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SPANISH COSTAS - week 3: from March
14 to March 27
On the eleventh day of my trip I cross the Spanish border
on a cliff about 200 metres above the sea. After getting through
France with hardly a spot of rain, the weather looks even
more inviting: warm, sun-drenched days lie ahead of me.
Within a very short period I’ve grown accustomed to
the way of life in a Mediterranean country. Every day I cycle
about 100 kilometres from one bay to the other – each
one more deserted and more enjoyable.
Gone are the daily worries. Questions like ‘ Where am
I going to spend the night?, Have I bought enough supplies?
‘ or ‘ Is there a camping site in the neighbourhood?
‘ make no longer part of my daily vocabulary.
I sunbathe until 6 o’clock, then I make a small detour
via the local ‘supermercado’, find myself a nice
spot on the beach, enjoy my food, have a restoring sleep…
I’m sure you get the picture by now! And the next day…
this starts all over again.
The Spanish costas in March are worthwhile visiting: sun-drenched
beaches, parks filled with orange blossom aroma, palm trees
and flowers…
Whether they are Dutch, French or Spanish people keep on
wondering about the true motivations of my solo trip. Over
and over they ask me the same question " "You alone
with bicycle?"
Due to demonstrations in Barcelona I can only pay a flying
visit to the capital of busy Catalonia. But a real treat is
waiting for me in Vinaros where I’ve arranged to see
my grandparents! After their annual hibernation in the south
of Spain they are heading back home but of course we have
to meet as I haven’t seen them since last October! Being
the perfect grandma ‘Bobonne’ is pampering me all
the time and we have a great but too short time together.
I take my granddad ’Bompa’ cycling and I discover
I definitely got the ‘Genes’ from that branch of
the Torrekens family! I’m sure I’ve got my batteries
filled with new energy and it’s time to hit the road
again! I promise my grandparents to meet them again in France
in October but then in the opposite direction!
Salou, Castellon and Valencia offer me beautiful parks and
an early summer sensation! I work my way through the Ebro
delta and my calves suffer on some steeply hills near Denia.
In 3 days I find my way to magnificent Granada and the snow-covered
Sierra Nevada. After all this leisure time it’s now time
for blood, sweat and tears …
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