Category: Photography

From Rio Luna to Foz, with Lots of Aires in Between

On Saturday we took another ride into San Emiliano and Colin watched the barking/howling dogs – he thinks they’re enjoying the ride and are actually making happy noises. I like that idea a lot better – they’re sitting up and looking forward, their ears flapping in the wind – who wouldn’t enjoy that?

There’s a large rock outcropping at the edge of the village and on top are some storks roosting – very large nests and all, but I couldn’t actually glimpse any babies.

On the way back one of the wheels on the chariot came a bit loose and began to rub against the side so I had to stop – it took Colin a bit to return for us as I pushed the bike along the edge of the road.

I envisioned him starting his second beer by the time we got to the cafe, but he did notice we weren’t behind him anymore and turned around fairly shortly.

He fixed the wheel and we were on our way, stopping for a refreshing beverage at the cafe in Rabanal de Luna.

In the late afternoon we headed down to the campground bar and asked if the tv could be changed from the soccer game to the Vuelta a Espana – it’s the first stage and is a time trial around Burgos.

At half time of the soccer game we got our wish and were able to watch the last hour or so of the time trial, with Roglic putting in the best time and taking the red jersey on day one. We were told – in a very friendly way – that the channel would not be changed for us again tomorrow as some of the locals were coming to the bar to watch the next soccer game on the big screen.

Two of the little boys staying next to us approached me one evening offering me one of several braided strings they’d made but I said no. I regretted my dismissal of them and as they came back around a little later I waved them over. They were so sweet – I chose one in purple and pink and it cost me a whole euro. I’ve tied it to my camera case and when I showed them the next morning they were thrilled.

We weren’t in any great hurry to leave on Sunday morning and didn’t get away until almost noon – we followed the same road north that we’d taken two years ago towards Oviedo.

There’s a nice pullout near the border of Castillo Y Leon and Asturias with great views south back towards San Emiliano.

We had intended to stop at one of the aires near the top of the Bear Trail so we could take a ride, but it was so packed we didn’t even try – we kept going downhill to just past the town of Proaza where we’d stopped two years ago. Once again the lot looked very full but we pulled into a space marked ‘bus’.

There were so many people coming and going off the trail that we decided we’d take our ride some other time – August seems to be when everyone in Spain takes their vacation all at once and we can’t stand the crowds!

We did spend the night in the parking area, along with about a dozen other vans. It’s a fairly busy little road but nothing kept us awake.

There’s a very interesting mural on the side of a building in one of the towns on the way to Oviedo – all about the mining that was prevalent in the area in days gone by.

We had a bit of a time finding the Lidl’s store as the campervan’s GPS took us miles and miles from where we were meant to be. Luckily we have the backup of Waze and eventually got where we were going.

All stocked up once again we headed west and a bit south to find another aire, intending to stay away from the north coast a bit longer in order to avoid the crowds. And once again we got mis-directed, so had to back-track and try a different aire.

Along our ‘scenic route’ we did get to enjoy some great sites, and much of it was, of course, near one of the many Camino routes.

The aire we ended up at was not bad, and was located in the lovely village of Sta. Eulalia de Oscos. We parked the campervan and walked the doggies to a nice bar with outdoor seating for refreshments.

They had a large tv that I could see from my outside chair and the bartender eventually gave in and changed channels to the Vuelta so we could see the last of the day’s stage up Picon Blanco.

The village itself has put some effort into being attractive – there are several displays and murals, and all of the buildings are well maintained and don’t look derelict, like in some places.

There’s a large field next to where we’re parked and it has a very lonely donkey in it – they’re much happier if they have a friend, even if it’s a goat or horse.

Colin fed it some carrots and we saw that it has some sort of skin condition, maybe cysts or tumours.

As we left the village just after 11:00 we saw yet another interesting sculpture – I like that the cow is wearing her helmet, and is also signalling a left-hand turn – haha!

As I walked down to take a photo of the cow-on-moto I also some more wall art.

We still wanted to stay a bit away from the coast so headed to our next chosen aire in the village of Taramundi. The village looked quite nice but seemed to be teeming with visitors so we kept going.

The next aire on our list was in A Pontenova – yes, that is the name of the place – but we couldn’t find it. There was an occasional sign saying ‘800 metres’ but then nothing but going in circles so we continued on to the next place – Mondonedo.

We found the aire but the spots weren’t really big enough for campervans – we parked temporarily to have a bite to eat and I did a bit of exploring with Mo.

The town seems fairly nice and has some interesting buildings – also it’s a big stop on the Camino.

There was an adorable little kitten on the ‘Juliet balcony’ of an apartment across from where we were parked – it was out on the ledge for a bit and wasn’t concerned about the drop.

He made it safely back inside and we left shortly after. We changed our minds about going to the coast and decided to head to a campground we like just west of Foz, stopping in Ribadeo on the way to refill our cooking-gas supply.

It was an extremely frustrating endeavour, but successful in the end, finding what we needed at a Peugeot garage.

The San Rafael campground was open and quite busy, although the nice bar – with the big tv – was closed. We got settled and I made a vegetable soup with bacon and mushrooms for dinner – it was pretty good, if I do say so myself!

I took a nice walk to the ocean after dinner, encountering a couple of kite-flyers on the way.

I don’t doubt that kites fly well here as the wind was fierce.

Back to Rio de Luna

A beautiful morning greeted us at the little aire – such a lovely place.

The drive to Rio Luna was pretty flat and a bit boring, at least until we passed Leon and got into the foothills of the mountains.

The dam at the end of the reservoir didn’t look like it’s letting any water out and the lake does look higher than when we were last here. There were lots of boats out and the marina was pretty full.

The campground was much busier than it was two years ago, but we ended up on the exact same pitch. First thing I did was shower, and did the hot water ever feel good!

Down at the campground’s bar we had a nice conversation with a british couple that now live in southern Spain and are up here for a vacation. As with most brits we talk with they are frustrated by England’s ever changing covid rules – visitors are hesitant to come over as rules may change while they’re here and they’ll have a huge hassle getting back to England.

One afternoon we looked up and there was a rainbow in the clouds – no rain at all, in fact most of the sky was bright blue – a hot and sunny day.

We’re having a little vacation here before heading to the north coast. The first ride we took was on Wednesday into San Emiliano where we saw the fabulous horse fair two years ago.

We had a coffee at one of the cafes and I asked the waitress if the horse fair was going to be on at the end of the month – I showed her some photos I’d taken two years ago and she said, very sadly that no, the fair was off because of covid. Darn! We were really looking forward to it.

I then went into the small supermarket to get some cheese for the pasta to go with my bolognese sauce, and a local interpreted for me and sent me to the proper area of the store to get the best cheese – made just down the road. Unfortunately I’ve let my Spanish lessons slide a bit in favour of Italian and haven’t brushed up enough – I’ll have to do better!

The little ones were pretty good in their chariot on our first ride into San Emiliano, but the second ride when we went up to Abelgas wasn’t so pleasant – at least for me.

They’re sharing one chariot as Colin’s bike doesn’t have the proper connection, and both dogs did nothing but bark and howl the entire time up and down to the village. At one point on the way back we were chased for quite a while by a big dog – that was something I just didn’t want to deal with!

It gets quite cold here at night – just above freezing, but by mid-afternoon we want to hide in the shade. Yet it’s not nearly as hot as some places – it reached 48.8 in Sicily yesterday, and the fires back home are so bad. We feel very fortunate, and don’t take anything for granted.

Even though the campground seems pretty packed and there are a lot of kids, it’s very quiet, especially in the mornings. We had a very late sleep in this morning and didn’t arise until 9:30 – quite unusual.

We did take the doggies for a nice walk on the trail behind the campground – we’d followed it all the way around 2 years ago but turned back partway this time as it was getting hot.

When I downloaded my photos and then compared them to the ones I took last time I wasn’t too surprised to see that some of them are almost identical between the two years. I like what I like!

They had recently cut the weeds, etc along the path and right around a new thistle were dozens of tiny blue butterflies – you can’t see them that well in my photo but they were awesome.

Vuelta a Burgos Stage 5

Another excellent sleep at another lovely aire – Spain has this down!

The drive to our spot to watch the final stage was not far, and we were the first ones there. There’s a fairly large area right before the summit of the second climb of the day and we had our choice of spots.

We’re right beside a memorial of some sort – beautiful fresh flowers, some inside a heart-shaped rock formation.

Not long after we arrived the fellows came along to paint the summit line.

Slowly but surely more cars arrived, including several team cars. The one that pulled in right beside us was Ineos, and they were friendly and both spoke very good english. Without even having to ask they offered us each a bidon – Yates’s! They set about loading their rider’s musettes with bottles and power bars, etc.

At one point a car pulled in and the driver got our and added two more lovely floral arrangements to the memorial. A while later a couple of the cars had to shuffle around to let two cars through and up the road – it wasn’t so much a pullout as it was a very wide entrance to a side road and the other cars were, in fact, blocking it.

A breakaway of six arrived about five minutes before the peloton.

Once again they passed as one large group, with only a few stragglers. The team cars in our pullout were very accommodating – I asked the Astana guy for a bidon and he gave me a full musette. And Colin got an EF bidon thrown by a rider.

Since we hadn’t put any flags up it was quick and easy to get on our way. We drove generally west to Ampudia, just north of Valladolid to find yet another lovely aire for the night.

There was some sort of outdoor opera happening in the town but we were too tired to go down and investigate, opting instead to just have dinner and an early night.

Vuelta a Burgos Stage 4

The teenagers playing basketball next to us last night knocked off when darkness fell, although we could hear other children playing nearby until quite late. It didn’t keep me from sleeping and I had another very good night.

The next morning we had a bit of a time finding a spot to watch the day’s stage from – we took, as I call it, the ‘scenic route’, passing through almost every village on the day’s route before coming to a decision in the town of Caleruega.

We parked right next to the road under some lovely large trees.

As we had a bit of a wait we took the doggies up the hill for a walk about the town – once again El Cid is a big figure in the area.

The town is quite nice and we eventually found a little bar to sit at for a bit with a chilled beverage.

By the time we returned to the campervan locals were starting to show up to watch the race – we’re at a very sharp corner and with the trees for shade it seems a popular spot.

Even some professional moto-photogs showed up – one even joined me on the stone wall I’d chosen as a my watching place.

As I up higher I could see further around the corner and down the road when the first lone rider came – he was from the local Burgos team which made the crowd very happy.

The peloton was only about a minute behind, and arrived in one bunch, rounding the corner at an incredible speed.

The entire group passed in less than a minute and it was over – still worth the wait, though.

We parked for the night at yet another aire – these places in Spain are great. This one is also next to tennis courts, an immaculately kept soccer field, swimming pool and picnic area.

In the evening Colin was sitting outside with the dogs when a large bunch of local kids on bikes came up and almost swarmed him. But they weren’t nasty – just the opposite – they were very interested in the dogs, and where we were from, etc. One of the older boys acted as interpreter and they asked all sorts of questions. Then they played in the tennis area for a bit and left abruptly after a relatively short time on their bikes.

Vuelta a Burgos Stage 3

Another bright looking morning – sunny but not yet too hot. After some nice tea we left the lovely aire and headed to our next destination a little bit northeast just outside the village of Cereceda.

We picked a spot just past the summit of the climb in one of the only pullouts available.

We had lunch as other vehicles started to come along looking for spots to park – there weren’t that many but some cars did venture onto the verge, as well as some motorbikes.

The area around here reminds me of home.

We put up one flagpole with three flags and they did fly well although it became extremely windy. We had to put an extra bungee at the bottom to keep them from tilting – we wouldn’t want to be those ‘stupid fans’ that let something fall in the path of the riders!

There was a breakaway of four to the top of the Alto la Varga and was taken uncontested by a young rider from Caja Rural.

I still smile and wave at almost everyone that comes past – campervans, team cars, motos, police – and so many of them either wave back or at least toot their horns.

One moto cop stopped at the line for a couple of minutes and chatted a bit – the peloton was 2 km behind and would take a couple more minutes to arrive. He gave a big smile and went on his way.

The peloton arrived about seven minutes after the breakaway, and I got a photo of both of the Yates twins – now riding for different teams – near the back of the pack.

After the race had passed and we’d taken down the flags we were on our way again – this time back south past Burgos to get somewhere along the route of stage 4.

Olympic news: Damian Warner has won the gold for Canada in the decathlon!! Way to go!! And Andre de Grasse has won the gold in the 200 metres! Way to go Canada!

Vuelta a Burgos Stage 2

After yet another rain storm during the night we woke to fairly pleasant weather. In no particular hurry we had breakfast then headed northeast to the village of Monasterio de Rodilla.

We once again followed the route for a ways in the opposite direction, then turned around and went back to a spot we’d passed by. It was a decent sized pullout with good views back along the road.

Again there was a breakaway of five riders, and again all from local teams.

The peloton was only about three minutes behind this time.

After the last racer passed one of the team cars – Qhubeka – pulled to the side of the road almost across from us. He flagged down the ambulance and had a word with them.

They turned around just ahead of us and went back the other way – we assumed that a rider had crashed and the ambulance had to go back for him. We hope he’s alright.

We got going quickly and scooted up to today’s finishing city of Briviesca, where there was another lovely free aire.

After getting organized we took the doggies out for the short walk down to the finishing area.

There was a nice bench just waiting for us about 250 metres from the line so we sat down and relaxed for the short wait – and guess what? We’re on the Camino again – imagine that!

The peloton had caught the breakaway, as expected, and they all tore around the corner just below us and blazed past as one big bunch.

Some of the locals were watching from their apartments across the street…

Walking back to the campervan we passed the place where all the police motos had lined up – they thought it was quite funny I was taking a photo of their parked BMW’s.

We stopped at an outside table at a bar along the way and got a refreshing beverage, then on back to the aire to relax and have a light dinner.

Vuelta a Burgos Stage 1

After trying out the oven for the first time – roast chicken! – we treated ourselves the next night to a meal in the campground’s restaurant. We had a lovely smoked salmon and asparagus salad for a starter and both chose the veal with potatoes as a main. I don’t often opt for veal but it was pretty good.

The water seems to stop at least once or twice a day – there’s been a tanker truck filling up the pool and other things to compensate for the shortage.

On Tuesday morning we got going at a decent time to find a place on the route for the first day of the Vuelta a Burgos – another of our favourite races. We were accredited photographers two years ago and had applied again this year, but due to covid restrictions were regretfully turned down this year.

We headed southwest from the campground and picked up the route in the reverse direction.

After passing Santa Maria del Campo we turned around and backtracked to Pampliega, a picturesque town on a river where we decided to stay and watch/photograph from.

As we had some time we took the doggies for a walk around the village – uphill to the main part of town.

After asking a local fellow where a cafe/bar was – in Spanish! – we found the place we were directed to and stopped for refreshments, then on to the church that overlooks everything.

The door was open so I went inside – the stained glass windows weren’t that great but everything else was outstanding. I got ready to take my first photo but a fellow inside immediately said ‘no photos’, and pointed to a sign on the wall that I hadn’t seen.

It was a shame I couldn’t take photos – it was by far the most interesting church I’ve been in for a long time. Like in many churches the ceilings soar and are vaulted and the walls are covered in sculptures. But they also had a ‘wing’ with priests’ vestments behind glass – a whole bunch of them. Some looked like they were embroidered in gold thread and lots of silk. Also a display case that contained some relics, including some very old-looking scrolls.

Returning to the campervan we re-conned some possible spots to shoot from. There’s a fairly sharp turn before the riders get onto the bridge and we hoped that would slow them down a bit.

The river, along with the lovely park and walkways was a great attraction and thoughout the morning more and more locals arrived to swim and fish. They also opened both of the kiosks at each end of the park area and must have done a good business.

There was a good crowd gathered, and the race arrived with five in the breakaway – I got a pretty good shot of them coming across the bridge.

They were all from local Spanish teams and had been allowed to get a seven minute gap on the peloton.

I didn’t recognize too many riders in my photos but there are a lot of big-name racers here. It’s a good warmup race for the Vuelta a Espana later this month.

After the racers had all passed we took our time going back to Santa Maria del Campo where there was a very nice free aire for the night.

Colin got his drone up for the first time but the strong wind made it difficult to nagivate – it ended up in a tree, but we did manage to retrieve it safely and without damage.

San Sebastián Classico in the Fog

After pouring rain off and on all night race day dawned foggy and wet. I’m very glad I went for my scenic walk yesterday as it doesn’t look good for the great views today. The sheep didn’t mind the inclement weather, though, and meandered from a field on one side of the road to the other at their leisure.

The San Sebastián Classic is one of our favourite races and this will be the third time we’ve seen it. The last one was two years ago and young Remco Evenepoel was the winner.

We’re at the exact same spot we were at three years ago, just around the bend from the summit of the Jaizkibel climb, and they’ve erected summit markers

Some cars joined us during the morning and the occupants stood around under their umbrellas. I eventually approached a few that were in front of us and asked when the race was expected to arrive.

None of them spoke english, italian or french, but one young lady had a phone and she understood enough to show me a time schedule – for the women’s race (which, to be honest, we don’t really care about). Just a guess as to when the men will be by.

The first of the women arrived right at noon with a three-rider breakaway, the main peloton a minute or two behind, and small groups straggling along about half an hour back. Most of our fellow spectators turned out to be giving out water bottles to the riders, and as soon as the last rider passed they all left.

More fans arrived throughout the afternoon and once again our pullout was full. A few of them setup tables and had a meal while waiting, and it was really nice to see the fog dissipate and have some blue sky overhead.

It was quite funny – at 3:50 I got a nice clear shot of some of the police motos, then we watched as the fog blew in again and swept across the hill to envelope us once more. Only thirteen minutes later a lone racer arrived – you could hardly see him approaching through the fog.

Alaphilippe passed by about 3 minutes later with a couple of teammates…

I was glad to be wearing my winter coat as it was so cold and windy – it must have been awful for the riders.

Not wanting to drive in the foggy darkness we opted to stay another night at the roadside. Having no 4G or other reception we didn’t find out the winner until the next morning after we’d left – Nelson Powless of EF won – good for him!

After another very rainy and windy night we left on Sunday morning, backtracking a bit before skirting Pamplona where we turned west and on past Logrono to Burgos and a campground we’d been to before just south of the city.

The Camino is very big around here – even the highway is named for it.

We arrived in good time to the campground only to be told that we could only stay two nights, not three, but that’s ok. They have a decent restaurant but the wi-if sucks.

Finally Spain!

I forgot to mention the adorable hedgehog we saw in Ruffec on our way to the lab for my swab test. We were going down the main road thru town and saw something shuffling across the road – it was a small hedgehog! We were very worried that it might get run over so Colin quickly pulled to the side to stop the traffic, but everyone else also seemed aware of it and the little fellow made it safely across. It was very nice to see that we weren’t the only ones that cared about a little animal.

The men’s time trial at the Olympics was awesome – much more exciting than time trials usually are. Primoz Roglic won the gold and Tom Dumoulin got the silver – so happy for both of them. Hugo Houle came a very respectable 11th.

I made an excellent lasagna (if I do say so myself!) for our final dinner in France, although the pasta making machine is a bit different from the one I have in Papiano and the one I have back home. In any case it turned out pretty good and was well received.

Much to my relief we got the results of my swab test back before we left the house and were able to download and print it – I passed! Or maybe I failed – in any case it was ‘negative’ which is good!

We got away at the decent time of 9:15 and were cruising – until we reached Bordeaux. I know it’s always a bit of a pain getting past the city, even on the ring-road but it’s still frustrating. It took us at least an hour to get by before we were once again cruising south.

We reached one of our favourite campgrounds mid-afternoon – just north of the village of Souraide, near the Spanish border. We’ve stayed here at least three times before but for the first time noticed the ‘no dogs’ sign at the entrance – he let us in anyway.

Waking before seven the next morning we had a nice cup of tea – or two – before heading on to Spain. There’s a border crossing about 20 km away thru a small town that’s mostly duty-free shops just across on the Spanish side.

We kept waiting to hit the ‘border police’ that would ask for our vaccine certificates or test results, but there was no one. I got my brain poked for nothing!

We stopped for some groceries along the way – I’d forgotten to pack the potatoes, onions and frozen salmon before leaving so we did need to replenish some staples. We arrived near our destination right around noon and pulled into a large gravelled area where we stopped and had a light lunch.

Since we’d been here before we knew we weren’t yet at the summit of the climb so after eating we drove just a little further where we found the spot we’d watched the race from three years ago (where I got bowled over by the barrier because of the wind from the cars).

It’s a small pullout on gravel with room for about 3 campervans, right on the edge of the hill, with horses grazing below and the ocean in the near distance. When I was walking Mo she stayed pretty close to me – the vultures above us were hunting in threes and she’d be a plump little meal for them.

Some of the riders taking part in tomorrow’s race were doing a re-con of the route.

While Colin and the doggies had a little lie-down I took a walk along the side of the hill that the horses are grazing on.

The views are fantastic!

The horses remind me a bit of the ones we saw at the horse fair in San Emiliano two years ago – very beautiful.

As evening fell the sun coming thru the clouds over the ocean was quite stunning.

We had a lovely dinner of salmon, mashed potatoes and green beans – such is ‘wild camping’ for us!

Dinner Out, and Brain Piercing

On Friday evening we went out for dinner – we had an outside table and it was lovely – luckily almost the whole area was covered by large umbrellas as it rained off and on almost the whole time.

I made a very nice choice – duck breast with goat cheese sauce and roast potatoes. It was just delicious and I didn’t even have anything leftover for breakfast – highly unusual!

The next afternoon we went and had a very nice visit with Colin’s friend Jane. She has a beautiful house a short walk away right on the river and we had a lovely time sitting outside overlooking the large garden and swimming pool.

The neighbour’s cat likes to spend time here – a very cute calico.

Another bike ride on Sunday took us over 41 km in all, including a stop in Aigre for a fairly good cafe creme.

We also popped in for a quick visit with Joyce in Fontenille – Tony was out at the time. It had just started to rain when we arrived and during our short visit it just poured out.

Luckily there was a break and we made a run for it, arriving home without getting drenched.

We’ve started getting organized for our next trip, including me getting another covid test swab. I thought – ok, I’ve had one before, this shouldn’t be anything different – wrong!! I had to stand in the parking lot of the lab/testing place and the swab that approached me was huge. I went to take out my nose stud and the doctor kind of laughed and said ‘no – not necessary’. What I think he was really thinking was ‘no – it doesn’t matter at all – we’re going way further in than that’!

It was awful! I tried to pull away a bit but couldn’t. I had read a couple of months ago that people described the ‘swabs’ as almost piercing their brains, but after the one I had before I left Canada I thought they were exaggerating, but now I don’t think they were. I’ve never had anything that far up my nose in my life – it was horrible, but I did survive, and I better pass the test!