Malaga to La Linea de la Concepcion. (Where the hell is that?)
We took advantage of our short route today to enjoy a bit of a late start. We went to the post office to send home more goodies and a few souvenirs, then hit the road out of Malaga at about two pm.
Wow! What a great ride we had. Right from the start we were in hairpin country, the tightest so far. We rode up through a little village that was stacked on the side of a mountain (cliff) and had a ball. Within minutes we were in he sky again.
the funniest thing was half way through the village, a little dog walked out on the road and just stopped and looked at us. I stopped and struggled to hold the bike with both brakes on because the road was that steep, and the dog just looked at us. The locals yelled at the dog and he eventually walked off the road. On we went. We seriously climbed a bloody long way in a very short amount of time.
Once we crested the top of the mountain it was fun time again. It was a narrow road, tight, with curves from here to eternity. Does it get ant better?
As we had lunch I was sure someone was whistling at Suzanne. I looked around a few times before I realised it was a canary on a balcony upstairs.We continued on our way after lunch and enjoyed much the same as before.
We rode to Ronda and then turned east toward the coast. Oh boy, what a ride. This was the best part of the day as the road ran along a chain of mountains for about forty kilometres before dropping down to the coast. This was no ordinary road. It twisted and turned all the way. The longest straight would have been less than fifty metres. This was a serious bike road that anyone who rides would love. We saw about a dozen bikes going the other way. Perfect. Happy Simon.
As we dropped into San Pedro there were enormous mansions either side of the road. It made Dalkeith look like a slum.
The ride to Gibraltar from San Pedro along the suburban roads was tedious after the mountains and I just wanted it to finish. The mountains wore me out and my hands, elbows, and knees were all aching from the awesome ride.
We rolled into La Linea de la Concepcion, still in Spain, and saw a big rock in Gibraltar. I wonder what it's called? As we rode in I thought "I wonder what the hotel price difference is between Gibraltar and where we are is?" We parked the bike and found a cafe that had Wifi. After a bit of research it turned out that staying here was about a third of the price of Gibraltar. Suzanne asked the owner about a cheap hotel. He recommended Hostal Carlos 1. A couple of poms at the bar also said it was good, so off we went.
Super cheap, clean, and convenient. We decided to stay for two nights , have a bit of a look around here, then do a day trip trip Gibraltar the next day. The cafe downstairs offered a dinner deal - Bread, entrée, main, desert, and drink for nine euros. Done deal. After the entrée we thought we didn't need any more food, but we managed to put it all away. What a deal. The lift groaned as it took us upstairs to our room.
We were tired and had full bellies so tonight we'll sleep well and tomorrow we'll explore La Linea de la Concepcion.
We took advantage of our short route today to enjoy a bit of a late start. We went to the post office to send home more goodies and a few souvenirs, then hit the road out of Malaga at about two pm.
Wow! What a great ride we had. Right from the start we were in hairpin country, the tightest so far. We rode up through a little village that was stacked on the side of a mountain (cliff) and had a ball. Within minutes we were in he sky again.
the funniest thing was half way through the village, a little dog walked out on the road and just stopped and looked at us. I stopped and struggled to hold the bike with both brakes on because the road was that steep, and the dog just looked at us. The locals yelled at the dog and he eventually walked off the road. On we went. We seriously climbed a bloody long way in a very short amount of time.
Mountains. That's a nice change.
More olive trees.
Our route zig zagged right through the middle of this village.
I couldn't get around this 180 degree hairpin. I had to to ride on and turn around. It's a hell of a lot steeper and tighter than it looks in the photo.
Yes, it was steep.
Once we crested the top of the mountain it was fun time again. It was a narrow road, tight, with curves from here to eternity. Does it get ant better?
Push bike rides are everywhere. The higher up in the mountains your are, the older the riders are.
It doesn't look it here,
but that rock was bloody enormous.
Oh, alright then, more twisties.
It was about here that Suzanne suggested owning an enduro bike here wasn't a good idea as it was so rocky. We agreed a trials bike would be perfect.
We decided to stop at the next town for lunch. The town turned out to be El Burgo, and the local taverna provided a good feed of four Tapas, a fruit juice, and a wine for only 6.60. One of the Tapas was kidneys, we think. What ever, it was it was very tasty. I can't get over how cheap food is here.
The local tourist information map. It's made with ceramic tiles, and it's three dimensional. So cool.
Sneaky photo of the locals at the taverna.
Ho hum, more boring bends...
...and more...
...and more.
We rode to Ronda and then turned east toward the coast. Oh boy, what a ride. This was the best part of the day as the road ran along a chain of mountains for about forty kilometres before dropping down to the coast. This was no ordinary road. It twisted and turned all the way. The longest straight would have been less than fifty metres. This was a serious bike road that anyone who rides would love. We saw about a dozen bikes going the other way. Perfect. Happy Simon.
As we dropped into San Pedro there were enormous mansions either side of the road. It made Dalkeith look like a slum.
The ride to Gibraltar from San Pedro along the suburban roads was tedious after the mountains and I just wanted it to finish. The mountains wore me out and my hands, elbows, and knees were all aching from the awesome ride.
Our first glimpse of the rock.
Yup, it's big.
I did say it was big.
We rolled into La Linea de la Concepcion, still in Spain, and saw a big rock in Gibraltar. I wonder what it's called? As we rode in I thought "I wonder what the hotel price difference is between Gibraltar and where we are is?" We parked the bike and found a cafe that had Wifi. After a bit of research it turned out that staying here was about a third of the price of Gibraltar. Suzanne asked the owner about a cheap hotel. He recommended Hostal Carlos 1. A couple of poms at the bar also said it was good, so off we went.
Super cheap, clean, and convenient. We decided to stay for two nights , have a bit of a look around here, then do a day trip trip Gibraltar the next day. The cafe downstairs offered a dinner deal - Bread, entrée, main, desert, and drink for nine euros. Done deal. After the entrée we thought we didn't need any more food, but we managed to put it all away. What a deal. The lift groaned as it took us upstairs to our room.
And this was only the entrée.
We were tired and had full bellies so tonight we'll sleep well and tomorrow we'll explore La Linea de la Concepcion.
Hi Suzanne and Simon. I loved the pictures in this post. I have really enjoyed reading your impressions of Spain. I have been there a few times but have not covered a fraction of the area you have. Next time, Dave and I will spend time up north and get a different look at Spain. Keep blogging, I love reading
ReplyDeleteBeatriz
Hi Beatriz, We love Spain, it's the only place I've been that I've said "I could live here". I don't think I'd get Suzanne to move though. We're not done yet. We'll head back north through Portugal, then east across Spain to Barcelona. From Barcelona we'll continue east...
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