getaria biarritz ::: the movie ::: by bru no

thanks to bruno!!!



this video illustrates the trip to biarritz mentioned here.

enjoy!

bay of biscay and galicia ::: part II

cantabria & asturias


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after spending a few days in and around san sebastian, we headed west towards galicia. we had 3 days to hit nigran. also we had to make it to santander to have lunch with silvie (a good friend i met while living in manila), so we took the expressway from san sebastian. this takes around 2 hours on the A-8 and its actually not as boring since it goes through some very nice looking places.

lunch in santander was good thanks to the company, but food was absolutely horrible. this is where i need to make emphasis on how difficult it is to have a bad meal in the north. we were the most unlucky. we were looking for a place near the beach and at the same time, somewhere where we could sit while watching the bikes (we had luggage on them). we ended up at cafetería orsay, right outside artamentos las brisas. they charged us the ridiculous amount of 17 € for a "menu del día" which was worth absolutely nothing. paella was horrible, spaghetti was worse (how hard can it be to cook spaghetti???) and the fish was prehistoric... thank god we were with silvie and friends, they saved the day!!!

after lunch we continued our trip riding past comillas and san vicente de la barquera. these must have been some of the most beautiful sights we´ve seen on our trip. the coastline gets pretty rough and the cliffs make incredibly nice pictures. again, if you come here during the last days of july or during august, you will be sorounded by a constant sea of people. but still... worth seeing.

shortly after san vicente de la barquera we took a detour to continue through the mountains towards cangas de onis and oviedo instead of going along the coastline towards llanes and gijón.

i have driven through these roads several times before. always in a car. only now i realised how impressive the mountains are and really felt we were minuscule compared to the rock walls rising above our heads. we took part of the road that goes around the "parque nacional picos de europa" and decided to turn back and leave that road for another ocasion. i guess this will remain on my "to do list" a little longer.

the alternative route we chose to take was not bad at all. driving through the north side of the national park, through cabrales and very close to "lagos de covadonga" was just what we needed. sharp turns, steep slopes, and beautiful sights. i need to mention, if you like strong cheese, you need to visit the region of cabrales...

our day ended at cangas de onis. a cozy little town with extremely friendly people and really good and cheap food.

we stayed at a hotel called los robles, and to be honest, we did not have to go very far to find a restaurant for dinner or a bar to have a few drinks. they offer a lunch menu for 9,50€ and a dinner menu for 10€. we ordered extra bread and extra drinks including coffee and they did not charge any extra whatsoever... absolutely fantastic.

i need to make a special mention to maria jesus... the woman in charge of the tobacconist right next to the hotel. i went in to buy some rolling tobacco, filters and papers and ended up having this very interesting talk with her. aparently she lived in angola for 16 years before the war. i think i would love to pay her a little visit some time soon. maybe even send her a postcard!!!

bay of biscay and galicia ::: part I

biarritz


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the rocket queen headed north once again. this time, the plan was to ride along the northern coast of spain, from san sebastian and ending up in galicia for a very good friend´s birthday party. as usual, the start and finishing points were both madrid, so i will skip writting about the madrid - san sebastian and vigo - madrid parts of the trip since i have written about them before.

the initial idea for this tour, was to combine mountains and beach for the summer holidays, starting with baqueira in the pyrinees, near barcelona and riding to the basque country. Of course, reality ended up being nothing like what we had planned.

we started our trip in san sebastian where we spent a few days in the jazz festival combined with a little riding along the coast and across the no longer existing border, to france.

heineken 45 jazzaldia

while in san sebastian, most tourists end up in the old part and around the port. this is something you must do if you have never been in the most beautiful city in spain, but dont think there is not much out in other areas.

boneless wings @ narru

for me the great discovery this time was narru. fantastic pintxos for a quite reasonable price, which unfortunately is the downside to eating in the basque region (it gets quite pricey). you will see, once you go in, everyone orders the house specialty for a good reason. you cant leave without trying the boneless chicken wings. everything we tried was incredibly tasty, so if you see yourself in this city and would like to go somewhere out of the ordinary and stay away from tourists... check this place out.

hendaye on the north shore and hondarribia on the south shore

the riding started from guetaria, and headed to san sebastian, along igueldo. after riding past san sebastian, we headed to jaizkibel. a similar kind of road to the one in igueldo which brings you up along a road full of curves with breathtaking views of the bidasoa river and the bay of biscay. this is a very enjoyable ride, and even in the summer, you might want to bring a jumper or a jacket with you, just in case...

lunch was in hondarribia, where you will find a great selection of restaurants along the sea walk. i have to say, it is very hard to have a bad meal in the basque country.

after lunch, we headed across the river into hendaye and again along the coast all the way up to biarritz. unfortunately we must have chosen the day when absolutely everybody decided to go to the beach in the south of france. traffic was horrible in most towns so riding through them was everything but smooth. this is why i always believed, the best time to visit this area is september, when the weather is still nice and most vacationers are gone.

in biarritz, we avoided the grand plage and headed a little north, just in front of the hotel sofitel biarritz. this part of the beach was not too crowded and a little less rowdy than the main part of grand plage. if money is not a problem, do go to the hotel du palais for coffee, or a meal. the setting is quite interesting.

biarritz

madrid - getaria 4 - 6.09.2009

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back to the north, and more specificaly, back to the basque country. i will probably have repeated entries on this region for several reasons. the first being i have family ties to san sebastian and also, i believe it is a beautiful place, with beautiful people, not to mention the food and the great surf (specially during september and february).

there are changes since last entry on the same trip last year. the most obvious one would be the new section of the AP-1 express way that goes from vitoria to eibar, and if you are on a schedule and need to get to san sebastian, it will save you anything from 20 to 45 minutes for just under 6€. it can be a little tricky though to get on the right path. once the first section of the AP-1 is over around miranda de ebro, make sure you follow directions to vitoria/san sebastian on the E-5 (which you´ll see in a little green rectangle in the big blue road signs indicating the different directions). after you drive past vitoria (do not go into the city if you dont need/want to visit vitoria) pay attention to the indications to get on to the AP-1 to san sebastian.

the tricky part

again, when i got to my final destination i did the same route to san sebastian through igueldo as i did last year. there are changes on this road to since they built a new access to the A-8 from the N-634 around orio. you will see a big roundabout past orio on the way to san sebastian, with all the necessary indications. make sure you follow the directions towards igueldo.

thanks eugenia for taking the pic :)
you will see this building at the roundabout on the way to san sebastian from orio on the N-634 take a left here

earlier this summer, i met austin and sara. they are traveling around the world and ended in san sebastian almost by chance. after an unfortunate series of events which brought them from rome to santander and then san sebastian. it all ended up being not unfortunate at all and gave me and my younguest brother the chance to meet two of the most amazing persons ive come across ever. sara is a great photographer and austin is a great surfer and a talented video artist. they were nice enough to make an incredible video of me and my ride on a road that has a special meaning to me since i was a kid.



thanks so much guys :)

we spent the morning on the road, took some time in san sebastian to do things that needed to be done and spent the afternoon in zarautz at the san miguel pro surf world championship.



i had not been to this event in years. it used to happen early in september and used to be sponsored by o.p. instead. then they stopped organising it and now its back. it brought back great memories from the past, and i have to recommend zarautz during this time of the year, there are a lot less people and the weather is usually great. not too hot but still being able to swim in the ocean.

last time i wrote about guetaria i dont think i mentioned my favourite restaurant. if you like fish, you cant leave town without having dinner at "astillero", a familly owned restaurant with the friendliest service and of course, the best food. it will set you back between 30 to 50€ per person, but it is worth every cent. if you are lucky you might get one of the tables overlooking the port of getaria, which is small but absolutely beautiful.

there is another great place for lunch in the san prudencio hostel. a small hostel sorrounded by vineyards and from which you can see the hills falling into the sea. this one is a cheaper option and a great place if you visit the little village of azkizu.


i must insist, this is a great weekend trip from madrid, and i cant wait to do it again, maybe before the cold arrives. i really want to ride arround jaizkibel to fuenterrabia and see the bidasoa river (separates spain from france) from the top of the hill. so ill leave that on my "to do" list for now.

madrid - getaria

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I should start this post not talking about the ride itself, but about the badlander seat for sportsters.
Had a passenger for the first part of the trip. my friend tagged along last minute and she said she would love to ride with me. i was a little sceptical knowing how thin and lacking in cushioning the seat is. but well... we went ahead and tried. i did the first stop for fuel 75 km from madrid, just to check how she was doing back there. the comment was quite straight forward: "i cant feel my ass!" that put a little smile on my face, but she said it was all good, a little rest and off we went. 100 km later we made another stop hearing more of the same. also it was quite funny to see that after 75 km she started moving to change to a more comfortable position, quite unsuccessfully, but after a little rest we rode again. i offered the possibility of her joining our other friend who we were meeting after we passed burgos. he was driving a car and he could take her, but she insisted, she wanted to finish the whole trip.

we met carlos (the guy in the car) on the AP1 about 25 km from the starting point where the second gas station is. that´s where kelly decided she would switch and ride the car. the badlander proved to be an unsuitable seat for long trips.



regardless of comfort levels for the passenger, the trip went smooth. highway all the way to the final destination with some fast but tight turns between vitoria and san sebastian, a very enjoyable highway. the icing on the cake was the road that goes from zarautz to getaria (N-634) which carefully draws the contour of the basque coast providing a very nice view of the hills dropping into the sea. too bad it was night time, but i was going to ride it the next day anyway.


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saturday was a dream come true to me. i´ve been riding the N-634 on a moped since i was 14 years old and for one reason or another i have not been able to bring my bike there till last weekend. i remember being a kid seeing all the bikes ride along the coast to and from san sebastian and i made it a point, that one day it would be me on a harley doing the same. there was later an upgrade to the dream. there are 3 different ways (that i know off) to go to san sebastian from getaria.

the fast efficient but most boring. take the N-634 to zarautz and the A-8 to san sebastian from there.

the tour of the neighbouring villages and N-634. basically the old way, the old road, nice enough sights, trees, turns... just watch out for ass holes in tuned cars driving at ridiculous speeds thinking they are in the WRC... if they drove that well... wouldn't they be competing???

the third, less known and most beautiful way... take the N-634 east to zarautz, orio and after orio pay attention to a T junction where you should turn left towards igueldo. you will find yourself climbing the hills achieving a height that will allow you to overlook the A-8 highway and the green fields with its scattered "caserios" and the eventual herd of cattle. beautiful sight, perfect appetiser for the following view of the basque coast from some of the highest points along the coast. if you have the cash, do not miss a nice dinner at akelarre. i´m pretty sure it has 3 michelin stars, and it does for a good reason.

also, if you ride along this road you might witness some impressive sunsets, but watch out for the road. its not in its best condition, its bumpy and it has some really, and i mean REALLY tight turns which you might have to take at speeds of 10kmh... but, the beauty of the views is worth every little bump.


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sunday, before we headed back to madrid, we went for a quick visit at kelly´s parents´place in mouguerre in the south of the french basque country (one more country crossed off the list). the trip was nothing out of the ordinary, not forgetting the area is really beautiful. but kelly decided to give it another go. it was about 70 or 75 km and she seemed to be getting used to the seat already, or at least be fine for a short ride.


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At about 16:45 we started the return to madrid. this time we took the A-8 towards bilbao, then the AP-68 and on to the AP-1 to burgos. slightly longer, but faster and not too boring. in burgos i should mention the hotel landa palace. you wont have to even leave the A-1. its on the km 233 or 235... its located in an old castle, but no matter how much you might like the place, or find it a little pretentious... the food is simply amazing. i would recommend the morcilla, chorizo, the pepito de ternera and the canutillos de crema for dessert. you cant go wrong with that. don´t sit outside if you are counting the hours to get to your final destination. you might be there for a couple of hours. service outside is slow, but they are good and friendly, and inside they are pretty fast too. if you are near burgos DO GIVE THIS PLACE A GO.

after the stop at hotel landa it was already dark. we found ourselves riding towards a lightning storm and my gear shift pedals started loosening up. i stopped to get in my water proof gear, tighten the screws and continued the ride safely. funnily enough, the rain stopped shortly after i wore the waterproof pants... shit happens.

got home at around 1:35 in the a.m. almost 9 hours later.

it seems like this trips that are not supposed to be that long end up stretching themselves quite a bit!