Still following windy secondary roads over the mountains and passing through small villages, we finally came to the Portuguese border. The old Customs House was abandoned so we stopped for a picture and continued on to Bragança. Again it seems strange to cross these international borders without even slowing down. Gary keeps waiting and hoping […]
After surviving Pájaro Pass, we continued southwest to the Medieval town of Puebla de Santabria near the northeastern Portuguese border. Well known as one of the oldest settlements in the province of Zamora, its roots have been documented around 509 where it appears in a record from the Council of Lugo. In case you haven’t […]
Leaving the beautiful Playa Merón, we headed south, following our GPS and several maps of Spain. The route we chose looked like a perfectly good secondary road. It was a hot day and we soon found ourselves climbing up 13% and 15% grades in 3rd or even 2nd gear to get around hairpin corners, with […]
As some of you may recall, when we were camped at Playa Merón, we mentioned the wonderful market in Santander. It might be one of the largest and most fascinating in Spain. The whole lower section is devoted to seafood, everything from fresh squid, barnacles, and whole bunches of strange critters we know would be […]
According to the notes on our 1997 Spanish map, it was 16 years ago that we had explored the many beautiful beaches along the Costa Verde of northern Spain. Perhaps our favorite was one called Playa Merón. Parking was free and the long, clean deserted beach was a short walk away. We remembered it had […]
Of all the amazing UNESCO World heritage sites scattered across Spain, one of the most impressive is the Altamira Cave near the medieval village of Santillana del Mar in the state of Cantabria, 30 km west of the city of Santander. Altamira (Spanish for ‘high views’) is a cave in Spain famous for its Upper […]
Santillana del Mar is a small town in the state of Cantabria in northern Spain. The first people living in the area were prehistoric cave dwellers some 36,000 and 13,000 years ago. Romans had settled nearby but the exact date of the founding of the abbey of Santa and Asturias de Santillana is not known. […]
Fresh out of France, as we headed west along the north coast of Spain, our first destination was Bilbao. Not so much for the city itself but more to visit the amazing Guggenheim Museum designed by Canadian-American Frank Gehry. This extraordinary piece of modern architecture is arguably as important itself as the exhibits it contains. […]
Gascony in southwestern France no longer offers any tourist facilities like we had experienced all the way from Switzerland. This is farm country where they grow mostly sunflowers, wheat and corn. Signs advertised Foie de Gras (goose liver pâté) and Armagnac, a type of brandy distilled from wine made from a blend of grapes. Stopping […]
Saint-Cirq-Lapopie is a commune in the Lot department, (state), in southwestern France. It is a member of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (“The most beautiful villages of France”) association. Its position, originally selected for defense, perched on a steep cliff 100 meters above the river, has helped make the town one of the […]
