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Portmagee in Irish means "The Ferry". From here, you could catch a ferry to Valentia Island https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0986-L.jpg But now there's a bridge between Portmagee and Valentia Island, so the name is kind of outdated https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0985-L.jpg View of the colourful buildings of Portmagee from the bridge We rode across the bridge to Valentia island, but it wasn't that interesting. Also, the ferry from the east side of Valentia Island back to the Iveragh Peninsula was closed for the season, so we had to double back and take the bridge again. Everything from the cold weather to all the closures tell us that it's getting very late in the season... |
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Watch dem road apples up ahead, Neda! It was getting late and we wanted to get to the next peninsula south for the evening. So we headed straight down to our final pass of the day: The Healy Pass on the Beara Peninsula. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2402-L.jpg This isn't the Healy Pass. We got lost and this backroad took us over a marvelous viewpoint! Still not quite sure where this road was... https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0003-L.jpg Here it is: The Healy Pass If you like twisty roads, you'll love the Healy Pass. Set high atop the mountains of the Beara Peninsula, the serpentine road winds through the barren landscape. Not a lot of pictures were taken while I was riding here, because I like twisty roads... :) https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0379-L.jpg So does Neda. Damn! You go girl!!! :D |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/367.html
https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...L/map367-L.jpg Bob the dog is sick. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0032-L.jpg This is Bob. The dog who lives at the house where we are staying in Glengarrif He was the first to greet us as we rolled up to our AirBnB on the Beara Peninsula. We were barely off the motorcycles, bags in hand, walking to the front door of the house when this cute, playful dog bounded up to us, with his well-loved, partially deflated soccer ball clamped firmly in his mouth. He then dropped the ball at our feet. I know this game! I set my bags down on the driveway and picked up the ball. Ick, it was slimey with drool. I threw it across the front lawn. Our host dog sprinted out to fetch it and came back immediately, dropping the soccer ball at my feet again. Fun! I kicked the soccer ball down the yard again and picked up my bags. But in an instant, the ball reappeared at my feet. "We gotta check in, doggie! We'll play later!" The dog seemed not to hear me and stared insistently at the ball. I'm a sucker for playing with dogs and kids, so while Neda checks in, I do a few more rounds of kick and fetch. After pulling myself away from the dog, I walk inside and introduce myself to our AirBnB host, Brid, apologizing for coming inside a bit later than Neda: "I was outside with your dog. He's so playful!" "Oh, that's Bob. He's a bit... obsessed with that ball." She said it in such a way that didn't sound very positive. Oh. Ok. *shrug* Owners sometimes get tired of playing with their dogs. I get it. We're booked in Glengarriff for a couple of days. We've just about completed our tour of the western peninsulas of Ireland, so we're going to rest up before we head off the island. It's so idyllic on the Beara Peninsula. The BnB is so cozy, our host is very friendly, the countryside surroundings are idyllic, and we get to play with Bob, the dog! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0026-L.jpg Neda plays kick and fetch with Bob. Again. And again. And again. And again. We start to notice that there's something terribly wrong with Bob. He doesn't look at us when we're playing with him. He didn't care about being petted or talked to. Absolutely no acknowledgement in his eyes. He just stares at the soccer ball. But worse of all, he doesn't stop. He's obviously exhausted from running back and forth in the front yard, chasing after his soccer ball. Tongue hanging long out of his mouth. Panting like a marathon runner at the end of the race, he keeps fetching and running, fetching and running. His tail doesn't wag. The whites of his eyes are like half-crescents, signalling distress. Most dogs we know would lose interest, call it off and saunter away. Not Bob. If we didn't stop the "game", he would have collapsed and died of exhaustion. Seriously. I now know why Brid doesn't play fetch with him anymore. It was very obvious that Bob the dog was mentally ill. We love dogs so much and it was heartbreaking to see an animal develop such a mania. There was no joy in him playing fetch. It was purely an obsessive-compulsive drive. I've never seen anything like this before in a dog. :( Brid rescues animals that she finds in the area. She's got cats, dogs even a sheep that lives on the property. We talked a bit about Bob and she feels just as bad as we do. But he lives a good life and is well-cared for, despite the one-sided relationship. |
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We're heading to Baltimore now! After a couple of nights under a roof, we continue south to Baltimore, a small village in County Cork, near the south-western-most corner of Ireland. Our time with sea-side cliffs and winding, coastal roads is coming to a close. So grateful the sun decided to make an appearance just as we wrap up our tour of the western coast. Where were you the last two weeks?!?! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0041-L.jpg These guys know how to relax. And with a great view too! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...SC_0051-XL.jpg An unlighted beacon (daybeacon) stands on the cliff of Baltimore harbour. Locals call it Lot's Wife because it resembles a pillar of salt |
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There's an actual lighthouse on the other side of the harbour, you can see it in the distance https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0065-L.jpg Neda soaking up the sun and the sea-breeze. It was actually a lot windier than a breeze on the coast! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0080-L.jpg Bikes wait patiently for us as we hike around Baltimore Harbour And so concludes our journey along the Wild Atlantic Way. We hop on our bikes and start the long, inland trek back up to the more populated areas in the north-east. |
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Along the way, we stop for a snack break. These berries are safe to eat because we are far from Dingle https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0402-L.jpg While riding along the southern shores of Ireland, we stop to see the Drombeg Circle While not as old and nowhere as grandiose as Stonehenge, the Drombeg Circle served exactly the same purpose: It's an ancient UFO landing site. Smaller regional alien aircraft were routed here, while the larger, interstellar flights landed at Stonehenge. Oh, and the stones are oriented towards the setting sun, so it was probably also used as some kind of calendar to mark the summer and winter solstices. But primarily, it was a UFO landing site. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0411-L.jpg This is where the little green men took baths to freshen up between flights Ok, enough educational content, back on the motorcycles! We ride the boring inland roads further northeast, stopping in the bustling city of Cork for a layover. |
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Unfortunately, the AirBnB host listed her address wrong and we had to stop and try to ask around for directions Dear AirBnB hosts, if you're going to use GPS points on your listing, don't use the city centre as your co-ordinates. It's annoying and frustrating to those of us who actually use a GPS... Another quick sleep and we're off again. Just pounding out the miles to round off southern Ireland. About an hour outside of Cork, the main road goes through a range called the Knockmealdown Mountains and the long, boring trek northwards is broken up by: https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2429-L.jpg The Vee! A switchback in the road that descends into the valley https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2427-L.jpg This is Bay Lough, another one of those corries carved out by Ice Age glaciers In the summer, the lake is surrounded by swaths of wild purple flowers. Now, it's just patches of brown. This is a popular spot for people in Cork to go hiking and swimming. In the summer... |
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The valley below is called the Golden Vale, a quiltwork of pastures and farmland Then another couple of hours and we find ourselves entering Dublin, our last stop in Ireland. We're booking two more days in an AirBnB to go explore the city. The first day, we just spend indoors relaxing and taking a well-deserved break. Our host, Karen, is a really interesting lady. She's got fiery red hair and is super-friendly, making us feel so at home at her place. But the coolest thing ever is that she's an actress on The Game of Thrones! WHAAAT! We *LOVE* Game of Thrones!!!! Actually, she's just an extra in the background scenes. There was a casting call for anyone with red hair, so she answered it and got the job immediately. She's actually got a real full-time job, but when she told us she was on the Game of Thrones, I totally forgot what her real job was. If I was her, I'd always lead with "Yeah, I'm an actor on the Game of Thrones" and then just randomly pepper all my conversations with, "Valar morghulis", "You know nothing Jon Snow!", and "Hold the door" :( We peppered her with a million and one questions on what it was like to work on the set. She said every once in a while, she'll get a phone call and then she'll drive up to Belfast, where the main set is to shoot some scenes. When we heard that, we exclaimed, "Belfast! That's far. It took us 12 days to get from Belfast to Dublin!" "Uh, not really. It only takes 90 minutes by car if you go direct." I looked on the map. True enough. We *did* take the Long Way Round... And we're slow. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...SCN2444-XL.jpg Funny how you become the most popular person in the household when you're preparing a meal... The cat in the window made me ROFL! So Karen left us for the afternoon to run some errands. She asked if we could dogsit for her. She's got a beautiful black dog, named Django (named after the guitar player, not Unchained). "No problem! We love dogs. He doesn't have an obsession with soccer balls, does he...?" So while she was away, we ordered Indian food for takeout. Django was begging so much that Neda relented and fed him some spicy chicken tikka masala. He greedily gulped it down and then, without warning, proceeded to cough and hack violently because of the spices. We were mortified! "OMIGOD Neda, you killed Django!" We watched in horror as the dog continued to hack and cough. The convulsions eventually subsided and Django looked up and cocked his head. Then he begged for more tikka masala! LOL! I hope Karen's not reading our blog... |
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The next day, we head out into the city to explore. And because we're on bikes, It rains. Of course it does. Of course... https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0463-L.jpg We're really only interested in seeing one thing in Dublin. Cobblestones where we are headed to... https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0471-L.jpg At St James Gate, huge metal tanks tower 30 feet high in the air. They're protected by a border of brick walls Posters on the brick walls reveal our next destination. The Guinness Factory. The birthplace of one of our favorite beers! Those metal storage towers are filled with thick, black, bitter nectar from the Leprechaun Gods themselves! |
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Yes, we don't pay admission to go to museums or historic buildings. But we do pay to see where they brew beer... Priorities. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0428-L.jpg The first thing everyone does in the Guinness factory is hit the gift store Wow, so many different ways you can consume your Guinness. The toffee and caramel products have me intrigued. I can totally see Guinness-flavoured caramel toppings on cakes, chocolates, etc. I love Guinness! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...SC_0444-XL.jpg But really, these are the most important sections of the Guinness Factory tour The Guinness Factory tour building is seven stories tall and is shaped like a pint of Guinness. Each level is dedicated to some aspect of beer making, from the actual production, to the transportation, marketing, etc. All that is mildly interesting, but there are three pubs inside the building, and *those* are the most popular floors in the tour... |
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The tasting room only has these shot-glasses of Guinness. Not exactly what we were hoping for... https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0453-L.jpg Another floor is dedicated to showing all the Guinness advertising. More distractions, but the main event... https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0460-L.jpg ... is the rolicking pub on the top floor of the building. This is where the party is! Keeping in mind that we have to ride back after the tour, we try to drink responsibly and wait an appropriate amount of time to sober up... :) [/end PSA] |
This is our last day in Ireland. And what a tour it's been! The Wild Atlantic Way has definitely been a highlight but we've been going non-stop for a few months now - the longest stretch without a break in a while. It's been enjoyable for the most part, but our pacing is way off the way we usually travel. At times it seems like we're just riding and riding and riding. Fatigue is setting in a big way and we desperately need to stop and take a break, but we never do end up stopping. It's the impending cold weather that pushes us on. And on. And on.
Or maybe it's something else...? https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0390-L.jpg |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/368.html
https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...L/map368-L.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2453-L.jpg Goodbye Ireland! We had a great time! The ferry from Dublin takes us across the North Channel, back to the UK. We're slowly unwinding our tour of the British Isles. It's a quick jaunt. In less than a couple of hours we're deposited on the shores of Holyhead, Wales. Wales! I checked and it's a new country! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2469-L.jpg The Welsh countryside. Not that much different from English pastures I'll be honest, we didn't do any research about Wales. Don't know the history, don't know the culture, food, etc. We're kinda exhausted and we're just passing through. One thing that did catch my eye were all the road signs in the Welsh language. I tried to read the names out loud in my head: Llanllyfnl. Okaaay... and then: Llanfairpwllgwyngyll... My head snapped back as I still hadn't finished reading the sign when we rode past it. WHAAA...!?! Surely someone in the Ministry of Transportation is playing a joke on all the tourists driving away from the ferry terminal. Llanfairpwllgwyngyll! How do you even pronounce that?!? At least that name had some vowels in it - 20 letters, 3 vowels. I did some research and that's not even the weirdest name. Cwmystwyth. 10 letters, NO vowels. Bwlchgwyn. Ysbyty Ystwyth. Whadahek? https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...mxyzptlk-L.jpg Did you know Superman had a Welsh super-villain? After staring at some of these signs, I'm starting to see how the w's, y's and ll's replace the vowels. So the rest of this post will be written in Welsh. Ww rydll ynwyrds ty llr nyxt dllstynwtyn. |
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Our route takes us south through Snowdonia National Park, and we take a pit stop in the town of Beddgelert for lunch Snowdonia is a popular place for vacationers to go hiking. It's based around the Snowdon mountain, so the roads around the area twist and wind around the geography of mountains and lakes. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0479-L.jpg The Brits love their dragons https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0488-L.jpg Peter, peddlin' his wares |
Apart from dragons, Beddgelert is also known as the final resting place for Gelert, Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Gwynedd's faithful hound. It's a popular folk tale that's been retold in many other places, in other forms. Llywelyn came home to find his baby missing, and Gelert's mouth covered in blood. Assuming that his dog killed and ate his child, the prince slayed Gelert. Shortly after, he heard the cries of his baby under the crib, with the body of a dead wolf beside him.
It was Gelert that had battled the wolf and killed it, protecting his child. Llywelyn was stricken with grief, and he buried his faithful hound here in the fields of Beddgelert, the name means, "Gelert's Grave". Prince Llywelyn never smiled again. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0510-L.jpg Neda is not smilng either, after reading Gelert's story, which is written on his grave As dog-lovers, that was such a sad story to read! :( https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...ce_cream-L.gif In times of sadness, ice cream comes to the rescue. That was such a sad story, so... And Neda is happy again! So onwards we go, further south into Wales. |
Along the way, I prepared Neda for our next stop over the intercom:
"Who are you?" "The new Number Two." "Who is Number One?" "You are Number Six." "I am not a number! I am a free man!" "Ah hahah hahahahaha!!!!" When I was a kid, I used to watch an old TV show called "The Prisoner". It was about a secret agent who was about to retire, when he was kidnapped and imprisoned on a secret island to figure out what he knew. He didn't know whether it was his own government who sent him there, or an enemy state. The whole series was about him trying to figure out who his captors were and how to escape the island. My favorite part was the opening credits, which showed him being interrogated by the Number Two in charge, who was replaced almost every episode because our hero always got the better of him. Neda's never seen the series, but she thought my recitation of the show's opening credits was hilarious. "Again!", she laughed over the intercom. "I am not a number! I am a free man!" https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0112-L.jpg "The Prisoner" was filmed in Portmeirion, on the western coast of Wales When I first saw the series, I always thought that they had built these fantastically psychedelic, elaborate sets specifically for the show. But I found out later that it's a real village! After that, this place definitely went on the bucket list. The village charges quite an expensive entrance fee. But hey... bucket list item... https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0527-L.jpg The designer of Portmeirion, Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, based the village on towns on the Italian Riviera What actually turned out was a strange caricature of an Italian Riviera town, disjointed pastel colours, anachronistic modern design and little flourishes that wouldn't look out of place on a gingerbread house. It totally fit the theme of a 60s psychedelic TV show. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0520-L.jpg I was surprised to see that the beach from The Prisoner was not a separate set. It's actually the shores of Portmeirion, just outside the village In the TV show, people who try to escape the island are captured by "Rover", a huge bouncing white beach ball that pounces on the prisoners and traps them inside, to bring them back to the village. So psychedelic! You have to watch it. It even sounds strange typing the above. |
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A very strange prison, indeed Like most 60s TV shows, the themes were about counter-culture, defying authority and surveillance, and mistrust of the government. But the one theme that resonated with me was the expression of individuality. These days, with all our identities being reduced to numbers - Social Insurance Numbers, Drivers License Numbers, Passport Numbers, The Prisoner struggled against the system, rejecting the number assigned to him upon imprisonment. "I am not a number! I am a free man!" Groovy. I'm hip to that. (Ironically, we never learn what The Prisoner's real name is) It was getting late, so we left the village of Portmeirion ("Be seeing you!") and headed straight east. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2482-L.jpg This was our destination road: The Cat and Fiddle Run This is probably the most famous motorcycle road in England. It's also designated as the UK's most dangerous road because of all the motorcycle accidents here. The road surface is smooth, there are clear sightlines around most of the turns and there isn't a lot of traffic. But the scenery and the twisty tarmac tempts most riders to go much faster than their talents allow. No danger for us, we've got our whole house and everything we own strapped to the back of our motorcycles. But that doesn't stop us from enjoying the rolling hills of the Cheshire Plains, as the sun slowly sets behind us. It's nearly dark by the time we reach Buxton, at the end of the Cat and Fiddle road. It looks like a dry evening, so we check our maps to find a suitable campsite. There are a couple in town, but when we ride up to the gates, both of them are full for the evening. Ugh. By the time we leave the second site, it's pitch black. No choice but to book a hotel. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2506-L.jpg This one was not too expensive. A last minute booking. Double the price of a campsite, but it's a roof over our heads. Swanky-looking on the outside, but not that swanky inside the rooms... This is us leaving the next morning. |
And then taking the roadways straight-shot down to our next stop, all the way to the southern coast of England. We're staying in the Black Hills, between Somerset and Devon. We've got an AirBnB booked, a small, secluded cottage out in the woods. But once again, we have troubles finding it on our GPS. We park our bikes outside where we think it is and I walk up and ring the doorbell. An angry old lady comes to the door and demands to know what we are doing on her front step.
"We're just trying to find this address, ma'am", I asked, pointing at the screen on my iPhone. "I don't understand you. Wot language are you speaking?", she yelled at me. "Um, I'm speaking English." "That's no' any English oi've ever 'erd!" Dahek? We're having a complete conversation and you're understanding me just fine! I don't say this out loud. I just back away and we get back on our bikes to try to find the AirBnB on our own. She continued yelling at us from her front door as we rode away. What a bizarre conversation. I'm not going to infer any kinds of overtones to this weird exchange. Honestly she sounded like she was just crazy... https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...SCN2508-XL.jpg Hey, we found our AirBnB! To our relief, our hosts Leonora and David are totally sane and super-nice people. They welcome us to our cottage and over drinks, we talk about our journey. They are also travelers and it's obvious that they're running an AirBnB not to make money, but to meet other travelers. David is from the UK, and Leonora is from Colombia. When she found out we traveled through Latin America and learned Spanish along the way, she immediately turned off the English and we continued the evening en español. This totally endeared us to her and we felt like we were adopted right on the spot! Oh man, at the end of the evening, my brain was so tired from trying to recall the español. Or maybe it was the wine... https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0593-L.jpg Next morning, we head out to Neda's pick of the day We each have our list of things we want to see in the UK. Mine are all based on TV shows. Neda likes nature. We're here in Lyme Regis, also known as the Jurassic Coast! It's foggy when we arrive in the morning, but the sun quickly burns off the mist as we walk through town to get to the beach. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0221-L.jpg Walking through the coastal town of Lyme Regis Neda heard that you can find fossils on the beach. And there's nothing she likes better than picking up rocks and small dogs and stuffing them into her tankbag! |
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The beach at Lyme Regis is called The Cobb I watch as she paces up and down the beach, staring at the ground looking for fossils. No luck. We see a guy walk past us with a small pick and hammer and a bucket of black rocks. They look like fossils. We ask him where he found them. He told us we were in the wrong spot - there's nothing on the beach - but to walk a few hundred meters towards the cliffs just outside of town. Okay! He also recommended we purchase a pick and hammer from in town to go fossil hunting. We thanked him for his advice, but we didn't want to spend the money and then have to carry around a pick and hammer for the rest of our trip. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0607-L.jpg The real Jurassic Coast! Everyone around us is carrying the little hammers that they tap against the cliff walls and the large rocks on the ground, looking to crack open a piece of Jurassic history. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0617-L.jpg Neda does it the cave-man way, bashing rock on rock. |
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Look what she discovered!!! Actually, she just found them lying on the ground. Her cave-man skills didn't turn up anything but a couple of sore arms. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0626-L.jpg Not to be outdone, I show her my find! Actually, Neda found this one too. I'm just posing with it. These are super-cool! Obviously we can't take the large pieces with us, but Neda saves a few for her tankbag. She's got rocks, leaves and small animals from all over the world in that thing. It must be like the TARDIS: bigger on the inside... https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0206-L.jpg Even without the fossils, the Jurassic Coast is a beautiful place to visit |
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Back in town, we grab some lunch. We see that the tourism department is capitalizing on the fossil trade https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0646-L.jpg Outside the bakery, having a Cornish Pasty The Cornish Pasty is a baked pastry filled with mince meat, onion and potato and is the national dish of Cornwall, on the southern tip of the UK, not too far from where we are. It was on the list of things to eat that my cousin in London recommended. Delicious! However, we are on our way out of Britain, and we've got to find a way to shed the UK spare tire we're carrying around our waists! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2513-L.jpg Our next stop on the final farewell leg of England, a little campsite just outside of: |
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Stonehenge!!! We're zigging and zagging all over southern England now, on our way out. Stonehenge is my pick on the list of things to see. Not because it's got any archaeological or cultural significance. It's because I first saw it on an episode of "In Search Of...", a sci-fi documentary series about alien visitations, paranormal activity, and generally kooky pseudo-science. I was enthralled with that show. And it was hosted by Mr. Spock! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0260-L.jpg Stonehenge is located in Salisbury and it's far from being isolated Like most ancient monuments, it's now being crowded in by urban creep. You can see Stonehenge from the roadway in the background. A few years ago, you could walk right up to the stones, but due to vandalism and wear, the stones are roped off and you can only walk around the perimeter. Mr. Spock said that the stones in Stonehenge line up with other sacred sites in the UK and around the world, like the Great Pyramids of Egypt. The type of stones are not found in Salisbury and were carried hundreds of miles to be placed here to harness mystical, magical energies. But for what purpose? Dun-dun-DAAAAH! Although not explicitly stated, he seemed to imply alien forces at work. Which is both totally cool and highly logical. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0262-L.jpg "Quoth the Raven, Nevermore. Nevermore." I don't know why I'm quoting Edgar Allan Poe. It just seemed like a creepy thing to put in there... https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0651-L.jpg Clouds part above mystical Stonehenge to welcome our alien overlords! |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/369.html
https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...L/map369-L.jpg It's been six weeks since we last left London to tour the British Isles and it's been such a wonderful leg of our trip - rounding the top of the Scottish Highlands, island hopping from the Isle of Man to Ireland, then meandering down the Wild Atlantic West Coast. But now we're super-exhausted from traveling. We brace ourselves for re-entry, the thick, congested urban atmosphere slowing our crafts' descent. Ugh, the traffic. We tiptoe between stopped cars, our wide panniers prevent us from lane splitting with any amount of confidence. I forgot how bad it was. At least the weather is sunny! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2518-L.jpg Getting off the roads to grab some nosh We are coming into London from the west, and the Ace Cafe just happens to be on the western outskirts of the city. There's a symmetry in stopping here, because this is the first place we visited when we first stepped foot in the UK and now it will be one of the last! It's the middle of the day during a work week, so the parking lot is empty. We don't have to fight vintage cars for a parking spot. Food in the UK has been spectacularly unhealthy for us. So we have vowed to eat better. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2516-L.jpg But not just yet... In the UK, I've discovered that everything tastes just a little bit better with mushy peas. |
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As we leave the Ace Cafe, Nick, a fellow rider from Italy spots our license plates and we chat a bit If people we meet along the way show interest in our trip, I normally hand them a business card with our blog and contact information on it. Later on that evening, I find this picture sitting in my inbox! Grazie Mille, Nicola! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...IMG_3238-L.jpg Staying with my aunt and uncle while in London My cousin is in the middle of moving to Scotland, so we're now staying with my aunt Jennifer and uncle James for a couple of days. It is just not sufficient to say that they are wonderful hosts. They've raised three kids of their own, but my aunt and uncle have played the role of den mother and father for the extended family for decades. The post-secondary education system in Malaysia is neither good, nor very well-recognized internationally, so nearly all of my cousins have studied abroad, attending universities and colleges in Australia and the UK (and Canada). And the cousins who do study in London automatically have a mom and dad away from home. I think it's a role they feel very comfortable with. We sit in their kitchen one morning and my aunt is cooking a hearty English breakfast for us, and it just feels so homey! Later on that evening, they take us out for dinner and my aunt regales us with tales of my dad when he was a young man. Fascinating stuff! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0662-L.jpg Spending our last night in London out on the town. This part of the city is known as the West End The West End is also known as TheatreLand, with over forty theatres in the district. One of them is The Queen's Theatre. |
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Inside the Queen's Theatre! Neda has always wanted to see Les Misérables, which is one of her favorite plays. She's listened to the soundtrack a million times, seen the movie, and the play was set to come to Toronto in 2013, but we had already left on our trip by then. But now that we're in London...! Neda was super-stoked! This was high on her bucket list, it made me very happy to see her so excited. Les Mis was not actually #1 on her bucket list. She wanted to see the new Harry Potter play, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child". The grand opening was in London three months ago. She thought we'd just swoop into town, go online and pick up a couple of tickets. So I went online and checked. Sorry, Neda. There's an 18-month wait for tickets...! At least Les Mis has been running for 32 years (longest running play in the West End), much easier to get tickets for that! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0713-L.jpg Spilling out onto the streets of Piccadilly Circus after the show, we were both humming, "I dreamed a dream in times gone by..." So... many people have complained that in all the riding videos I've taken, looking through my windscreen is like looking through a glass of muddy water. A very thick glass. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2520-L.jpg Ta-DAH! My cousin's partner works at BMW and got me this new windscreen at cost. Thanks Martin! We said our final farewells to my family in London and headed out back on the road. |
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Trying to find the tickets for our Eurotunnel reservation to take us back under the English Channel https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2528-L.jpg Neda and I get separated on the train! The doors close between our bikes When we exit the train at Calais, France, we follow the line of vehicles out into the roadway. We have to drive on the right-hand-side now! Six months in SE Asia riding on the left, then three months in Eastern Europe on the right, after that, two months in the British Isles on the left, now we're back on the right... Ugh, our brains are so confused! |
It's only a couple of hours on the highway and we arrive at our next stop (No, not Arches National Park):
https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2532-L.jpg Visiting our very good friends, Thomas and Eva in Belgium! It's only been a year since they visited us in Thailand, but we've missed them so much! We're spending the weekend with them, and it's a good thing that we've been to Leuven a few times before, so there's no great need to go out sightseeing. Because all we want to do is relax, hang out and catch up with them. Every time we visit their place, their renovations come along a bit further. Eva shows us their new wall decoration: The National Parks of the US. They've fallen in love with the vast North American wilderness! Having been on the continent for the last couple of years, I can see why. It's so different than anything you can find in Europe. Thomas and Eva are vegetarians, so it was quite a change coming from our steady diet of saturated animal fats in the UK to super-healthy plant-material-food-stuff in Belgium. We also take some time to run some errands. We've been to Leuven so often that I have a favorite barber just down the street that I go to get my hair cut. Thomas decides to try out my barber as well, getting his beard professionally trimmed. He is so happy with the way it turned out, that he's going to go all the time now. Me, not so much because this time, they cut it a bit too short for my liking. :( All weekend long, Thomas, Eva and Neda poke fun at my too-short hair. Mainly the fact that I don't like my too-short hair. Because that's what friends are for. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2535-L.jpg Eva is learning how to play the ukulele! I pluck out a few notes on the couch One afternoon, Thomas and Eva leave us to attend a family birthday party. So they trusted us to look after their apartment while they were gone. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...uiet_day-L.jpg We PMed them while they were at the party. Thomas is not amused... Oh, it's so awesome to hang out with them again! |
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After a too-short weekend with our friends, two lone bikers exit a garage in Leuven, back out onto the European roadways Keep right. Keep right. Keep right. Winter is coming. So like single-celled organisms that respond to stimuli, we instinctively head south, away from the impending cold. But also because of White Walkers. Along the way we have another friend in Basel, Switzerland we want to visit, but since she has cats... we book into an AirBnB just 30 minutes away across the border just outside of a small town in France called Mulhouse. The AirBnB is run by a German couple. They have SIX KIDS! We found out that the reason they live in France is because they have decided to home-school their children, and back in Germany, home-schooling is illegal. So to escape prosecution (and persecution of sorts), they emigrated to Mulhouse, which is also right across the border from Germany as well, so they are not too far away from their friends and family back home. There's a certain stigma attached to home-schooling. The stereotype is that it raises socially awkward kids, not having been exposed to other children their own age. But living with this German family for a couple of days, I could see that this is not the case at all. This tiny community outside Mulhouse is actually a German exclave. All of the neighbours are Germans and they've also escaped to France to home-school their kids. Every day, all the neighbourhood kids get structured time together in the local playground down the street to socialize, like recess at school. It was all very methodical. The house is littered with books, the walls lined with educational posters. These parents take their children's schooling very seriously and I get the sense that they want their kids to have a better education than what the state would provide them. Socialization included. Every year, their kids would take a German standardized test to ensure that they met (and probably exceeded) the government guidelines. Our stay here has really opened my eyes up to home-schooling and erased a lot of my preconceptions. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2544-L.jpg And their kids are cute! Five girls, aged 3 to 9, and a little baby boy. I realized that the AirBnB is not just a business to help raise money. It's also further socialization for these little girls. When the mother found out that we were traveling the world, she asked if I would provide a geography lesson for the kids. I was delighted to, showing all the places we had been to on our laptop and showing them our pictures. And when I saw they had a piano in the living room, I gave the eldest daughter a short piano lesson! The girls found us very amusing. Initially, they would peep shyly around the corner and giggle when Neda was in the kitchen cooking, but by the second day, they were actively helping her make the meals, chattering away in German. Such a great experience! It was very educational for me, just to see a slice of the world that's normally hidden away. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2550-L.jpg When our AirBnB host saw our motorcycles, she suggested a great, twisty road nearby up in the mountains |
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Cows watch us on our day ride through the Grand Ballon mountains, 15 minutes outside of Mulhouse https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2563-L.jpg Switchback! Grand Ballon in French means a round-topped mountain. There's an observatory at the top of the summit of the Ballon. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0274-L.jpg We go for a short hike near the summit, you can see all the twisty roads below |
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I'm happy because it's a *short* hike https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0287-L.jpg The observatory looks like "Rover" from the TV Show "The Prisoner". LOL! I just found out it's actually not an observatory, it's an air-traffic control tower. The round globe looks like a Grand Balloon, which is what we initially thought the mountain was named for. It's a radar device used for air navigation. Very cool-looking. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0294-L.jpg Hiking around the Grand White Balloon Radar Station, view of the Alsace mountain range around us |
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And then back down the mountain. We have a date for this evening! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2573-L.jpg Sun is setting so early these days. It's not even 5PM! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0720-L.jpg Find a spot to park in downtown Mulhouse We're meeting up with our motorcycle friend, Colleen! She is riding up from Basel to see us. She is not only a motorcycle friend but she's also a cat-lady so although she's invited us many many times to stay with her, I unfortunately cannot. Because I would literally die. |
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Colleen found a great Alsatian restaurant in this French town. All of our good intentions about eating healthily go out the fenêtre. Om nom nom, so yummy! Alsatian Cuisine is basically a lot of pork, done up German style. It's so good to see her again. We've only met her a couple of times, but we've chatted with her so often online that we feel like we've known her for much longer. As a North American ex-pat living in Europe, it's so interesting hearing about her experiences because they sound like exactly like what we'd go through if we were to settle here after our trip. Which after having been in the UK for the last little while, is a *VERY* strong possibility. Maybe this Brexit thing will lower the £ enough that our Canadian dollar will actually be worth something... After dinner, we walk back outside to our bikes. "Where did you park, Colleen?", "Oh right beside your bikes!" There's a truck parked in front of all of our bikes, blocking them from view of the street. As we say our goodnights and goodbyes, I notice that the straps covering my toolbox on my passenger seat were undone. Strange. They must have come undone somewhere on our ride today. The next morning, as we were packing up to leave Mulhouse, I notice something else amiss on my bike: https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2579-L.jpg Someone had stolen my BMW roundels on both sides in Mulhouse last night while we were eating dinner F**KERS! We surmised that when the truck had parked in front of our bikes, they were hidden from view from the street and then some opportunistic vandals (probably drunks) had come by to steal stuff off our motorcycles. They were probably working on my toolbox when someone must have walked by and scared them off. I was pissed. It's obvious that they were just vandals and not stealing stuff because they needed the money. This will be so inconvenient to replace. Bah. Maybe I'll replace them with something else. Like the Transformers logo or something funny like that? Wonder if they sell those online... |
We're just motoring down the Autoroute in France, hightailing it to the southern coast of France.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2594-L.jpg Along the way, we stop at the Pilat Regional National Park to set up camp. Neda prepares for us a healthy lunch. Eating healthy starts right now! For real. Seriously. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2590-L.jpg Thomas and Eva gave us this waterproofing spray. Perhaps this will stop the leak in our tent. Crossing our fingers for the next time it rains... It's been an amazing six weeks of motorcycle touring in the British Isles, but it got a bit lonely with just the two of us. We're now seeking out all of our family and friends to fill our lacking social quota. And it's not over yet... |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/370.html
https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...L/map370-L.jpg Marseille is not the prettiest city in the French Riviera. Not by a long shot. Our impressions of it are from when we rode through it a couple of years ago, on our way to spend the winter in Barcelona. Although we tried to visit and see the nicer parts of the city, on the whole, I remember it being very grey and industrial. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2598-L.jpg Yes, I chose the crappiest, blurriest pic of us riding into Marseille to prove my point... We find some parking on a street island cluttered with motos and scooters, all chained to posts provided by the city. On the ground was a piece of a link of security chain (inset above), presumably cut by thieves. Super. I'm still pissed off that somebody stole my motorcycle badges yesterday. That broken chain link on the ground next to our parked bikes did not make me feel any happier that we were in Marseille. Really, we are in town for a couple of reasons: https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0369-L.jpg Yaw and Hélène from Seattle are now Yaw and Hélène, Nomadic Citizens of the World! Although we last saw them when we rode down the west coast of the US in Sept 2012, we've kept in close touch online. So many things have happened since then. 1) They're married now! and 2) They've sold their home and all their belongings and become full-time nomads! All the cool kids are going Nomadic! Next month, they'll be celebrating two years on the road! |
We were originally only going to stay a couple of nights here, just to catch up with them. They invited us to stay with them in their cool loft apartment, but shortly after arriving, the travel fatigue hit us in such a big way that I think we're going to find a longer-term apartment in town to relax. After all, we can't mooch *that* much off of Y&H, despite their protestations for us to stay with them a bit longer.
It was amazing to see them in person again. We almost got a chance to meet up with them last winter in Thailand. Unfortunately, we were in Chiang Mai and they had a stopover in Bangkok, so it didn't quite work out. We've kept up with their travels on social media and because they're not overlanding, they use this magical device called an aeroplane that teleports them from place to place, so they've gone out further and faster into the world than we have. Then again, you don't need an aeroplane to travel faster than us. Two feet and a pair of comfortable shoes will do just fine. We've actually chosen some of our restinations (rest+destination) purely on their reviews and recommendations. We've found that they have very similar tastes to us. They loved Medellin. We loved it too! They loved Chiang Mai. We loved it too. They love Marseille. Um... We love *most* of the same places. Marseille is not a pretty town. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...737110_o-L.jpg We found a place nearby! Checking out of Casa Yaw+Hélène. Picture by Yaw. So glad nobody's stolen our motorcycles. We've booked an AirBnB for an extra week to try to get over this travel fatigue. Any longer and the cold weather would catch up to us. At this point, we're just trying to stay a few steps ahead of Winter. Unlike us, Yaw and Hélène remained productive members of society, working while they are on the road. They're this new breed of location-independent workers called digital nomads, able to balance travel and work online at the same time. Oh, to be young, hip and smart. Fortunately, they find the time in their schedule to hang out with us. Unfortunately, it's to go hiking... https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0423-L.jpg We are hiking the Massif des Calanques, about a 45 minute bus ride outside of Marseille We actually did a very shortened version of this hike almost two years ago. It was a couple of months later in the season and back then, it was bitterly cold and windy. It's sunny and warm now. What a difference two months makes! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0321-L.jpg Some people go for a hike. Others are more hardcore. This hike was organized by the women. I discovered that Yaw and I have very similar views concerning hiking - neither of us likes it very much and we only tolerate it for our wives' sakes. I also discovered that Yaw and I similarly enjoy complaining about hiking. We like complaining about hiking before the hike (on the bus ride to the the Calanque) *and* during the hike. After this hike is over, I am looking forward to complaining with him about the hike we just did. It was like listening to myself! We reveled in complaining about hiking in stereo. It was glorious! Yaw's like my brother from another mother. And father... |
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Picture by Yaw's camera, which was sitting on a rock with the timer on https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0319-L.jpg The weather was beautiful, but so was the scenery, and the waters were so breathtakingly blue! Don't get me wrong. I still don't like hiking. The hiking got a bit strenuous. I found that to conserve my energy, I had to stop complaining about hiking and just focus on putting one foot in front of the other. Fortunately, when I stopped complaining about hiking, Yaw took over. So there was always one of us complaining about hiking. Just so the women knew that we were not enjoying all of this hiking. This tag-team complaining about hiking was really working out quite well. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0366-L.jpg Come sail away, come sail away, come SAAAAIL AWAY WITH ME! |
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I am in love with how deep turquoise the sea is You know, Marseille is still not a pretty place. But we're warming up to it a little bit. I've realized that it's not just the buildings and parks, the activities, food and the culture that determine whether a place is nice to visit or live in. It's the people you experience it with that make a place enjoyable. Also no hiking makes a place the best. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0466-L.jpg On another one of their breaks from work, Y&H invite us out to the Motorcycle Museum of Marseille Motorcycles are how we originally met. Yaw had stumbled upon our blog from years before our RTW trip and dropped me a line because both him and Hélène were fellow riders. And the rest is history! It takes a lot of time for me to go through all the pictures we've taken, edit them and write up our motorcycle experiences. But it's a labour of love and we're thankful that we have this record for us to remember and reminisce later on, because otherwise all of these moments would be lost with the passing of too much time. But the best thing I ever did was to make our blog public. We've met and befriended so many people through it. People from all over the world that off-handedly sign off their e-mails and PMs with, "... and if you're ever in the area..." Because now, we're in all of the areas. And we're going to hold each and everyone of you to all of your invitations! :D https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0777-L.jpg British motorcycle section... in France There was a section for old French-manufactured motorcycles as well. Not that large, but I was surprised there were so many. Most of them are not around any more though. |
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Old motorcycles dials and gauges, dusty and yellowed with time https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0444-L.jpg These tiny figurines remind me of a cartoon I used to read When I first started riding, I couldn't get enough of motorcycles. I rode all the time. And when I wasn't riding, I'd visit motorcycle forums to chat about riding and bikes. And I also used to buy so many motorcycling magazines. I had person-high stacks of them in the closet. I bought all the North American ones, and then voracious for more reading material, I also got into the British sportbike magazines. One of them, "Super Bike" used to reprint a French cartoon called Joe Bar Team: https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...URE_1027-L.jpg The French like to depict themselves with long protruding noses, like Gérard Depardieu... |
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We move onto the Italian motorcycle section. I *LOVE* Italian bikes. Especially the ones that look sexy and go fast... and break down all the time while looking sexy and not going fast nor moving under their own power any longer https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0480-L.jpg Please sir, I want some more Ducatis. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0734-L.jpg In the museum's courtyard there's a practice area for people learning how to ride motorcycles. They run a riding school here as well! Neda and I used to be motorcycle instructors. But in our school, we had nothing close to this elaborate setup. Man, these guys had painted lines, stop and yield signs. So professional! We had cones and pylons that we had to quickly toss down on an old crumbling, rented parking lot: "Okay, pretend this large red pylon is a stop sign. And pretend this small orange cone is the dotted line. And this other small orange cone is a yield line. And this other small orange cone is..." :( Despite that, teaching other people how to ride motorcycles was one of the best and most rewarding jobs we ever had. |
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Not the same outfit. Ferrari is a pretty popular name in Italy https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0767-L.jpg One of the museum's curators gives us a little explanation of some of the bikes on the floor It was entirely in French. Yaw and I nodded our heads pretending to understand. Neda didn't bother pretending at all. Hélène, who is French-Canadian, translated for us. But the curator would talk for two minutes and Hélène would summarize in just five words. Neda narrowed her eyes, suspicious that things were being omitted in the translation. But I've worked a lot in Quebec. The French are just very verbose. It's inherent in the language. Ever read a magazine article that's printed in both French and English? The same French article translated is 1.5x longer! In Canada, our labels on all food stuffs are printed in both English and French. The French side seems like there's double the ingredients and triple the calories in the same can! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...559275_o-L.jpg "Hey Neda! This French guy rode his motorcycle all over the world! We should totally do something like this!" Ah, someday. Someday... |
Speaking of which, we have an important decision to make: Where are we going to go now? Although we are in Marseille to visit Y&H, I've routed us to this port town at the very south of France because it's a hub for all the ferries heading out of Europe.
I want us to go to Tunisia! It's just directly south, across the Mediterranean Sea. Merely a brief ferry ride. Normally, Neda and I are pretty much in sync about destinations. We've had virtually no disagreements about our future directions. Until now. "I've read that there's been some terrorist activity lately in Tunisia. It might not be safe. We're both travel fatigued, and you remember how badly we did with all the hustlers in Morocco. Why on earth do you want to go Tunisia?" She asks me pointedly. "Um, Star Wars was filmed there." My reasoning seemed a lot more sound when it was only in my head... "Tunisia is Tatooine!" I think by now everyone knows that I choose our travel destinations based on TV shows and movies that I watched as a kid... "I don't know what a Tatooine is. Are you sure it's really worth it?" "Yes?" And so began negotiations. It is true that I am travel fatigued. It is true that there was a mass shooting on a tourist resort last summer. It is true that the UK government has banned all non-business travel to Tunisia (but we're in France!). It is true that I don't deal well with hustlers. All these things are true. But... Star Wars!!! Since Yaw is in town and he does a lot of business in Africa, we consult him on Tunisia. Unfortunately, he doesn't have much experience with that country. "So where do *you* want to go now?" I ask. "We've been on the road without a break for 8 months now. It's the longest stretch of travel we've undertaken since we started and frankly, I'm done. I want to go back to Thailand. We have motorcycles there. We know people there. I have activities to do there. It's warm there. I want to go back to Chiang Mai." oh. She was pretty adamant about this. And she made a more compelling argument than "Star Wars". So... ferry to Tunisia or ride straight to Croatia to drop off the BMWs and fly to Thailand for the winter. Those were our options. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2599-L.jpg The next morning: preparing to leave Marseille |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/371.html
https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...L/map371-L.jpg We depart from the ferry docks in Marseille early in the morning. It's going to be a long day on the waters as we head south. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2602-L.jpg On board the ferry, lashing the bikes to the railing in case of inclement weather https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2603-L.jpg Over 11 boring hours later, we arrive at our first southern destination: Corsica at night. We are dropped off at the north-east peninsula of the French island of Corsica. It's not that late in the evening, but it's already dark and we don't have a place to sleep. Before we docked, I had found a campsite just a couple of kms away from the ferry port. The night air is chilly on the short ride over. When we got there, the reception was closed, so we set up our tent at an empty site. The sites are pretty much all empty, save for a couple of RVs. Tourist season is long over, and there are no other tents on the campgrounds. We are the crazy ones, sleeping outside this late in the season. At least it doesn't rain, so we just shivered through the night, instead of shivering and swimming... Still not sure if Neda's water-proofing spray job on the tent is going to hold. Not sure I want to test it out either... |
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Sunshine greets us in the morning So does the ranger of the campsite. He pulls up to our tent in an electric golf cart while Neda is preparing breakfast. I exchange a few pleasantries with him en français and pay the camping fee and he drives away satisfied. The campsite is right on the shores of the peninsula, so after breakfast, we take a quick stroll around the area before we pack up the tent. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0789-L.jpg The beach beside the campsite is deserted. Only a few die-hard sun-seekers, no doubt escapees from colder climates like us https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2613-L.jpg From the beach, we are able to see the Citadel in the town of Bastia in the distance |
For the past couple of weeks, we've done a lot of commuting and hanging out with friends. But now, the weather is so nice in Corsica...
https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2610-L.jpg We just want to ride! Our route for the day is south. There are two main roads running down the length of the island, one through the middle and one on the east coast. We take neither, instead opting for the more smaller, less-traveled, but twistier mountain roads on the west side of Corsica. But first, to get there we must skirt the northern edge of the island. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2626-L.jpg We get amazing views of the coast as the road heads up into the northern mountain range https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0502-L.jpg The scenery is so beautiful, we just have to stop to take some pictures |
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The road re-joins the coast and we stop at a pretty town called L'Île-Rousse https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0514-L.jpg Taking a walk on the deserted boardwalk. The sandy beaches in the distance, so popular during high season, are completely empty https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0504-L.jpg We head into the centre of town to grab some lunch |
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Lots of nice little bistros and cafes line the main square https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0513-L.jpg The hills of northern Corsica are beckoning to us: forget about the towns, come back to the road! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...SC_0522-XL.jpg One last picture before we head back to the bikes |
We're basically following one road, the D81, as it winds across pretty coastal towns and up through the mountains. It's funny that the road we're on is listed as one the Most Dangerous Roads in Europe. In fact, most of the fun, twisty mountain roads that we've ridden on are on that list. If you ever want to find a great motorcycle road, just Google "Most Dangerous Roads" in whatever area you're interested in.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...map271_2-L.jpg Check it out: Twisties Heaven! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2668-L.jpg Ooooh, a switchback! Soooo dangerous!!! We're now headed south through the Monte Cinto mountain range. The turns get tighter and twistier and we are loving it. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2682-L.jpg D81 snakes through the mountains and the vegetation threatens to close in on us |
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As we head further south, we notice that the rocks have changed in colour, from greyish-white to a more brownish-reddish hue https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2686-L.jpg At times, D81 moves from the mountains to the shoreline and we're treated to more magnificent coastal views from high atop https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2712-L.jpg But we still have to keep our eyes on the road, because it's twisty! Yay! |
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Man, look at the mountains all around us. Beautiful! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...IMG_6822-L.jpg We *have* to stop for another scenic break https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...SCN2718-XL.jpg The rocks here have turned a more orangey-reddish hue! |
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Back on the yellow, er red brick road What a great day of riding! With gorgeous views and amazing, curvy roads. We checked into a really nice hotel in Porticcio, which is half-way down the west coast of Corsica. The island is small, only 200 kms from top to bottom, but we spent the entire day just doing half that distance and had a great time enjoying the ride. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0591-L.jpg Our place in Porticcio! And cheap too, because it's low season Being here at this time reminds me of riding through the Algarve in Southern Portugal during their low season a couple of years ago. We're able to stay in some really nice hotels for around $40/night. Good deal. We're only booked here for one night. The next morning, I asked Neda if she was ready to hit the road. She shook head. Yeah, neither was I. I walked downstairs to reception and paid for another night in our resort-hotel. So funny! As soon as we find someplace nice and warm, all forward motion ceases and we're at a standstill again. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...SC_0596-XL.jpg Are we ever going to leave Corsica? Not sure... |
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https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...L/map372-L.jpg The day starts off all sunny and lazy. I turn to Neda in bed and ask, "Are you ready to hit the road today?" "No, not really", came the sheepish reply. "Okay, I'll go book us another night". I pull on some pants and get ready to go downstairs to reception. "Wait, wait. We should go. We can't stay here forever." Yep. We have an endpoint in sight and this isn't it. We know we want to end up in Thailand for the winter. Neda wants to go right now, but I'm feeling like there's still a bit more warm weather left in this part of the world, and I'm trying to squeeze every little bit out of it before we leave. Despite the fact that these days we're dragging our feet every morning to climb back onto the motorcycles... Soooo tired. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2738-L.jpg Bikes are packed once again and we're ready to continue... with maybe a little bit of reluctance https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2739-L.jpg We stop to gas up before leaving Porticcio. This guy wanted a fill-up as well... |
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The road leads us away from the coast and into the mountains of Corse-Du-Sud (Southern Department of Corsica) The rocks here aren't as orangey-red as yesterday, but the road is still entertaining enough as it winds through the mountains. As we round one of the corners, we're greeted with a cloud of smoke. Is there some kind of forest fire up ahead? We come up fast behind this car, billowing smoke behind it. The driver seems oblivious to the thick haze he's leaving in his wake. I think his engine's on fire! I pull up beside the car and start honking my horn, pointing to the front of his car. He doesn't know what I'm gesticulating at. I then point at the smoke screen behind us and he glances at his rear view mirror (probably for the very first time) and then he gets it. We pull over, but he doesn't seem to know what to do. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2744-L.jpg I ask him to pop the hood. No fire, so obviously a coolant leak somewhere. Between the two of us, we have a little bit of water to fill the reservoir He's lost a lot of coolant, so I try to explain in my broken French that he needs to top it up as soon as possible. "Oui! Oui!" I'm still not sure he understood as we waved goodbye to him at the side of the road, waiting for his engine to cool down. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0602-L.jpg There's a break in the mountains where we can see the coast below, so we stop for a scenic peek. Other motorists stop for peek at our bikes. |
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Ah, the orange rocks are back again https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2748-L.jpg More twisty roads in Southern Corsica It only takes us a couple more hours to arrive at the southern tip of the island. We enter the town of Bonifacio and are greeted by the tall walls of its citadel, made out of that same rock that we've ridden through in the last couple of days. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0610-L.jpg Parking the bikes to do some exploring. The palm trees are so very Mediterranean! |
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Old Medieval buildings line the shores of the harbour, and you can see the citadel overlooking the waters https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2755-L.jpg After walking around the marina, we hopped back onto the bikes and rode right up into the citadel Free motorcycle parking inside the citadel! I love Europe! Riding all over town beats hiking all over town... https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0615-L.jpg We walk around the top of the walls, looking down into the town and the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. |
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Sailboats floating around the Bay of Bonifacio https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0620-L.jpg Walking past the citadel church towards one of the old fort towers on the wall https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0618-L.jpg Monument of the Foreign Legion - This is a monument to the French soldiers who died fighting the war in Algeria in 1870 The terra cotta roofs of the surrounding buildings are another reminder that we're in the Mediterranean. Neda says it reminds her of the buildings along the Dalmatian coast in Croatia. We looked for an amphitheater all over town, but none to be found. No matter, it wouldn't have been as nice as the one in Pula, anyway... |
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Limestone cliffs are a famous feature of Corsica. At the bottom of the cliffs are caves that can only be explored by boat We walk down into the old city of Bonifacio. The narrow cobblestone streets that see so many tourists during the summer, now mutely echo our lone footsteps as we wander around the deserted town. Some of the shops display the Corsican flag, the profile of a black head with a white bandana over the forehead. This symbol is called "La Testa di Moru" (The Moor's Head) and is the symbol for freedom, because originally the bandana was covering the eyes, like a blindfold. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...SC_0638-XL.jpg "Treat yo'self!" A rare occasion where we splurge for a nice seafood meal! I've been doing quite well, surviving on a diet of sandwiches and camp-cooked meals for the last few days. There's still some post-UK weight I'm holding onto around the waist, but that doesn't stop us from treating ourselves once in a while! :) https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0645-L.jpg After lunch, riding past the walls of the city |
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We are on our way out of Corsica, heading to the ferry docks in Bonifacio https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2769-L.jpg In line, waiting for the ferry https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2775-L.jpg Our journey south continues! |
Not sure where you are right now, but merry Christmas to you both and thank you for continuing to share your journey with us.
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https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...L/map373-L.jpg Corsica and Sardinia, two islands separated by the narrowest of gaps: just the 11 km wide Strait of Bonifacio. So strange that Corsica is part of France and Sardinia is in Italy. Corsica was originally Italian as well, but was signed over to the French as part of a debt repayment agreement between the two governments. This little piece of historical trivia would take on more significance as we traveled further south through Corsica's twin sister. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0648-L.jpg It takes us no time to hop from Corsica to Sardinia. And we don't get very far on this new island. Santa Teresa Gallura is the town right at the ferry dock Since it's getting late in the day, we're going to stay here for the evening and then venture further south first thing in the morning. We haven't been here very long, but we're noticing a lot of differences between Corisca and Sardinia. The buildings in this port town seem a little run-down, and the roads and pavements don't seem as well maintained as the French island that we just left. It may just be because it's a port town... don't know yet. Another big change is Neda's mood. For the last three weeks, we've been slowly making our way through France and she doesn't speak the language at all. Being so multi-lingual, Neda is used to understanding and communicating effortlessly with everyone around her. But not in French. For the past few weeks, she's had to rely on my Grade-9-Quebecois-tinged Franglais to get the both of us by. Quite the role reversal. Because normally I'm the one standing around not able to understand or talk to anybody - which I'm totally used to, since that's how I've spent pretty much the last half decade of my life... But she hates it. Now that we're in Italy, she takes over the reins con gusto (ugh, mixing up my languages here)... con piacere? *shrug* Back to being deaf and dumb for me... |
We check into our AirBnB room near the beaches, it's in a very quaint and homey guest house. The lady who runs it is an old Italian nonna and she's delighted that Neda speaks Italian! She must get a lot of English and French tourists coming through. She natters away merrily to Neda, treating her like a long-lost grand-daughter, explaining where all amenities are, things to see and do around Santa Teresa.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0659-L.jpg The only thing we have time for before sunset is a quick stroll along the nearby beach Just like Corsica, the sands here are devoid of sun-seeking tourists. A few die-hard souls brave the waters - I suspect they are locals - as a cold breeze whips off the coast. It's definitely sweater - not swimsuit - weather. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0652-L.jpg Watching the waves smash against the rocks just off the coast https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0662-L.jpg Despite it not being beach weather, it's still quite pretty and we're very much enjoying having the place to ourselves |
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The sun sets behind the hills overlooking our neighbourhood in Santa Teresa https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0669-L.jpg Longosardo Tower overlooking the beaches of Santa Teresa These islands have changed hands many times. Before the Italians ruled Sardinia, the Spanish were here and built fortifications and towers along the coast to defend against pirates and other sea attacks. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0672-L.jpg Avant-garde sculpture of the Virgin Mary at sunset |
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We walk to the old town square to score us some fall weather snacks - ice cream! Wile we were walking past the ice cream store, Neda spotted a pale blue-coloured flavour. When she inquired about what that was, the server replied, "Mirto". "Oh, Mirto! We have those plants in Croatia, it's Mirta! I never knew you could eat the berries that grew on those bushes. I'll have to try it!" Being uni-lingual, I had to Google what Mirto/Mirta is. It's Myrtle. The berries are blue and are used to make liqueur on both of the islands. And apparently they use it to make ice cream here, which seems to be a uniquely Sardinian thing. Neda says Mirto/Mirta/Myrtle berries are very Mediterranean and remind her of home. What with all the familiar language and foods, she is loving being back in the Nedaterranean. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2783-L.jpg The next morning, we're all packed up and ready to explore the rest of Sardinia. But first, we feed the local dogs! This guy was so shy. He wouldn't take the snack from my hand, and I had to leave it on the road and back away for him to pick it up. I think he's been bullied a lot by the local kids and is now wary of all people. Sad. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2798-L.jpg Off we go! |
The road south-west from Santa Teresa shoots inland and we're treated to the typical curvy mountain roads in the northern region of Gallura, just like the ones in Corsica.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2812-L.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2818-L.jpg The windy road takes us through some small Italian towns. This is the Commune di Nulvi, just outside of Sassari Sa Essida de sos candhaleris ("The exit of the candlesticks") is an annual Catholic ceremony where three huge candlestick holders are walked through the streets of Nulvi to the parish church. It seems to be quite a huge celebration that draws a lot of people from all over to this tiny village. It's held every August 14th, so we've missed it. That's a shame, it looks quite interesting to see in person. All the buildings we've seen in Sardinia have been given fresh coats of pastel colours, but it can't hide the fact they haven't been renovated in a while. We've seen enough of the small towns here to draw a conclusion that France is definitely richer than Italy. There's noticeably more funding in Corsica for buildings and roadways than in Sardinia. |
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How do you pronounce windy? We race down windy roads with huge windmill farms taking advantage of the windy climate. English is funny. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2824-L.jpg How do you pronounce lamb? Like this: "om nom nom" https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2830-L.jpg Up ahead, the town of Osilo is perched on the side of a hill. The square medieval tower of the Castello Malspina rises up above the town https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2833-L.jpg Getting lost in the cobblestone streets of Osilo |
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Between Osilo and Sassari, the road climbs to give us a great view of the plains and valleys below. That's the windy road we just took! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0820-L.jpg Sassari is the biggest city in the region. We get off the bikes to walk around the old historical centre and to grab a quick bite to eat for lunch https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0821-L.jpg More narrow cobblestone streets in Sassari, clothes hanging out to dry |
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Government buildings at the Piazza d'Italia (main city square) https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0825-L.jpg Sassari is a lot prettier than the smaller towns we've visited. More tourist dollars pour in here. Then after lunch, we hopped back on the bikes to take a quick 45-minute ride from Sassari to the Stintino peninsula in the north, which we've heard was one of the top tourist spots in Sardinia. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0690-L.jpg Rocky coast, sandy beaches and wind-swept trees at the Spiaggia La Pelosa (Pelosa Beach) in Stintino |
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Fisherman in front of another defensive tower - Torre della Pelosa https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0693-L.jpg Walkway to the beach https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...SC_0699-XL.jpg This couple is dressed appropriately for the weather |
Looking out into the waters surrounding us, I've realized that a pattern has emerged from the places we've visited over the last 7 months of travel:
Koh Samui, Koh Phangun, Koh Lanta, Penang, Singapore, Phuket, Brac, Hvar, Santorini, England, Isle of Skye, Isle of Man, Ireland, Corsica, Sardinia. We've taken so many ferries and ridden over a lot of bridges, we've now got quite an Island Hopping theme going! What other islands can we ride? https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0701-L.jpg Damn. Why am I so tired all the time?!?! |
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Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/374.html
https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...L/map374-L.jpg After our beach visit in Stintino, we ride into the city of Alghero, about an hour away, to settle in for the evening. We found a room available in an apartment online on Booking.com. Although it looked very basic, it was affordable and I suspect it would normally be out of our price range were it the height of tourist season. When we arrived in the city centre, we couldn't find the exact address of our place. Neda had to stop and ask passerbys for directions. So thankful she speaks Italian! A younger, college-aged girl was extremely helpful and offered to walk us to the apartment, which just so happened to be around the corner. Neda went to check in and I stayed with the bikes. I've been on point on communications duty for the both of us for the last while, and it felt good to just relax for a change. I'm so freakin' tired these days. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2838-L.jpg Our place for the night in Alghero As we unpacked our bikes to bring all the bags inside, we became quite the objects of curiousity as old Italian nonnas on their evening stroll around the neighbourhood stopped to stare at us with interest. "Ciao!", I waved to them, speaking one of the only six Italian words I know. They smiled and nodded shyly and moved on. I don't think we were the curiousity. I think *I* was... :D Once inside the apartment, we found out that we were the only ones booked there, despite there being three rooms in total. We had the whole place to ourselves. Score! I love traveling in the off-season! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2840-L.jpg The next morning, we set off further south, hugging the coast out of Alghero |
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It's a wonderful ride, the sun is shining on the twisty tarmac below our wheels, great view of the sea to our right, dramatic mountains on our left! The coastal road turns up into the mountains and we stop for a break at a scenic turnout. A friendly stray dog comes bounding up to greet us. He seems very socialized to people. Perhaps someone's former pet? Or perhaps he can smell the doggy treats in Neda's tankbag? https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...SCN2860-XL.jpg "Awww... who's a good boy? Yes! You're a good boy! You're sooooo good!" Besides riding around the world, I believe it's now our unofficial mission to feed all the stray dogs around the world. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0704-L.jpg The Goodest Boy |
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I'm a good boy too, Neda. Take a picture of meeeeee! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2865-L.jpg Back on the road to do more mountain twisties https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2874-L.jpg The route descends back to the coast as we come up to the next major city on our way south |
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Oristano. Very pretty, but we don't spend much time here. We're feeling a little bit tired. I think we're going to call it a day and stop somewhere around here. Yes, I know. We've only gone about 120 kms today and we're already done. Ride for a couple of hours, rest for a couple of days. This travel fatigue is kind of getting out of hand... So we tried to book a place in Oristano for the evening, but we can't find the same deal we got in Alghero. Too expensive. Instead, we ride about 20 minutes outside of town to stay on a farm just outside the town of Marrubiu. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2883-L.jpg The couple that owns the farm has a couple of guest suites on site that they rent out to tourists Surrounded by all this nature, it turned out to be a much more picturesque place to stay than in the city. We just had to ride a bit into the neighbouring town to grab some groceries, since there was absolutely nothing around us. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...SCN2881-XL.jpg Preparing to leave the next morning... is it my imagination or is it getting warmer? Sardinia is not that big, only slightly larger than Corsica at 260 kms lengthwise. So I'm not sure if this warmer weather is the result of us moving further south in latitude or just the daily temperature fluctuations. But we don't complain, as we ride out of the farm into the brilliant, sunny day without any sweater or any base layers on underneath our mesh motorcycle jackets. I can't remember the last time it was this warm! Not a cloud in the sky and there's mid-20s on the forecast for today. Nice! |
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Today we are going to try to hug the western coast as much as possible, all the way until the edge of the land curves from south to east https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0733-L.jpg Somewhere near the southern shores, we spy this fantastic beach from the road I'm not really sure where we are, we're just exploring all the little roads that follow the shoreline. Later on I try to retrace our route on the map. I believe this is Capo Pecora. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0747-L.jpg We want to get as close to the water as possible. Trying to find a way down to the beach |
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Good a place to park as any https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0782-L.jpg Grabbing our swimsuits and towels and heading towards the inviting, crystal blue waters https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0728-L.jpg Neda is scouting around for a place to lay our towels down |
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Kicking off our boots and soaking up some much-needed sun and warmth https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0800-L.jpg Thinking about staying here forever https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0797-L.jpg Swimming around all the little pools inside the rocky shoreline. Despite the warm weather, the water is FREEZING COLD! |
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Moto-freedom I think this epitomizes what we love most about riding motorcycles around the world. Just wandering around with everything you need and own on the back of your bike. No schedule... if you see something interesting, just pull over and take all the time you want to explore without rushing to meet some kind of deadline. It culd be a monument or a vibrant, major metropolitan city. Or it could just be a pretty, deserted beach out in the middle of nowhere. The world truly feels like our oyster. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2901-L.jpg Continuing our shoreline trek, lots of empty sandy beaches around but no tourists https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2902-L.jpg |
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The road winds high above the cliffs of the southern shores and we get some breathtaking views over the barrier Here's a video recap of the roads around Corsica & Sardinia. Enjoy! |
We arrive at the southern end of Sardinia, near the port town of Cagliari.
Exhausted. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0827-L.jpg Relaxing in Quartucci, at the very end of Sardinia We've booked a couple of nights at a really nice guest house in the suburb of Quartucci, cheaper than staying right downtown near the ferry. Which means it's decision-time, once again. We never really resolved our "discussion" in Marseille. I wanted to go to Tunisia. Neda wanted to drop the bikes off in Croatia and fly to Thailand. I admit that the Corsica -> Sardinia side-trip was a trick to get Neda to eventually come around to crossing over to Northern Africa. I told her, "Let's just traverse the islands, it'll be sunny and lazy and we can take our time. We'll ride down the western side of the islands, and when we get to the tip of Sardinia, if you don't want to go to Tunisia, we'll just come back up the eastern side of the islands and go straight to Pula." Come on, I can't be the only guy to ever beg a girl: "Just the tip"... https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2918-L.jpg Hey, there's a Pula in Sardinia! Who knew... Well, here we are at the tip. And I'm friggin' exhausted. I can't continue riding into Tunisia, let alone back up Sardinia and Corsica again. I just want to catch a ferry straight to Croatia right now, dump the bikes and lie on a beach forever in Thailand. Neda smirks knowingly. She knew I'd run out of energy. My little "Just the tip" scheme backfired spectacularly. Europe is done. |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/375.html
https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...map375_1-L.jpg We're too tired to even ride back up through the mountains on the east coasts of Sardinia and Corsica. Now that we've decided to leave Europe, we find ourselves in a great rush to get the heck outta here. Since we've both agreed not to venture any further south, the ferry at Cagliari is useless to us. The only boat back to mainland Europe leaves from Olbia, 275 kms away on the northeastern corner of Sardinia. We don't even think about it. The next morning we jump directly on the highway and within hours we're checking in at the ferry that will take us away from the islands. It took us four whole days to wander down Sardinia and now that we're on a mission... three hours to come back up! No pictures of the boring highway ride back. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2920-L.jpg But here's one of the ferry back to mainland Italy https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2923-L.jpg Ten hours later, we're spit out onto the shores of Genoa. From here, we're planning on heading east back to Croatia to dump the bikes and fly to Thailand. |
Neda had a thought. Since we're going to be passing through Cinque Terre on the way to Pula, why not drop in and see the famous Italian Riviera? It's on the way...
Sure. Why not? https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0833-L.jpg Beautiful southern shores of Italy As the name Cinque Terre suggests, this part of the Italian Riviera is comprised of five towns. Although the towns are all within 20 kms of each other, it's still too much to see in a single day, so we're going to set up a base at a campsite on the west end, in a town called Sestri Levante. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2931-L.jpg Riding out to our campsite. This whole area reminds us of the Amalfi Coast, further south on the boot of Italy. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2935-L.jpg Our HQ for the next couple of days We had actually wanted to visit Cinque Terre when we first landed in Europe back in 2014, but when we got close, Northern Italy experienced severe flooding, so we skipped the Italian Riviera. This part of Italy frequently gets flooded. The worst one was back in 2011, nine people were killed and there was extensive damage to several of the villages. |
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Heavy rains in the spring of this year led to extensive landslides which closed down several hiking trails and roads. Several months later, the roads still haven't reopened. This means that we have to take the main highway all the way east to La Spezia and then double back to visit the villages of Cinque Terre. This is unfortunate. There's a system of narrow, twisty roads that connect all the villages, and it runs along the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean Sea! :( https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2939-L.jpg Routing through the city of La Spezia https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2947-L.jpg La Spezia is pretty, but it's not one of the old villages of Cinque Terre |
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We make it to our first Cinque Terre town: Monterosso al Mare Wonderful pastel-colored buildings line the pedestrian streets. It's definitely off-season, but there are still a lot of tourists enjoying the Riviera's warm, late-fall weather. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0842-L.jpg I found out that the buildings were only painted these pastel colours in the 1970s https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0844-L.jpg |
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The medieval buildings here remind me of when we visited the mock-Italian villa of Portmeirion in Wales Now *this* is what the real Italian Riviera looks like! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...SC_0885-XL.jpg We continue strolling west past the town's centre to the beach on the other side. Of the five villages of Cinque Terre, Monterosso is the only one that has a sandy beach. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0867-L.jpg There's a huge rock just off the coast that everybody climbs However, they warn people not to get stuck on the rock when the tide comes in. Or you'll get stranded and have to swim back to shore! It's not that far a swim... |
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Monterosso al Mare's sandy beach. It must be packed in the summertime! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0857-L.jpg Looking over the colorful beach blankets the vendors have laid out on the sand It's so pretty and scenic here. Not too many people and the weather is warm and sunny. But still... it seems like we're just not enjoying it fully. Like we're just putting one foot in front of the other. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...SC_0882-XL.jpg Aurora Tower - they say that this is the marker that separates the old town (where we were earlier) with the newer part (the beach) |
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Back to HQ It looks like we're only managing to see one town a day. At this rate, we'll be here all week. Not sure I can handle that... https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0863-L.jpg The next day, we visit the second of five towns: Riomaggiore https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0868-L.jpg The single pedestrian road through town leads to a dead end at the waterfront |
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The classic Cinque Terre shot Riomaggiore is the perfect example of the Cinque Terre cascading buildings perched on the cliff, crowding each other to the very edge of the water like lemmings driving each other over the edge. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0893-L.jpg Rowmaggiore https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...SC_0898-XL.jpg The rocks in the small harbour in Riomaggiore are a popular place for photo shoots |
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All these boats are for tourists. The only real fishing village out of the five towns is/was Monterosso https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0883-L.jpg The entire village rests on these rocks, you can walk around the base underneath Well, that's two villages down. Three more to go! We head back to our campsite and the skies darken considerably. Uh oh. Looks like rain! And rain it did. All night and into the morning. Neda's waterproofing spray job failed to plug the leak in our roof and we were once again swimming inside our tent in the darkness. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2949-L.jpg Drying everything In the morning, we shook the water out of our shelter. I think the tent is done. And so are we. We're tired and miserable and we just found out the place we called home for the last half decade will have to be binned. :( I don't know why we keep shuffling our feet on our way out of Europe. Well actually, I do know why. And it's the same reason why we travel so slowly. We have a bad case of Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO). Everywhere we go, we feel like we may never come back again, so we want to see and do everything. Which means not only do we end up staying a long time in each place, we completely fatigue ourselves out in the process. We should have just skipped Cinque Terre, but once again... FOMO strikes again. Two out of Five is good enough. We're outta here. |
What a great description "FOMO"....I have a friend who used to have that with everything. He had a bit of a near death experience involving a pizza delivery van and a well smashed pelvis etc. (and they say cycling is good for you) after that he decided to live every minute ! He had me running from one place to another at a film fest so we didn't miss a single film over the whole week end !!He's chilled back a bit now thanks to a new love I think, but if he starts again I'll tell him he's got "FOMO"..:laugh::laugh:
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Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/376.html
https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...L/map376-L.jpg We've been on the road for a very long time. And for all that time, we really haven't covered a lot of ground when we look at where we've been on the atlas. As mentioned in the last blog post, part of the reason behind our slow travel is that once we're in a new place, country or continent, we want to explore *every single nook and cranny*. We're just not happy with the highlights. Most places we've departed from, either because of family emergencies, visa restrictions or cold weather, there's always a lingering sense of regret that there were still things we left undiscovered. There's only been a couple of places that we truly feel we did justice: Five months in Colombia left us satisfied, two rounds around Central America and we were good to continue on. And now, after two years in Europe... I think we've poked around quite a lot of it - from North to South (Nordkapp to the French Riviera), West to East (British Isles to behind the Iron Curtain) - we're leaving on our terms, without even a twinge of FOMO. But before we go, we want to make a just a couple more social calls. First stop: Milan. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0921-L.jpg Rest and relaxation in Milan Since we're not sure when we're going to be returning to Europe, we're staying in town for a couple of weeks to spend as much time as possible with Neda's sister and her family. Goga organizes a hike one day. This is the perfect opportunity for me to get caught up with the blog, so I bow out gracefully... :) When they all got back, I found some fantastic pictures on the camera that Neda took of their hike! Check them out: https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0061-L.jpg Family portrait: Goga, Tea and Mladen |
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Val di Mello is in the Italian Alps, a couple of hours north of Milan, near the Swiss border https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0025-L.jpg The area is world-famous for rock climbing, the sheer granite walls climbing high above the valley https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0055-L.jpg But it's also great for hiking. Not that I would know... I'm just captioning Neda's great photos. |
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Still water in Val di Mello https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0066-L.jpg Reflecting on the beautiful scenery around them https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_5715-L.jpg Neda bonding with her niece |
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Water is still as glass! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0092-L.jpg North, South, East and West. The rooster knows where we've been... https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...SC_5702-XL.jpg Sestras! |
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Tea is sharing her pictures of the day with her very proud Aunt Neda Although we've spent the last couple of years traveling all over this continent, we're never too far away that we can't ride back to Milan to visit the family every 3-4 months. Even in that short a time-frame, we've seen Tea grow so much in between visits. After we leave, we're not sure when the next time we'll see her. :( https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0929-L.jpg Tea just joined a basketball team! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0950-L.jpg Attending one of her league games. The family drives her all over the city to play against other teams. So much fun cheering her on. Now I know how the soccer moms and hockey dads feel! |
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Later on in the week, we take a road trip to Como, about an hour outside of Milan https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2973-L.jpg Como is the halfway point between Milan and Lugano, where Bettina is riding down from to meet us! We haven't seen her since the BMW Enduro Course in Germany. That was over a year ago! She told us that she enjoyed the course so much that she's been back twice ever since! Hardcore! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...SCN2966-XL.jpg We had lunch with Bettina and walked around Como a bit, catching up on each other's lives |
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And also sharing some ice cream! So good to see her again! The last couple of years in Europe have been so social because we have so many friends and family on this continent. It's been a delight doing a bit of touring, then resting and hanging out with people we know, then going back to touring again. Hopefully the next place we go, we can also make new friends to hang out with between moto-touring. I'm sure it will happen! :D https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN2981-L.jpg On the way back from Como, it rains on us. Of course. Europe had to give us one last proper wet sendoff before we leave. After a very relaxing couple of weeks in Milan, we rode over to Croatia to put the bikes away. |
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Did some last minute maintenance: a good cleaning, changed the oil and filter, poured some fuel stabilizer in the gas tank. Neda's family in Pula has let us store our bikes in their garage again. As we closed the door on the garage, we gazed upon our motorcycles one last time. There's a heaviness in the air because both of us sense that we may not see our motorcycles again for a very long time. There's a lot unspoken between Neda and I during the last few weeks. Even with our FOMO, we know we've thoroughly explored Europe to our satisfaction, so we've both acknowledged that this leg of our journey is over. But what's been left unsaid is how we feel about continuing the trip after our winter break in Thailand... This is the worst travel fatigue we've felt. Ever. We're not excited about motorcycle travel at all. Although we never know *exactly* where we are going to go, we've *always* had some ideas before; a few destinations in mind that we usually make a decision on at the last minute. This time - nothing. Nada. The only option we've actually discussed is returning back to Toronto when it becomes too hot to stay in Thailand. Maybe for good. We've been traveling for close to nine months now, non-stop. It's the longest stretch of riding we've ever done without some kind of a long break. In hindsight, I think it was a mistake to have gone so long without a rest. I think it's ended the trip for us. |
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We took an early morning bus from Pula to Zagreb, to get to the international airport. On the ride over the mountains.... SNOW!!! What a strange sight! We've spent so many seasons chasing the endless summer back and forth across the equator that it feels like we're seeing the white stuff for the very first time! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN3002-L.jpg The bus stops for a snack break and we find ourselves frolicking in this winter wonderland! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...IMG_6856-L.jpg Ok, the snow is nice and all, but we're headed for sunshine now. Ciao! |
Quote:
YOLO! You Only Live Once! |
> This time - nothing. Nada. The only option we've actually discussed is returning back to Toronto when it becomes too hot to stay in Thailand.
If you're taking votes, my vote is NZ and Oz. |
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