Santiago de Compostella This week has been a little frustrating. The weather has become a lot poorer with a lot of rain and cloud. It is also a lot cooler. Last night it rained again, this time during the night so I awoke at 5.30 am and could not get back to sleep. The heavy rain pounded on the roof of the van until I got fed up and made a cup of tea. We were planning to leave this morning so we got away early and headed for Coruna. The drive along the coast co...

18th May Cudillero After 5 nights in the Picos we decided to move and head further west. With the weather forecasted to become more unsettled and few places in Spain offering sunshine then a pursuit of the more cultural aspects of the visit would now, perhaps, take precedence. The gorge drive was a little more demanding than our arrival as there was more traffic: more buses and more lorries. They occupy a bigger footprint on the road as well as driving a...

Cycling in Spain 17th May Before we left home, a fellow cyclist told me of her experiences of cycling in Spain. She said that all she saw were cars with many bumps and scratches, which, she felt, did not bode well for cyclists. So far, this has not proved to be the case. Most drivers are courteous and patient. This is particularly true on the narrow, twisting roads in the gorge route that I have ridden twice. Only three motorcyclist from the UK failed to...

Picos de Europa 15th May We are staying in a fantastic location. The site is excellent, well laid out, very clean and tidy, quiet and calm. The town, which is an easy walk away, downhill, is quite popular with tourist buses, but has a range of shops and eateries which we may go and try later. The Menu de Dia is widespread and at a standard price of 10 Euro looks good value. We are to the south of the Picos so the early morning sun is good. Overnight it c...

Potes in the Picos de Europa 14th May Today we left the Basque country in some reasonable sunshine and moved to the west. The Picos are one of the oldest mountain ranges in Europe and have a great attraction for walkers as well for those just wanting to see some spectacular scenery. The tourist travel books tell you that the north coast of Spain is the green coast. From the Pyreenes to Santander it is also very hilly. The road this morning was almost con...