Wks 1 & 2 – NE Spain, Andorra, France

Saturday March 23 to Sunday April 7

Australia to Spain

We flew Air India. Because it was the cheapest at the time, even with purchasing extra leg room. It was an experience if you’re used to  any of the usual airlines but the food, being Indian, was very good, so we had no complaints although the 10 hour layover in Delhi was tedious.

We landed at Heathrow early on Sunday 24th and caught a bus to London’s Stanstead Airport for our Ryan Air flight to Barcelona.

Stunning views of the Pyrenees. We’d be up here in a few days.

We’d hired a car through Booking.com and expected to pick up a Fiat 500 or similar; as long as it was small. We were handed the keys for a Jeep Cherokee with the assurance that that was all they had. So we took it and drove the 35klms to Sitges just south of Barcelona via the narrow winding coast road, and in a Jeep Cherokee that was quite a daunting experience with weekend traffic returning to Barcelona. The next morning we took it back and swapped it for a Fiat 500 Manual Hybrid with sunroof. From the ridiculous to the sublime.

We spent 3 nights in Sitges.

Sitges.

Tues 26th March – Sitges to Manresa – 120k

Today we drove our Fiat 500 Manual Hybrid with sunroof to Manresa via the famous Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey (clicking on a link such as this will open another page of info on the link’s subject matter).
As was our usual practise we took the roads less travelled. I’d already planned these routes back in November of 2023 with riding the bike in mind, so I wasn’t going to change them.
The weather was overcast at the Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey.

Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey from the Sant Joan Funicular. Quite an impressive view.

We drove on to Manresa to our digs in the centre of town. Third floor, no lift, with 12foot ceiling heights. The lesson learned was not to take all our luggage if we’re only staying one night.
We took a walk around town.

Pont Vell in the foreground, Cova de Sant Ignasi to the right, and Basílica Santa Maria de la Seu de Manresa on the skyline to the left.

Looking back from whence we’d come and forward to where we were headed.

Wed 27th – Andorra – 165k

There was snow on the hills towards Andorra as we left Manresa on a beautiful sunny day.
First stop was Castell de Súria which wasn’t worth the climb.
So on to the magnificent Castell de Cardona which was well worth the climb.(I’ve pinched the top pic from Google)

Looking down on the Pont del Diable – mid foreground, and the plains of Spain where apparently the rain falls.

The 15th century Pont del Diable

A quick loop around the 12th century Catedral de Solsona

Then a truly magnificent and lonely 90klm chase along the C-462 which I’m convinced was surveyed, designed and built by a motorcyclist. And we were doing it in a Fiat 500 Manual Hybrid – with sunroof. The bloke who figured we didn’t need to send our bikes 2 weeks early is not on my Christmas Card list.

We stopped at the tiny isolated Tuixent for coffee. I’m sure the locals hadn’t seen anyone since last summer.

Tuixent – We watched these 2 blokes working a 3rd floor live edge – a sackable offence at Buildsafe 😒

And so on to Andorra for 2 nights

Fri 29th – Amélie-les-Bains – 225k

It was cold and overcast as we climbed north out of Andorra and over the Coll d’Ordino which was covered in fresh white – always a fascination to most of us from Australia.

Coll d’Ordino

We stopped at El Pas de la Casa for coffee and wee pastry before crossing over to France where there was much skiing happening.

Col de Puymorens

We then headed south using the N260. The 85k from Puigcerdà to Ripoll would be a marvellous road on a motorcycle; it’s narrow, windy and has a great surface, except it was Good Friday and half the population of north east Spain was heading to the snow fields – good thing we’d returned the Jeep.

The 11th century Pont de la Cabreta just north of Ripoll

It was then a glorious run along the southern shoulder of the Pyrennes back in to France to our basic and very rustic (read very cheap) lodgings at the forgotten town of Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda. We took an evening stroll through its back streets and found a hidden Pizza shop where we sat and ate delicious pizza with the locals.

Sat 30th – Palamos – 200k

On a beautiful sunny day we headed for the coast. But first we had to stop and take a pic of these bridges.

Pont du Diable

It was then a matter of following what has got to be one of my favourite coast lines south. It being Easter weekend it was very busy, and we being in a Fiat 500 Manual Hybrid with sunroof found it very hard to stop and take pictures. If we’d been on the bike it would have been a different matter.

Port-Argèles

Collioure

El Port de la Selva for lunch.

And so to Palamos for 3 nights. There’s nothing really special about Palamos

Tues 2nd April – Tossa de Mar – 40k

Another day of a short and winding road to what is possibly our favourite location in Europe. It’s hard to choose a favourite place among the more than 200 places we’ve stayed over the last 8 years but we’ve stayed at Tossa 3 times so that must say something.

We stopped for breakfast at Sant Pol y S´Agaró

Tossa de Mar

3 nights doing it tough.

Fri 5th – Barcelona – Sitges – 135k

It was a quick scoot down the coast to drop off our little car at the airport before figuring out how to catch public transport to Sitges, again.
We’re killing time while we wait for the bike to arrive.
It’s now Sunday the 7th of April and as I sit here finishing this post I’m also tracking the CMA CGM Adonis which is carrying the container that’s hiding our bike, and right now it’s just off the coast of Sitges. Go you good thing.

Tomorrow we head back to Barcelona and it looks like we’ll finally get our bike on Wednesday the 10th, then we catch the ferry to Italy.

We’ll see you when we get there.