and in a spot by a creek where a herd of donkeys woke us up the next morning :)
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| cave's crevice in La Leze |
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| sleeping by the creek |
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| donkeys in the morning ^^ |
The 9th day we spent in the next natural park: Urbasa y Andía, which comprises of two parallel ridges of mountains Urbasa and Andía which are so much unlike each other. Urbasa - very green and lush, Andía - drier and definitely hotter thereof.
Here some shots from the greener part of those mountains:
Here some shots from the greener part of those mountains:
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| v. rocky Andía |
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| winding roads |
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| out pit-stop ;) |
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| dinner time! |
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| best views from our foldable residence ;D spot-on! |
The 10th day we spent in Pamplona. It was incredibly scorching, at some point around 40 Celcius degrees, which is definitely too much for me. I get really annoyed and do not particularly enjoy myself. Blaaah. Anyways, to start with it was not too bad, we took a stroll around the city. Prior to that we changed and left all our stuff in the repository to be able to freely sightsee the city. The warmth was progressively making it harder though. Even more when we got hungry and due to the siesta time there was nowhere to sit down and eat anything. Anything except "pinchos", and even that was bordering on the miraculous, for us at least, as you could eat sausages, ham and other typical, Spanish delicacies (i.e. meat or fish/seafood), but no plain tortilla or anything that would be edible for vegetarians. Either way, before we got hungry (and siesta time) we bought the whole box with an equivalent of Galician Napolitanas (here called: Garroticos) from the local bakery - which were simply super-delicious and melting in the mouth! The place was called Beatriz and sells the best stuffed-pastries I've eaten, no fail.
==>>
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| Garroticos <3 |
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| the old city's walls |
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| Lunch and café bombón (Spanish coffee with condensed milk). One of those moments I feel its worthy to indulge yourself in. |
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| Portal de Francia, that leads to the old city of Pamplona |
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| a bit of rest won't do any harm; refilling water-bottles |
Along with the picture beneath there is a bit more to say and it's not what you think. This flag you can see all around the Basque Country and it has nothing to do with the nation's independence. People hang it out of the windows, balconies etc. as a sign of solidarity with repressed countrymen, whose relatives have been incarcerated not in the Basque country itself, but taken out to the furthest tips of Spain, e.g. Cadiz, in order for the families not being able to visit them regularly, thereby suffering hundredfold. And that's the whole understanding behind it, unlike I thought at the beginning, and many more may. Yet still, it is the Spanish government, in a way, repressing the Basques as a way of punishing for their past deeds when the independence movement was taking its toll.
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| not too cold, the beers, but still somewhat refreshing |
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| charming balconies |
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| as it stands written on the poster ;) |
When we got tired with the city we went out of it looking for a place to stay again. Eventually got near the creek flowing vaguely through the hills, on the broad meadow next to the abandoned monastery and herds of horses nearby, which we were pleased to see passing by twice in the evening and morning the next day.
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| dinner! |
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| a stag beetle (Lucanus cervus) |
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| creepy but harmless fellow |
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| abandoned monastery we slept by... |
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| morning views ^_^ |
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| breakfast and getting ready for the day to come! |
The Irati Forest (Bosque de Irati) and Orbaizeta, in western Pyrenees, were scheduled as last stops. The forest is the second largest and best preserved beech and fir forest in Europe and it was recommended to me by a few people. We couldn't miss it!
We found a spot to camp for 2 nights on the camping site within the natural park, very basic but it was all we needed actually :) There were barely any shops in the neighborhood and one evening we ended up looking for some food either from a shop or bar/restaurant, but it was impossible, because the shops in the whole area were maybe 5 altogether - among many, many villages ;) OR the closest restaurant (6 kms away) was serving food between 9-10:30 pm. Not our timing when it comes to eating dinner, really. We had to do with some crisps, French bread and a beer in the bar. Oh well.
Some pics from the western Pyrenees's landscapes!
Flor del Sol -> Sun flower is a symbolic and pagan depiction of still lively superstition in Basque Country and Navarra regions. When it flowers people cut it, dry it and hang it at their doorsteps, at the entrance to the house. It's believed to serve to ward off witches, evil spirits, and protect the home of storms and lightning, according to the old legend. It is hung there every year on the St.John's day - 24th of June to protect homes in line with the old beliefs.
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| Flor del Sol |
Orbaizeta - the old Munitions Factory, with its unexpectedly rich history.
Some walks around the great and beautiful forest, very central-European actually, unlike any other around Spain.
One of the (deserted) villages in the western Pyrenees, Navarra.
This one was quite crowded though, yet one cannot see it on these pictures unfortunately. It was one of those villages, that thousands of pilgrims go through every year - pilgrims of the Camino de Santiago.
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| modern pilgrims ;) |
Very close to the French border, which soon we were to cross over.
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| anyone knows the name if this guy? (I don't) |
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| Shy sheep's abundance. They were everywhere, funny chaps ;) |
And this way we came to an end of our Spanish travels for the time-being. After having visited Bosque de Irati we headed to the north, to France, where we were to spend another 3 days going to the port in Dieppe, to catch the ferry back to the UK.
That's how we started our 3 days ride :
That's how we started our 3 days ride :
And some more videos from the whole trip - not the best quality, but good enough to see some moving pictures as well ;) Maybe in the future we'll invest in proper video-camera!
On the way to Nervión waterfall.
Somewhere there, Basque Country :)
As a short wrap-up I shall say that money-wise we spent around 300£ each for those 2 weeks trip, with the ferry tickets and highway tolls in France. Included all the rest too, so: food we cooked on the camping gas, every-day's coffees and snacks in bars, camping site (the last two nights, otherwise we were free-camping) and the petrol, of course. As the tank is small we had to refuel it every ~ 140-150 kms (90-100miles).
The bike's fuel consumption equaled around 4 litres / 100 km, on average. We covered the distance of around 3000 kms.
Hope that helps to estimate someone's calculations for his/her bike travels!
Stay tuned :)
Great shots!
ReplyDeleteThanks :) it was just stunning there! ^^
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