BRIAN REID PHOTOGRAPHER
Off to Iberia Day 20 - North to Chateauroux
Another driving north day heading to Chateauroux. To some extent it was familiar territory having explored the Lot, Dordogne and Vezere in previous trips. The one exception was to visit Souillac which is on the Dordogne but which I have either passed by on the peage or skirted West to visit family. Anyway the departmental road took me there this time, an ideal place for a break. In fact the first...
Off to Iberia Day 19 - Cross Country to Cahors
This is one of those days when the drive is the focus. Today I had the pleasure of a quiet cross country drive from Ciboure/Saint Jean de Luz to Cahors. The route was mainly on departmental roads. It started with a Sunday morning run through the highly populated corner of France through the outskirts of Biarritz to a charging station in Bayonne by the river Adour. Next was a run through the forests...
Off to Iberia Day 18 - Returning to the Basque Coast of France
Back to France where people understand me and I can understand them. That has been a challenge everywhere except the hotels in Spain. I cannot complain as it is I that should have a better grasp of Spanish having travelled in South America but it was too long ago for the vocabulary to lock in. It has been a day of contrasts. A couple of interesting stops, first at the Caves of Arguedas and then at...
Off to Iberia Day 17 - Following the Ebro to Zaragoza
It has been a short driving day today from Logrono to Zaragoza for my final overnight stop in Spain. This was planned to allow me an afternoon walk in the destination, which worked out well. Technically I was following the River Ebro but for most of the journey it was out of sight. The first part to Tudela, for a look at the cathedral, was along the East side of the valley but high up through mainly...
Off to Iberia Day 16 - Cathedrals and Wine, Burgos and Rioja
Many will know the “man with no name” but today I was the “man with little hair” as the high plains drifter driver. The first around 130 miles was on fast roads across an endless plain before mountains started to appear around Burgos and then from time to time to the head waters that end up the river Ebro which flows to the Mediterranean a little South of Barcelona. The day ended in Logrono in the...
Off to Iberia Day 15 - A Wander Through Salamanca
Salamanca was unexpected simply because I did little or no research into the city during my planning. When I was looking for the optimum route back towards France I liked the name and was vaguely familiar that is was a significant and scenic city as well as being a World Heritage Site. Now I know it was connected to other places I have visited in Spain like Palos La Frontera, where Chistopher Columbus...
Off to Iberia Day 14 - Portugese Wine and Olive Country
So it is back to Spain but not before a fine mountain drive from Braga up and down the valleys of a number of rivers ending at the Douro at Barca d’Alva, where there were major cruise boats moored. A short distance from there is the border to Castille and Leon, Salamanca region. After a steep climb the road then was fast and straight across a high plateau where birds of prey seemed to be everywhere...
Off to Iberia Day 13 - Across the Border
To support the trip name, I am now in Portugal at Braga, a historical religious centre in the north of country not far from Porto. Unlike other hotels which say they are in the city centre tonight’s hotel is actually in the centre meaning I could enjoy an end of afternoon wander around some of the sights, mainly religious. It was a second religious city for the day after a wander around Santiago...
Off to Iberia Day 12 - The Edge of the Roman Empire?
Another wonderful day in Galicia wandering down to Cape Finisterre, as we call it. Literally it translates to the “end of the earth’. Over the years I have visited a few “end offs”. This one refers, apparently, to the most westerly extent of the Roman Empire but is probably more known in the UK from the shipping forecast! I followed the coast as best as possible from A Coruna taking in a couple more...
Off to Iberia Day 11 - The Coast of Galicia
My strategy for coastlines that I don’t know is to look for lighthouses and beaches and then check the general assessment of each. I then plan a practical route. Today was such a day. The countryside transformed from the mountains of Asturias to the hills of Galicia but the coast remains rugged but less canyon like. Here are a few lighthouses and a beach for good measure. I should note that Galicia...