Spain II

I am sitting down quite late to write this instead of writing every couple of days so it may nothave as much detail as other posts in the past.

2016-10-14

I ride from Estepona to Cordoba. Its a fairly short ride but I am wishing I put my jacket liner in as it is fairly cool high in the mountains. Cordoba was a former Roman settlement with a number of buildings from the Roman era.

I manage to find my way in to the center and check in to a hostel. After that I find my way around the cities historical core.

The Roman Bridge is very impressive and makes a great viewpoint to see Mezquita Cathedral and Calahorra Tower

Roman Bridge

Roman Bridge from the South Bank

Calahorra Tower

From the bridge you can also see the foundations of the old mills on Guadalquiver. The 11 mills were built in the middle ages and vary in completeness from just foundations to complete.

Waterwheel for Mill

Mill

Beginning my ascent in to the town I go through the Mezquita Cathedral was built as the Grand Mosque of Cordoba during Moorish reign. Following the Reconquista the Mosque was converted to a Cathedral leading to some mixed architectural elements.

Campanario Tower

Mezquita Cathedral

Mezquita Cathedral Bell

Roman Temple

After touring the rest of historical district I settle in at the local craft beer brewer to give the local beers a try then wander back to the hostel.

Califa Brewery

2016-10-15

Ride in to Madrid, it is a long ride and I am glad I have left my liners handy as it is quite cold the whole day. As my hotel is quite removed from the main city I decide to check out the nearby mall to see if it is different from North America, which it isn’t other than you need to speak Spanish.

2016-10-16

I have developed a serious stomach flu but head in to Madrid to see the Museum of Archeology and a number of other sites in Madrid. if you are wondering how I visited an Egyptian temple in Spain, the Temple of Debod was rescued from the rising waters of Lake Nasser and gifted to the people of Spain for assisting with rescuing antiquities in Egypt.

National Library / Archaeology Museum

Austrolopithecus Afararensus

Lady of Elche

Royal Palace of Madrid

Temple of Debod

Madrid Skyline

2016-10-17

My stomach illness keeps me at the hotel but gives me a chance to tear apart and reassemble the pannier racks that I mentioned in the previous post.

2016-10-18

As the Northern Hemisphere is getting colder by the day I have decided to take a ferry from Santander Spain to Plymouth England and ride to Santander.

2016-10-19

I collect some supplies in Spain before heading to (more) expensive England then head to the Ferry dock. I meet a number of interesting riders in the line-up including a young guy from Dover who has ridden his Honda C90 all the way to Morocco and back (at 45 mph.) By comparison to his bike I look like a wuss riding my comparatively modern and powerful motorcycle. Another rider Jules who has spent 6 weeks on the road in Europe on his Suzuki GS550 from the 70’s joins us along with 80+ guys on BMW’s who aren’t interested in speaking to those missing the blue and white logo. Jules and I settle in at the ferry bar for the evening and swap road stories, troubles, and gripes. It is nice to speak to the other riders doing trips similar to what I am doing especially since most of us have been weeks since seeing other riders.

Honda C90

Santander Spain