Three months around Europe

The road from Bol Nuevo , Spain to Bari in Italy provided a glimpse some of the worst aspects of society.

It starts pleasantly enough, winding through the hill to Cartagena. From then on it just goes backwards. In the 70's this coast was the premier package holiday destination. To meet demand hotels were built and designed by architects and developers whose catch cry was “ Yes I know it looks cheap and nasty but the money I make from it means I won't have to ...

I didn't realise how much the daily joy of riding the bike had taken out of me. My first few days at my friend's home in Bol Nuevo were spent sleeping 10 hours a day. In addition, after having being solo for so long , it was hard to take in and concentrate on the many different conversations going on.
Glyn and Jan were lovely hosts. They had visited this part of Spain for over 30 years and moved permanently here in 2000. They bought the shell of their house and Glyn frustrated ...

I spent four days in Lisbon. I had arranged to meet a friend's daughter, the short but perfectly formed Ms Pinky . I arrived early so spent two nights in a campsite on the northern side of Lisbon, moving into a central hostel for the last two nights.
Ms Pinky is a real character. She had spent two years wandering the world, then decided she should go back to NZ and try to put down some roots, but the restlessness remained and she is off wandering again. Carrying a backpack ...

On the coast road to Lisbon, I began to feel like a traveler. Despite its clean by the Porto Vespa club, the bike was again dusty and bug splattered. My riding jacket was equally dusty along with my boots and my helmet had its own particular patina..

The road bumped between little coastal villages, then cut through a 700 year old man made pine forest. The scent in the early morning air was sharp and cleaning.

I spent two nights at Figuera da Foz ...

The pilgrim's goal, the cathedral at Santiago DE Compostela did not disappoint.
At 9am on a rather dull Monday morning it was full to bursting. A young nun was taking the service and she was going hammer and tongs, her high pitched voice making the most of the 1000 year fine tuning of the acoustics. The building dominated the square, indeed the town .
Fine carvings inside and out , somber priests in full regalia, the pious, the footsore and locals . Sandals and shoes scraping ...