May 3 Well, despite all the volcano problems which messed up departures and visits of friends and family to the villa, we had a great holiday. Three weeks of sunshine right up to the morning I was due to leave Moraira and suddenly, in came the cloud and cooler weather. My trip back was going to be shorter in terms of riding as I really couldn't face just retracing my route through France. So, my first leg was to take me to Zaragossa in the middle of Spain. I was up early on the morning of departure to rebuild the bike. Well, actually the screen, bags and racks. The bike had been a handsome boulevard cruiser in its "undressed" state and was quite a feature of nightime Moraira for a few weeks. I set off at 10:30 and after fuelling up, headed for the Autopista and north to Valencia. I reached Sagunto after two hours and then peeled off East on the A23 to head inland. The landscape is very different here and after a few hours of riding, the rocky white ground started to give way to green hills and ochre earth. The Spanish have entered into the spirit of natural energy at a pace that should put the UK to shame. Literally hundreds of wind turbines dotted the gently rolling Rioja hillsides. I decided to take a quick stop at one of the rest areas to pay homage to a field of grapes whse juice would one day fortify an excellent bottle of wine.
Although warm, the sky was gettting darker and as my GPS steered me to the Ibis Hotel in the centre of Zaragosa, the first spits of rain began falling. The Ibis was magnificently worse than average with no restaurant and a small bar so I ended up going to a local Supermercado to buy some food to take to my room. No sooner had I returned, than the heavens opened accompanied by an ear-splitting thunderstorm.
May 4Next morning I was up early as I'd heard the rain beating on the windows most of the night and wanted to make an early start for Bilbao. However, when I went out, although damp and drizzly, the sky looked reasonably clear so I just stayed with my textile gear. Bad mistake. Five miles down the road, it started lashing down so hard, I couldn't see. For the first time in many years I had to stop under a bridge and get the raingear on. Once again, I cursed the Harley Davidson brand manager for allowing the MoCo's name to be put on such a useless and incompetent piece of clothing.It's happening too much with HD clothing and people will soon start to walk away. The ride was pretty miserable and I was glad to arrive early
into the Novotel in Bilbao which turned out to be an excellent hotel. For the first time on my trip, I was exhausted and with muscles aching, I fell into the bath and then slept like a top all night.
May 5My ferry was due to depart at midday but boarding started at 10:30am so I decided to get over to the port and board early to settle down.
Although my GPS did its stuff, strangely, there are few, if any, signs towards the port..certainly, I didn't see any Brittany Ferry notices. Hoping that I wasn't going to end up on a cargo ship to Panama, I rounded a few corners and there in front was the ferry and quite a small queue. I'd decided that I'd earned a Captains Cabin on the way back and this gave priority boarding so, before I knew it, I was watching the guys lash down the bike for the 30 hour journey up the Atlantic coast of France and across the channel.
With various hoots, PA announcements and little bumps, we were on our way and leaving the coast of Spain in the distance. The boat offers a type of mini-cruise and for those who want it, there is entertainment ranging from floorshow's and disco's to palaegic creature watching from the top decks. The part of the Atlantic we were sailing in was, in some places, 9000ft deep and home to many Whales and Dolphins. Both species are sighted regularly on the trip and specialist members of the crew provide various conservation agencies with vital information. In fact, the ship is also a scientific station electronically uploading information on micro eco-systems and sea temperature changes. There is a wealth of information as amazingly, they have been surveying these data for more than 40 years. After stooging around on the top deck for twenty minutes or so, I too saw three or four pods of dolphins playing in the bow waves. Nice life.
My cabin was a delightful affair with two windows looking out over the bow and situated just beneath the Bridge. It came with a free, stocked mini bar and lots of fresh fruit. Having stowed what I needed to and unpacked the rest, I headed for the restaurant and an early dinner at 6:30pm. My plan was to eat, drink and sleep.
Langan's have the franchise on board and I enjoyed a good meal in the 1930's style restaurant. What better way to spend a few hours than in the company of a decent Chablis and a grilled Dover sole, next to a window looking out onto the Atlantic Ocean?
The first part of the crossing that night and early next morning was rough, very rough. Although I'm lucky enough to be a good sailor, it's hard to sleep in a normal bed when you're being thrown around. Now, give me a hammock and I'd have been fine. Eventually at about 6am, I just gave up and went for a walk round the ship. By the time I returned to the cabin, we'd rounded the Channel Islands, arrived into shallower water and everything calmed down.
May 6After grabbing a couple of hours sleep, I headed off for a light breakfast at about 10;30am. We were due to dock at 3pm and I was starting to clock watch. Really, I just wanted to get home now. Luckily, my iPhone had started picking up UK signals so I was able to catch up on email and texts and call the family to let them know I was going to get in early. It seemed ages fromm sighting land to the time when we actually entered the port
Once the boat gets in,, there's a lot of faffing about before you can actually get off. In the end, however, as with all these things I was off and starting my 200 mile journey up the M3, around the M25 and then the final leg on the A12. Obviously, I won't bore you with that journey suffice to say the temperature dropped to 5c and I haven't been as cold since I stupidly agreed to ride to Cornwall, in January, on a Triumph T100c, in 1973.
Still, I'd reached the end of the trip and as I sat there thawing out with a mug of tea and a slice of toast, I felt well chuffed!
into the Novotel in Bilbao which turned out to be an excellent hotel. For the first time on my trip, I was exhausted and with muscles aching, I fell into the bath and then slept like a top all night.
Although my GPS did its stuff, strangely, there are few, if any, signs towards the port..certainly, I didn't see any Brittany Ferry notices. Hoping that I wasn't going to end up on a cargo ship to Panama, I rounded a few corners and there in front was the ferry and quite a small queue. I'd decided that I'd earned a Captains Cabin on the way back and this gave priority boarding so, before I knew it, I was watching the guys lash down the bike for the 30 hour journey up the Atlantic coast of France and across the channel.
With various hoots, PA announcements and little bumps, we were on our way and leaving the coast of Spain in the distance. The boat offers a type of mini-cruise and for those who want it, there is entertainment ranging from floorshow's and disco's to palaegic creature watching from the top decks. The part of the Atlantic we were sailing in was, in some places, 9000ft deep and home to many Whales and Dolphins. Both species are sighted regularly on the trip and specialist members of the crew provide various conservation agencies with vital information. In fact, the ship is also a scientific station electronically uploading information on micro eco-systems and sea temperature changes. There is a wealth of information as amazingly, they have been surveying these data for more than 40 years. After stooging around on the top deck for twenty minutes or so, I too saw three or four pods of dolphins playing in the bow waves. Nice life.
My cabin was a delightful affair with two windows looking out over the bow and situated just beneath the Bridge. It came with a free, stocked mini bar and lots of fresh fruit. Having stowed what I needed to and unpacked the rest, I headed for the restaurant and an early dinner at 6:30pm. My plan was to eat, drink and sleep. 
Langan's have the franchise on board and I enjoyed a good meal in the 1930's style restaurant. What better way to spend a few hours than in the company of a decent Chablis and a grilled Dover sole, next to a window looking out onto the Atlantic Ocean?
Once the boat gets in,, there's a lot of faffing about before you can actually get off. In the end, however, as with all these things I was off and starting my 200 mile journey up the M3, around the M25 and then the final leg on the A12. Obviously, I won't bore you with that journey suffice to say the temperature dropped to 5c and I haven't been as cold since I stupidly agreed to ride to Cornwall, in January, on a Triumph T100c, in 1973. 
Still, I'd reached the end of the trip and as I sat there thawing out with a mug of tea and a slice of toast, I felt well chuffed!
