I broke the journey between Toledo and Bilbao by staying once again at the minicipal campsite in Burgos, and woke up to a cold morning, but sunshine eventually breaking through. The route to Bilbao went through beautiful orange, yellow and some green patchwork plateaus unfolding in the distance, and the mountainous, green countryside of the Parque Natural de Gorbeia.
My short visit found Bilbao to be an interesting city – geographically condensed into both sides of a steep-sided estuary valley, some 20km from the port, with the countryside ‘right there’. I did two bike-exploring trips from the private campervan stop high-up above the city, and found contemporary riverside areas and buildings, including the Guggenheim musem, next to the old quarter. Visiting the museum will have to wait for another trip. But I was again feeling jaded and in effect ready to down exploring tools, so I just enjoyed the views from the pitch, still sunny and warm. My dutch neighbours had travelled into Spain from France due to the days of rain they’d experienced with no change forecast. We were very fortunate to have the good weather we experienced, particularly in Galicia, with the days prior to our time there very rainy, and then in the week after I travelled back to Seville
The ferry journey from Bilbao to Portsmouth was the best I’ve enjoyed – a really comfortable ‘shiny’ ship ‘Salamanca’ – everything looks and feels new and my 4-berth cabin, which was the only type remaining to book, was luxury – even a TV with british mainstream channels, and film viewing. Some 29 hours of enforced doing nothing other than blissful reading, while the sea was flat – leaving in the sunshine, and skirting the Isle of Wight in some sunshine, some 28 hours later.
I feel it has been a more ‘out of comfort zone’ August & September this year but I know I am very fortunate to have all the means necessary to be able to undertake this travel and different activities. Spain has certainly put on a show. It’s a massive, varied country, landscape-wise, with a fantastic road infrastructure. My van has been a great drive and haven once again. Consistently, with few exceptions, I have found people to be courteous and helpful whether that’s on the roads as a cyclist or pedestrian or in the cafes, restaurants, campsites and hotels. My tech has helped with video calling, and the purchase of a new phone and kindle this year has been worthwhile for reliable battery life particularly for navigation, storage for photos and videos and getting into reading some great fiction again.
I have had pleasant, albeit too short conversations this trip with campsite neighbours, with help offered to solve my leaking water tank outlet, or put air in the van’s tyres from the supportive motorhome/van community.
This group of young Italians were very happy for me to put the photo on my blog – they had flown to Malaga, hired a VW, and were touring round, all five of them sleeping in the van, before returning it to the city and flying back to Italy. I love the positivity, enthusiasm and ‘can do’ captured here.
Travelling solo, I feel I am always on a camino in terms of reflecting as I go on my life, past, present & future, and the world in which it finds itself. I continue to be aware of and thankful for my life’s relative good fortune including good health and my fantastic family. I know that my long-distance cycling bucket-list item would most likely not have happened without the invitation and support of very good friends.
The planet and humanity, though, it has seemed to me for a long time, are not in a good place. As a ‘little person’ I can do very little but hope that the current social media-led, history-forgetting, lemming-like misplaced trajectory towards the cult, narcissistic, gangster leadership!! of ‘strong men’, whether political or oligarchs, will ultimately be seen for what it is without the impact of their non-accountable power grab, and in increasing cases horrendous crimes, spreading further. Where is the voice of the female 50% of the world’s population in what we see unfolding? May Kamala Harris break through in November as Obama and Biden managed to do against the toxic tide.