CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO DIGITALNOMAD HOMEPAGE

Click here to go to Travel Notes Table of Contents

21OCT-11NOV2004 I had a good feeling when I arrived in Spain.  Gasoline was 20% cheaper, cigarettes were half the price of France and the sun was shining.   

I found a little town called Tossa de Mer and checked into a very nice hotel with internet, a jacuzzi, and a very nice room at a good price.  The beach is nice and the restaurant next to the beach served a really good seafood paella with wine and dessert for what I would have paid for a Big Mac Meal in France.   

I enjoyed touring the castle and sitting in the sun on the beach for three days then headed south for Barcelona.  I saw Gaudi´s cathedral and did some people watching on La Rambla.  Then after a considerable search for the right road headed south down the coast of Spain.

The roads were reasonably well marked outside of the big cities and some had spectacular ocean views.  The mountains are dry and parched like the southwest of America and so I felt at home.  

I continued south trying to stay ahead of the cool weather.  I found a deserted beach and pitched my tent under a palm tree.  It was the most scenic camping spot of the trip.  

Mostly I stayed at hostals (the secret word for cheap Spanish hotels).  By eating the menu del dia I managed to get some great meals and some not so great meals.  But, the meal usually included a bottle of wine so I was happy.

I calculated the time that I had left before my ferry reservation in Bilboa and figured that I had a week to stay in one place.  I opted for Torremolino on the Costa del Sol.  Supposedly a sixties jet-set hangout now it´s a transplanted town for the English.  Mostly retired and overweight, the English flocked to the pubs for fish and chips and mash.  At least I found a good second-hand book store and replenished my supply of novels.

I prepaid a week at the hotel to get a good price and I was happy when my time was up.  I headed south for Gibraltar.

13-19NOV2004 After Returning from Tangiers and traveling up the coast of Portugal, I returned again to Spain.  This part of Spain was very different.  Lots of green and lots of trees and of course much colder.  

I cut across the interior and then travelled down the coast to Bilboa.  TBGS was beginning to feel the miles.  On uphill stretches the engine would miss and I´d lose power.  At this point I was just hoping to limp into Bilboa and catch the ferry to Portsmouth.

I arrived with three days to wait so I had plenty of opportunity to wander the streets of Santurzi (Bilboa´s port city) and update my website.  The weather was chilly (10-12celsius) and my room was unheated.  The TV had programs in Spanish and Basque but no English.  I was out of books and couldn´t find a store with English paperbacks.  

Travel weary, I was ready to be on my way back to Germany and then to Dallas.  My travel bug is definitely under control...at least temporarily.

Click here to go to Travel Notes Table of Contents

CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO DIGITALNOMAD HOMEPAGE