🗓: 20 Jul 2020 | 🌍: Sintra, Portugal Every fairytale seems to have a medieval castle surrounding by glorious scenery, enchanting foods, and an intuition well. Our fairytale day in Sintra has all this and more! Our fairytale day begins and ends with a three-wheeled rickshaw. After parking our motorcycles in the parking area weContinue reading “A Fairytale Day in Sintra, Portugal”
Author Archives: viajarMOTO
Street Art of Lisbon, Portugal
🗓: 21 Jul 2020 | 🌍: Lisbon, Portugal In 2017, I had my first experience with Europen street art and murals while visiting the northern city of Reykjavik, Iceland. I was impressed by the high artistic quality of many muralists that covered entire building walls. Ever since then, whenever I visit a large city, IContinue reading “Street Art of Lisbon, Portugal”
The Southwestern Coastal Route, Portugal
🗓: 16 Jul 2020 | 🌍: Algarve & Alentejo Regions, Portugal We never intended to be in Portugal this late in the season. Our original plan, back in February, was to enjoy Portugal in May and ride predominately off-road on the Portugal Adventure Country Track (ACT). The ACT is a series of published off-road trailsContinue reading “The Southwestern Coastal Route, Portugal”
Portugal’s Southeastern Algarve Region
🗓: 15 Jul 2020 | 🌍: Region of Algarve, Portugal Over the last three month, the borders between Portugal and Spain had been closed due to COVID-19. As of July 1st, they were reopened to travelers, and we were beyond exited to be finally entering a new country! Crossing the Puente Internacional del Guadiana intoContinue reading “Portugal’s Southeastern Algarve Region”
A Voyage of Discovery in 1492
🗓: 14 Jul 2020 | 🌍: Provinces of Seville and Huelva, Spain This blog post covers 125 km (78 miles) from Seville to the PS20 Solar Power Plant (A) and then to Muelle de las Carabelas (B). PS20 Solar Power Plant Just 40 minutes west of Seville lies the futuristic looking towers of one ofContinue reading “A Voyage of Discovery in 1492”
Seville – The Pearl of Andalusia
🗓: 11 Jul 2020 | 🌍: Seville, Spain While in Seville, we stayed at an Airbnb. Our hostess, Maria, owns a large home where she rents a couple private rooms. She also allowed us to park our motorcycling securely inside her gated yard. This adventure was going to be on foot! This was our 8Continue reading “Seville – The Pearl of Andalusia”
Exploring the Towns of Western Andalisia
🗓: 10 Jul 2020 | 🌍: Region of Andalusia, Spain With the temperatures in Seville being forecast to be over 40.5°C (105°F), I was starting to wonder why on Earth we were planning a trip there? Wouldn’t it be more comfortable riding along the cooler coast instead of sweating under heavy motorcycle gear inland? RidingContinue reading “Exploring the Towns of Western Andalisia”
Ronda, Spain – A Majestic City on a Cliff
🗓: 9 Jul 2020 | 🌍: Ronda, Spain Ronda, Spain is a village in the province of Málaga that is best known for its strikingly beautiful Puente Nuevo (New Bridge) that spans the 120-metre-deep (390 ft) chasm created by the Guadalevín River. The old part of the city is small enough that it is bestContinue reading “Ronda, Spain – A Majestic City on a Cliff”
Júzcar – The Smurfiest Village in Europe
🗓: 9 Jul 2020 | 🌍: Júzcar, Spain I first heard of the village of Júzcar after reading about it on Atlas Obscura. Chantil and I love road-side attractions and an entire village painted Smurf blue definitely counts, in our view, as something to see and expereince. Just a nice easy day of riding aContinue reading “Júzcar – The Smurfiest Village in Europe”
Caminito del Rey – World’s Most Dangerous Walkway?
🗓: 7 Jul 2020 | 🌍: El Caminito del Rey, Spain I first heard of El Caminito del Rey on a travel website showing insane pictures of precarious rusted walkways that nearly clung to cliff walls with three hundred foot drop-offs. I remember the sense of adrenaline I felt from seeing the pictures and itContinue reading “Caminito del Rey – World’s Most Dangerous Walkway?”
Multicolored Málaga, Spain
🗓: 5 Jul 2020 | 🌍: Málaga, Spain Our tour of southern Spain continues as we take a day to explore the colorful coastal city of Málaga. Málaga is one of the oldest European cities and was originally founded by the Phoenicians as Malaka over 2,800 years ago. Our first stop was to learn moreContinue reading “Multicolored Málaga, Spain”
Hiking El Torcal de Antequera, Spain
🗓: 4 Jul 2020 | 🌍: Providences of Córdoba and Málaga, Spain Our route covered 182 km (113 miles) of riding from Córdoba, to El Torcal de Antequera, then to an Airbnb close to Málaga. Along the way to El Torcal de Antequera, we stopped at a unique road-side attraction near Lucena, Spain. Fábrica DeContinue reading “Hiking El Torcal de Antequera, Spain”
Spanish Bull Fighting – History, Tradition, and Controversy
🗓: 4 Aug | 🌍: Southwest Regions, Spain As an young kid who lived in the United States, I grew up on the staple American meal of hamburgers. I have fond memories of weekly dinners with my father and sister, where we would eat delicious 50 cent hamburgers and drink vanilla shakes. Some years agoContinue reading “Spanish Bull Fighting – History, Tradition, and Controversy”
Culturally Colorful Córdoba, Spain
🗓: 28 Jul | 🌍: Providences of Granada and Córdoba, Spain Our motorcycle travels continue west along the southern coast of Spain as we leave the city of Granada and make our way inland to the culturally colorful city of Córdoba. During this blog post we covered 225 km (140 miles) of pavement from GranadaContinue reading “Culturally Colorful Córdoba, Spain”
Enjoying the Central Southern Coast of Spain
🗓: 21 Jul | 🌍: Providences of Granada and Málaga, Spain Map of our day’s journey: We went from Granada, to the southern coast, and back again – 229 km (142 miles). After a one-hour ride to our destination we were greated with… …this disappointing news – PROHIBIDO! We were really looking forward to hikingContinue reading “Enjoying the Central Southern Coast of Spain”
Hiking the Sierra Nevadas of Granada, Spain
🗓: 12 Jul | 🌍: Providence of Granada, Spain One of the main advantages of staying at Airbnb style homes is the wonderful people you often meet. Angela, our host in Granada, did a exceptional job of making us feel at home during our stay at Granada. She is an avid hiker and invited usContinue reading “Hiking the Sierra Nevadas of Granada, Spain”
The Gorgeous City of Granada, Spain
🗓: 05 Jul | 🌍: Granada, Spain Our travels are now in full swing as we continue clockwise around Spain to the city of Granada, Spain. Our main reason for coming here was to visit the famous Alhambra Palace. Normally, one would have to reserve tickets weeks in advance to see this attraction, however dueContinue reading “The Gorgeous City of Granada, Spain”
Exploring the Providence of Almaría, Spain
🗓: 28 Jun | 🌍: Providence of Almería, Spain This weeks progress was just 330 km of riding southwest from the providence of Murcia to Almería. Monday, 22 June This week started with a note. A note to Maria thanking her for hosting us for the last three months. I don’t think we could haveContinue reading “Exploring the Providence of Almaría, Spain”
Leaving Murcia Feels Bittersweet
🗓: 21 Jun | 🌍: Region of Murcia, Spain Today is the end of the State of Alarm here in Spain! Today, the country’s borders will be reopened to Europe and free movement between regions will resume for the first time since March 14. The last three months have had its shares of up andContinue reading “Leaving Murcia Feels Bittersweet”
Street Art in the Region of Murcia, Spain
🗓: 7 Jun | 🌍: Region of Murcia, Spain Whenever we visit a city or town, one of our favorite activities is to search for public art – especially street art and murals. Although our travel is currently limited to the region of Murcia, we discovered that there is quite a lot of artwork toContinue reading “Street Art in the Region of Murcia, Spain”
Ode to Apache – A Mule of a Motorcycle
🗓: 31 May | 🌍: Region of Murcia, Spain This week the odometer on my 2012 BMW G650GS Sertão motorcycle passed through 50,000 miles. We were riding through the city of Cartagena, Spain. A place we’ve been since the Spanish Prime Minister declared a State of Alarm due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I am oftenContinue reading “Ode to Apache – A Mule of a Motorcycle”
Phase II with Ups and Downs
🗓: 26 May | 🌍: Region of Murcia, Spain The country of Spain continues to maintain its “State of Alarm” – a condition it’s been in for 73 days now. Our region of Murcia has low enough COVID-19 cases that it has reached Phase II which means a bit more freedom for its citizens. MostContinue reading “Phase II with Ups and Downs”
Phase 1 = More Freedom!
This week was the beginning of Phase 1 for our region of Murcia and 51 percent of the rest of Spain. Phase 1 is the first time we are allowed to ride our motorcycles for anything other than getting groceries, visiting a pharmacy, or emergencies since March 14th. Yeah, nearly two months! 🗓: 11 MayContinue reading “Phase 1 = More Freedom!”
Freedom is Just Over the Horizon
🗓: 08 May 2020 | ✏️: Travis Gill Next week we’ll have been in quarantine for almost two months! If you told me that we would be in this position two months ago, I would have never believed you. Two months ago, on March 8th, we had just entered the French city of Millau andContinue reading “Freedom is Just Over the Horizon”
The Spanish State of Alarm is Taking its Toll
🗓: 25 Apr 2020 | ✏️: Travis Gill This week was a bit tougher emotionally for me… I think one of the main reasons for this was that the mandatory quarantine of Spain has gone on longer than I initially imagined. When it started, I felt like it would last a month before the COVID-19Continue reading “The Spanish State of Alarm is Taking its Toll”
Sitting it out in Southern Spain
🗓: 16 Apr 2020 | ✏️: Travis Gill I’m writing this from a relaxing porch of a traditional Spanish home located near Cartagena. The temperature is a comfortable 21C (70F) and the skies are cloudy but not enough to block out the occasional rays of warm sunshine that sweep across my face. All around meContinue reading “Sitting it out in Southern Spain”
Things are Continuing to Look Up
🗓: 6 Apr 2020 | ✏️: Travis Gill Spain has been one of the countries hit especially hard by COVID-19. As of today, it is just behind the United States in number of infected cases. Considering that the country of Spain is similar in size to Texas, and twice the population, this is substantial. SpainContinue reading “Things are Continuing to Look Up”
Looking Up
🗓: 28 Mar 2020 | ✏️: Travis Gill I wish I could start out this week’s update with incredibly beautiful pictures of southern Spain, Morocco, and Portugal! This, simply, is not the case as we continue to be part of a strict country-wide ban on non-essential travel. Spain was especially hit hard with the COVID-19Continue reading “Looking Up”
Turning Lemons into Lemonade (with a Splash of Orange)
🗓: 22 Mar 2020 | ✏️: Travis Gill If you spend too much time reading the news lately you may get the impression that the world is coming to and end. The COVID-19 virus has effected billions of people around this world. Schools have stopped, many people have been laid off from work or areContinue reading “Turning Lemons into Lemonade (with a Splash of Orange)”
Coronavirus (COVID-19) is Changing Things
🗓: 15 Mar 2020 | ✏️: Travis Gill It’s been an interesting week. If I had to sum it up in one word it would be CORONAVIRUS! It has hit Europe especially hard including France, and Spain – the two countries we’ve been traveling through this past week. Although Chantil and I have discussed theContinue reading “Coronavirus (COVID-19) is Changing Things”
