Rome to Santiago

Allen´s Epilogue

2009-06-14T12:55:29Z

Now that I am at the end of the ride I want to share what I consider to be the most important outcome for me on a personal level. I want to share my philosophy with you. In a nutshell, good living requires thinking beings. Decisions must flow down, be distilled from out of the psychic noise, and basically this comes from reflection on concious beleifs and assumptions, clarification and removal of unconcious beliefs and assumptions, and challenging of habits that fundamentally do not integrate with the conscious beliefs and assumptions. Reflection on one's conscious beliefs and assumptions therefore guide the process of deciphering one's vital needs, and the prioritization of those vital needs, as well as to help one to decipher the vital needs of others. Reflection turns to action. Action becomes realization. The following beleifs and assumptions provide the framework for the Praxis. 1. All people are of one mind-heart-body, though diverse, essentially connected. Individuals do not have separate selves, look and see if you can find any real boundaries, there are none. Identification with separation must be eliminated. True individuation comes only after this step is taken. 2. All people are essentially good, though it does not always appear so on the surface, though layers of dust may cover the true form, dust can be wiped away through effort, there always remains some degree of kindness or generosity, etc. 3. All species (including but not limited to trees, plants, fish, fowl, mammals, mountains, forests, ecosystems) inherit the right to exist independent of human consumption and needs, this right must be respected. Respect for nature is ultimately the only real self respect, as we are part of nature and so the whole must be respected if ourselves are to be respected. This is true humility. 4. A sustainable economic business future is viable and must be realized taking into consideration all beliefs and assumptions found herein. 5. The saying "Simple Means, Rich Ends" by Arne Naess is fundamental to good living. 6. Telling the truth, sharing beleifs and concious assumptions, challenging people is a positive activity. 7. Change and cycles are the most common features of natural and man made systems. 8. A flowing mind, receptive, still, flexible, changing with the circumstances helps to make life much easier. 9. Rest, Sleep, meditation, and relaxation are essential for a stable and calm mind. 10. Cleaning up the mess that humans made who came before us is not a choice, this is our common back yard, we must do whatever is neccesary, at all costs, to care for our soil, air, water, and ecosystems. People must change. Minds must change.

Allen´s Epilogue remains copyright of the author NAPoulos44, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Triumphant Return!

2009-06-13T19:26:55Z

From Ponferrada we made our way to what is known as the most mystical spot on the Camino, O Cebreiro, a Celtic settlement 1300 meters up in the mountains. First the foothills led us to the town of Villafranca Del Bierzo where we stopped at a restaurant that we remembered from our time there three years ago, mainly because of the homemade Aguadiente that we were served there, and we were able to talk the same owner into breaking out his homemade brew to warm us against the impending rain storm. The rain began to fall steadily after our departure from Villafranca as we began to roll through some beautiful little river towns tucked back in among the forest against the foothills of Cebreiro. Eventuall, however, the rain, the semi-trucks, and the wind became more than we could stand and the only rational being amongst us (Deborah), suggested that we remove ourselves from that state of being, so we found a small Pension in a one horse town called Vega del Valcarce and ended up cooking the last of our pasta, chorizo, and rice over our camp stove, as there was not a restaurant, cafe, or bar open within a dry walking distance. We also enjoyed an expensive bottle of wine (4euros) before turning in for the night.

When we awoke the kind townsfolk of Vega del Valcarce, and one old fellow specifically, informed us that the day ahead of us was sure to be nice and dry, or at least better than the previous day...I guess the old guy´s trick knee wasn´t working that day! We began the serious climb some 800 meters in six kilometers and as we did it began to drizzle. As we hit Pedrafita do Cebreiro with only four kilometers left to go the wind turned the drizzle into stinging rain that assaulted us from all sides as we made our way up the last but steepest part of the climb. Finally in O Cebreiro Nathan walked into the first bar he saw and with water dripping from everywhere was quickly escorted to a bowl of soup and a hot cup of coffee by the kindly owners of the establishment. After two cups of coffee and that bowl of soup, Nathan went out to look for Allen and Deborah who were making their way up the mountain slightly behind Nathan. After searching the town, Nathan and Allen were reunited at the Alto do Cebreiro sign where they had posed for a picture after topping the mountain three years ago, and the three travelers made their way back to the bar and had a wonderful three course lunch safe from the elements at last. All good things, however, must come to an end, and soon enough we were making our way away from Cebreiro. Alto do Cebreiro is somewhat misleading as it is not the end of the climb, there are three peaks that follow, each higher than Cebreiro until you hit a long switchback downhill into Triacastella. Nathan had consumed too much espresso at the top of Cebreiro and wasn´t feeling well, Deborah was exhausted from the climb, and Allen had taken to singing a song about the pains he was experiencing, but the three quickly descended into the whipping wind and to the warmth of a hobit house like refugio at the bottom of the hill.

Awaking with only two days ride left into Santiago the three travelers awoke to sunshine breaking through the clouds and the first day of real sun since Nathan and Allen had arrived in Logroño. On this day the rain gear, the long cycling pants, and the unpleasant feeling of being wet and cold were washed away by the sunshine. On this day we pushed through rolling hills which seemed to climb up and up and up into the blue sky until the city of Portomarin where we enjoyed one of the better Spainish meals yet as we sat on the balcony overlooking the river and the resovoir with not a cloud in the sky! The day did turn rather hot and the three travelers stopped in at a roadside bar and shared drinks with an Irishman who had been trying to get to the Camino since 1986 and had finally succeeded, perhaps, our Irish friend suggested, our next cycling adventure should be from Irish pub to Irish pub....WHO´S IN? The last part of our day ended with a ride through what Deborah catorgarized as one of the most beautiful areas she has ever seen. The road meandered through a number of quiet little towns where one old man showed us his herd of cattle and his prized bull Navaro who had sired some twenty offspring in his day, and in another town where three men sat singing Spanish lovesongs at the top of their well tuned lungs. We rode into the sunset, and ended our penultimate day in Palas de Rei. As we watched the last bit of sun dissappear over the horizon we knew that somewhere out their Santiago was in reach!

The ride into Santiago is all downhill, at least once you hit the boundaries of the city, before that it was rolling hills and plenty of sunshine until you climb the Monte de Gozo and round the corner at which point the spires of the cathedral become visible for the first time. Finally, the object itself, the tomb that launches thousands of pilgrims every year, the dream, was in sight. The Three friends coasted down the hill, stopped for a photo opp at the first sign indicating entry to the city of Santiago, and as is now tradition lit cigars and rolled into town all the way to the heart of the old city. The old city twists its way through a whirlwind of small stone streets and shops selling all manner of pilgrimage gear until finally, you burst our into the cathedral square. We drove straight to the center of the square, dismounted our trusty bikes and flopped down in the square, where we lay for hours, looking up at Santiago smiling down at us from a bright blue sky! Setting foot in the cathedral square after such an amazing journey was by far one of the most fulfilling experiences of our lives, words simply cannot do it justice...

Allen and Deborah have flown home this morning and now I am off to parts unknown...

Triumphant Return! remains copyright of the author NAPoulos44, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The house began to twitch...

2009-06-09T09:33:18Z

Weary Travelers...

Having left Logroño, we had three days to make the nearly two hundred miles to Leon in time to meet Allen´s girlfriend Deborah. Our first day out of Logroño took us through Santo Domingo de la Calzada which Nathan actually got to ride into this time (some will remember that the last entry into Santo Domingo was a two mile walk for Nathan after Allen had inadvertently taken his air pump and Nathan was unable to repair a busted tire), Nathan enjoyed the ride in this time. A quick lunch, a nod to our old haunts, and once again we were on our way on quiet if bug filled country roads to Villafranca Montes de Oca where we spent the night, choosing not to climb the Montes de Oca until the next morning.

The Montes de Oca begin with a brief climb of a 6% grade until you reach a set of rolling hills which you rapidly descend, cruse up as far as you can, pedal the rest of the way and then repeat, until you reach a long downhill into Burgos. Our mileage into Burgos was miraculously finished before breakfast as we were able to wake literally at the crack of dawn, with the help of the other anxious pilgrims in the hostel of course, and in Burgos we looked forward to doing some laundry and enjoying the beauty of a city that meant so much to us on the last trip. We quickly discovered that in the entire city of Burgos there was no laundry to be had, so we resolved to smell a little bit more, contemplated moving to Burgos to open a laundry of our own, and ate a quick breakfast to the tune of striking factory workers demonstrating in the background.

The further we got from Burgos, the worse the weather began to get, and By the time we were just 10 miles from our destination the sun had completely disappeared. Suddenly the wind began to blow with tremendous force and the heavens opened up and dumped rain for about five minutes while we hid underneath a tree trying to break out our rain gear, which had migrated its way to the bottom of our bags as we had become complacent in the sunshine that had guided us across throughout the trip. By the time we were dressed appropriately the rain had stopped, the wind died down, and then...a crack of tunder and a bolt of lightening in the distance as the next storm, this one bigger than the last warned us of its impending arrival. We took the hint, hopped on our bikes and burned up the remianing miles to Fromista as quickly as possible. We did manage to outrun that storm, and 72 miles after our day began we were able to get back to enjoying the very cheap and very tasty Vino Tinto!

When we awoke the next morning, it was evident that we would be running from the storms all day as we made the final push into Leon. Allen, however, promised that we would not get caught in a rainstorm today, and he was right! As we rode across the meseta we were able to look around as far as the eye could see across the flatlands and view Mother Nature in all her fury. While we were bucking a very strong wind that came from every direction seemingly, the storms, a dozen or so in all and of varying sizes surrounded us but did not release their fury upon us. It was, however, extremely cold, and by the time we were fifteen kilometers out of Leon we needed to stop for some warmth, in the form of a nice size glass of some homemade Aguadiente. Now, we asked for just a shot of the gasoline like Aguadiente, but the nice woman, undoubtedly sensing the chill inside us poured two large glasses nearly half full of the stuff, needless to say not only did it warm us up, it made the last of our 78 mile day into Leon painless! When we were last in Leon we sat in the central square near the cathedral watching reunion after reunion of pilgrims, old friends, and children, this time we had a reunion of our own, especially meaningful for Allen, suddenly around the corner came Allen´s girlfriend Deborah!

Though our number had changed, the weather did not, and we awoke to a drizzle in Leon which turned into a torrential downpour, conveniently, however, just after we had ducked inside a cafe for lunch and to escape this very storm which we had watched growing on the horizon. Shelter not a minute too soon! When we resumed, we made our way to Hospital de Obrigo and immediately upon entering the village we were transported back in time to Medieval Times! The city is famous for a long bridge joining the villages of Puente de Obrigo and Hospital de Obrigo at whcih a medieval Knight had sworn to break 300 lances of the finest knights of Spain in order to win the heart of his love, who had up to that point scorned him! Every year, the villages conduct a recreation of this event in the form of a jousting competition, medieval faire and medieval dress. It seemed that every occupant of the city dressed up as dame, knights, appothacaries, crusaders etc., and people came from miles around to participate in the spectacle. The three travelers spent one night together in Hospital sampling the food and exploring the street fair, and we ran into the man who is the face of the Camino, dressed in the traditional pilgrim´s robe, a broad brimmed hat, the Camino shell, and carrying the staff and goard whcih are the symbols of the pilgrim, he joyfully explained to us that he had been walking the camino since 1971 and perhaps he had gone a bit crazy, but he explained to us that he likes the Camino because no matter where you are from, everyone´s heart is the same color and nowhere has that been more evident to him than in his thirty-eight years of contact with other pilgrims! Everyone he said has their own camino to walk in life, but here everyone shares a part of that with everyone else rather than hurrying through and forgetting to take the time to be open to life´s experiences! A good lesson! Nathan stayed on here for two days before catching up with Allen and Deborah who had ridden ahead one day prior in anticipation of having to climb the highest peak on the Camino, Cruz de Fero. Nathan spent his night alone in Hospital talking with 3 Germans, 1 Swiss, and the 2 Hospitaleros over 40´s of San Miguel about everyone´s purpose for doing the camino, which ranged from I like to walk to more spiritual goals!

Cruz de Fero is simply a pile of rocks that has accumulated over time, with a cross at the top, but the meaning there is so much more. Climbing to Cruz de Fero, the highest point on the Camino at 1550 meters is the beginning of the preparation for one´s arrival into Santiago. Traditionally one brings a rock from home, carries it with them on the journey and deposits it, along with all of their mental, and spritual baggage at the top of this mountain and then starts the last 220 kilometers to Santiago anew! One dare not stay too long at the top, however, for fear of freezing to death, yes, there is still snow up there in June, and the wind was biting cold. On the way down we stopped at the village (if it can be called such) of Manjarin, population 9 people who run a simple Refugio for weary pilgrims, offer hot tea as a respite to the frozen traveler, and our speculation...guard the actual location of THE Holy Grail, it seems that there was some unspoken order of Templars or Crusaders who populates this little town...curious!

Today we leave Ponferrada for O Cebriero after a night with the Hostellero from Hell, a man who informed us strictly that doors were locked at 10:30 and lights out at 10:45, never mind that we had yet to eat, that wasn´t his problem! A very nice woman from Texas who gave us Chorizo, bread, and beer nuts to calm our rumbling stomachs!

Off to the last climb now!

The house began to twitch... remains copyright of the author NAPoulos44, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The P(l)ains of Zaragoza

2009-06-07T14:14:30Z

Our day off in Barcelona amounted to an exploration of the works of Anonini Gaudi including La Sagrada Familia as well as his house which is situated in a beautiful little park where we spent hours relaxing under the shade of the local trees enjoying the breeze and a rest to our very tired legs. The rest of our day in Barcelona seemed to consist solely of riding the bus turistic around the city as we were simply too tired to get off at any of the interesting sites, including the home of FC Barcelona...

As it turned out we were a day early to Barcelona, had we stayed we might have taken part of the celebration of Barca´s victory in Rome over Manchester United and danced in the streets until all hours of the night...but...as is usually the case the fates had other plans for us.

Our departure from our beachside campsite outside of Barcelona was marred by the first injury of our trip. Allen, while riding down a boardwalk near the beach, got his front tire stuck in between the boards, forward momentum did not stop with the tire however, and Nathan watched as Allen hurtled headlong into the railing fearing a broken neck or worse, a fall to the beach...No such fate was in the cards for Allen, however, who using his Aikido skills was able to break his fall and not his neck! So instead of escaping Barcelona with a hangover from celebrating Barca´s victory, we escaped with a few scrapes and a sore knee. Still, when Barca´s victory was complete the air around our campsite literally exploded in celebration.

Barcelona to our campsite in Cunit was a tough climb along the water´s edge but we ate well that night, home cooked spaghetti and meatballs over our camp stove and slept well outside of earshot of the rushing highway. From Cunit, however, we experienced the hardest day yet where we climbed for over fifty miles on three good knees! Nearing the end of the day, around 8pm, we rolled into a town that shall hereafter be known simply as Aguadiente and found that they had nowhere for us to sleep and that the next town was another fifteen kilometeres. Allen, simply unable to continue spinning his pedal on one good leg looked at Nathan and told him to go and order him a shot of the strongest stuff in the village. Two shots of homebrewed Aguadiente shots later the two were again climbing. Nearing the crest of the hill, now in the darkness, Nathan shouted out that over the crest of the hill the sun was shining, the roads were all down hill, and the wind would be at our backs...the land of milk and honey...AND IT WAS! (This is no joke people, it happened just like this) We crested the hill, the sun hit our faces and down we coasted into the sunset. As the sun disappeared one beacon of light was left, a light set atop the steeple of the church in Las Borges Blanques, a light calling out to all weary travelers! A man with a dog guided us to the hostel, the hostel woman guided us to the best food of the trip and simply put, once we hit the crest of that hill, everything was OK!

The next morning, Allen decided that his knee needed time to heal and so having located the train station and a bar to wait in, Allen and Nathan parted ways and Nathan continued riding.

The ride from Las Borges Blanques was HOT, a series of sun drenched backroads up onto mesetas across and down again and Nathan went through 6 liters of water until stopping at a gas station to refuel...Nathan looked up and saw the way onto the mesa, what turned out to be a Grapevine like, hour and a half climb in the heat, that was rewarded by an eight mile cruz downhill. The mesa wasn´t entirely a mesa and included more ups and downs and Nathan started to understand what if felt like to be a windshield as he was pelted with local insects until he finally arrived at the last town in the middle of nowhere, the name of which has been forgotten to time!

Rising the next day Nathan endured what was to be his last day of solo riding into Zaragoza! Another hot day, the hottest of the trip led Nathan to stop at the turist office in Zaragoza, whcih was easy to find as it was right next to the spires of the local basilica which he had been riding towards for most of the morning as they were visible from miles away! The tourist people told Nathan that Logroño, where Nathan and Allen were to meet, was still two days ride away, Nathan didn´t believe them until he checked the internet, and found out that not only was Logroño two days ride, but that Allen was actually IN Zaragoza! Nathan went to the hostel, got the last bed, which was a blessing and a curse given the loud group next door, and woke a now beardless Allen from a dead sleep! Reunited, the two enjoyed a music filled Saturday night in Zaragoza and stayed up much too late!

The P(l)ains of Zaragoza are very simply HOT AND WINDY, and rather than our typical 10 to 15 miles per hour average speed, we made 6mph yelling headlong into the wind that blew in our faces all day no matter whcih direction we turned, when we yelled, the wind yelled louder...when we cussed, the wind cussed louder, and after only 43miles the wind won! We crept into Funstinaña and were rewareded for our effort by a loud ovation of applause from the town (literally)!

Finally able to battle the wind, we made 69 miles the next day into a still blowing wind to Logroño where we awoke simply unable to continue riding after an exhausting 100 miles. We are in the last throws of a day off in Logroño where we spent the day sleeping and at the HydroThereapy Institute of Logroño. Tomorrow Burgos!

The P(l)ains of Zaragoza remains copyright of the author NAPoulos44, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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ESPAÑA!

2009-05-26T09:29:50Z

When last we crossed from France to Spain in 2006 we spent most of our day walking our heavily loaded bicycles up the Pyranees only to reach the top at the end of the day as the wind started to whip and the rain started to fall...Crossing from Perpignan to Spain this time was wonderful! A short climb through the Pyranees Orientals in the sunshine and we found ourselves looking at the Spanish border. We stopped, had one last French sandwhich, and crossed.

Spain met us with warm sunshine, a long downhill, and a number of prostitutes lining the highway as we coasted down from our Pyranean adventure! But as it goes, soon we found ourselves riding against a strong head wind that slowed us down considerably and once again pushing ourselves over hills under a strong sun, the dry heat forced us to make an effort of strong will in order to continue riding. The prostitues appeared to be cheering for us as we made it to the top of each hill, most likely they were just soliciting another weary traveller, and we did not stop to find out! Arriving in Figueres we stopped for a rest at the Dali Museum, the place of his birth, and had a great time exploring Dali´s earliest works and those towards the end of his life in 1989. From Figueres we went to Gerona.

Gerona is a large city with many cobble stone alley ways lined with shops. We found oursevles without much assistance as it was the middle of Siesta. After a cold beer and some tapas we began to seach for a place to stay for the night, no campsites once again, and for the first time since the journey began we were LOST. not until after 10 pm did we finally find a hotel room for the night which we gratefully accepted and went to bed.

Gerona to just outside Barcelona was around 65 miles of solid riding and today we will explore the city of Barcelona and take a much needed day of rest.

ESPAÑA! remains copyright of the author NAPoulos44, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The last days of France...

2009-05-26T09:16:41Z

After a much needed day off exploring Aix in Provence we took to the road once again. We decided since we are running a bit behind schedule to skip Avignon and simply go straight across to Arles. Shortly into the ride to Arles we felt the benefit of our day off...stronger legs and we enjoyed a nice ride to Arles. Arles itself is a beautiful old city with a Roman Coliseum which is in various stages of preservation and restoration but largely intact. We actually managed to find a campsite in Arles, where we met an Italian musicologist, hitching his way across France with only his rucksack and guitar, on his way to St. Marie de la Mer to experience the music of the annual Gypsy pilgrimage to Saint Sarah the Black (the unmentioned daughter of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene). Allen freestyled a blues tune since named the Bicycle Blues and we were off to sleep and off to parts unknown.

Leaving Arles we took a wrong turn and ended up on the right road through the Camargue, a national wetlands area, which was flat as a pancake and reminded us somewhat of what Minnesota might look like, had either of us ever been there. The Camargue promised to be the home of flocks of Pink Flamingos, however, for a good part of the ride the only flamingo we saw was a 30 foot tall steel scuplture whcih we assumed represented the now extinct pink flamingos of the Camargue...and then we saw them, real life wild flocks of pink flamingos in their natural habitat, quite a beautiful sight. The pink flamingo is an intelligent bird that does not like to be photographed, we stopped close to a flock to take a picture and they promptly began walking away while turning their backs on us, like we haven´t had that experience before...

The ride through the Camargue was made easier by imagining that we were being chased by a mythical beast that lived inside the depths of the Camargue and was just waiting for the Gods to release it and have the two of us for lunch. Thankfully the only blood that was lost in the Camargue was from the Mosquitoes at our campsite in Vic di Gardiole just outside of Montpellier. The campsite was hot and muggy, and the conditions made it impossible to sleep. Oh Well, back on the bikes again.

The road to Narbonne took us through the last vestiges of the the flat, wind at our backs, land of the Camargue. We arrive late into Narbonne and, despite being teased with a sign promising campsites at the entrance to the city, found none, and ended up in a hotel once again. Leaving Narbonne was no easier than finding a place to stay there as we experienced our first mechanical difficulties of the trip. Allen had been complaining that his rear brake wasn´t working properly, so we decided to seek out a bicycle shop in Narbonne before leaving, they were closed, and so we sat down to figure it out ourselves when we noticed that it wasn´t the brake at all! Actually, Allen´s rear wheel had practically exploded, four broken spokes which had been blown for who knows how long had rendered the wheel, in the words of one bicycle shop that we found that was actually open, DEAD! Nothing that 250 Euros and an entirely new wheel set couldn´t fix, and by 4:30 p.m. we were finally on the road, after a brief stop at KFC! Despite our mechanical troubles and our late start we managed to make the entire trip to Perpignan, some forty five miles, thanks to a mostly downhill grade, some sunshine, and a little help from our friends the Camino Angels!

Once again, NO CAMPSITE IN PERPIGNAN, but it was our last night in france!

The last days of France... remains copyright of the author NAPoulos44, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Aix en Provence

2009-05-19T10:52:39Z

First, please forgive any spelling or punctuation mistakes, the French decided that it was a good idea to change the placement of letters on the keyboard and trying to learn it is slow going...

From our night in Antibes we awoke to the sun shining once more and so enjoyed a beautiful ride along the beaches of Cannes sticking to the coast as we road to St. Raphael. Along the way you pass small bays of emerald green and saphire blue water rolling into red rock cliffs and beaches, and every climb is rewarded with yet another gorgeous view of the next little town, the next little cove, the next little piece of the simple life, it was spectacular! St. Raphael itself was a happening little beach town where we found our first French campsite, after riding in circles around the town, finding the tourist office, and being told that we had to ride back the way we came 5km, but the site itself overlooked to ocean and was grass rather than the hard rocky ground of the Italian campsites! The coast route was as it had been through Italy, mostly even when you average the ups and downs, but with short downs so it takes a toll on the legs, so this day wasn't much mileage.

From St. Raphael we decided to turn to the interior and leave the coast, though it had treated us so well, we were looking for something different, aa different landscape, and we were rewarded by one giant vineyard in the interior. literally it seems as if the entire area we covered over the next few days was vineyard, and indeed we stopped and picked up some of the local fruit of the vine to enjoy along the way...it's cheap, damn tasty, and flows freely! The ride from St. Raphael quickly turned into a set of long rolling climbs and descents on which we realized that the power we tried to demand from our legs just simply wasn't there. Spinning at a decent pace was no problem, but when the call for that something extra came to climb the next hill, the body simply didn't respond, and yet, we made 60 miles to St. Maximine where we were yet again left with staying in the hotel as the only campsite in the area we had passed 12 miles previously! It was Allen's birthday so a hotel and a nice meal eatten in the shadow of the medieval church were in order!

The next day's ride took us to Aix en Provence, again on tired legs we made 20 miles and decided to stop and even take a day off. Aix en Provence seems to be a younger city with lots to entertain and we are enjoying its exploration...

Aix en Provence remains copyright of the author NAPoulos44, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The Crossing

2009-05-16T09:22:33Z

We didnt quite reach France on Thursday, rather we made it just short of Ventimiglia as we spent our morning in Albenga doing laundry and other errands. Ventimiglia provided one of the quietest campsites yet as well as so,e conversation with a couple from Missouri who had quit their jobs and were traveling around Europe. A quiet canpsite that is until around 3am when it began to pour down rain on our tents. This has happened one other night and was over by the morning, but this was not our luck on this occassion! By 5am Nathans tent had collapsed when the stake pulled out of the wet ground and Allens tent had an inch of standing water inside and it was still raining...we finally got up around seven and pulled all of our gear into the only dry place, the bathroom, and were packing up when it finally stopped raining. No more rain fell on us until we reached our end of the ride in Antibes France at which point we were forced to take the only room left in town (thank you Cannes Film Festival) at a price much outside our budgets.

Now the rain while it bookended our day was not the story of the day, rather leaving Italy and crossing into France at Menton where, despite Duvals best guess we did not trade our bikes for a car, but rather picked up a nice downhill ride into Monte Carlo and Monaco where we stopped to catch our bearings. Climbing out of Monte Carlo we found beautiful cycling tracks leading through Nice where we stopped for lunch as the sun made an appearance and tasted our first really good beer of the trip, Leffe, a Belgian Style Abbey Ale, and may I just say GOODBYE Peroni and Moretti! More cycling track our of Nice all the way to Antibes, a beautiful ride!

Today on through Cannes and likely into the interior in search of some good French wine!

The Crossing remains copyright of the author NAPoulos44, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Ups and Downs

2009-05-14T12:10:37Z

Our day in Cinque Terre provided a much needed day of rest and recovery for our bodies and as it turns out, some mental preparation for what lay ahead of us in the next day's ride. In the train station on the way to Cinque Terre we met two Americans from Connecticut with whom we sat on the train ride from Sestri Levante to Riomagiorre, the furthest of the five towns, and had long discussions about anything and everything, including our newest obsession, the whereabouts of Gene Wilder, we were just glad to be speaking English rather than the bastardized form of Italian that we have developed in learning to feed and house ourselves. Immediately off the train and a 20 minute hike later and we found ourselves in a small tavern in Manarola where a native Hawaiian served us a sampler of the local fare including native Ligurian Pesto and Anchovies which melted in your mouth, and the local wine grown along terraced vineyards along the cliff's edge, all of which left us needing a nap on the beach, so we promptly went to the first town Monterrosso and found a beach where we collapsed on the sand. Not long into our naps we were approached by a Thai Masseuse and for 10 Euro we enjoyed 20 minutes massages (just the feet and legs thank you). We caught the last train from Cinque Terre back to Sestri and passed out in our hotel preparing for the next day's ride.

The ups and downs of which we speak began very early in the ride out of Sestri Levante, we would climb for an hour, decend for twenty minutes, coast along the next ocean front resort town and then start the process all over again, which was all at once thrilling and exhausting...that is until we reached Genova...the only way to summarize the ride through Genova is a short poem, with appoligies to Johnny Cash...

Genova may you rot and burn in hell
May your walls fall and may I live to tell
May all the world forget you ever stood
And may all the world regret you did no good!

Seriously though, a larger mass of mindless motors moving in many directions through tunnels, up hills, onto middle of the city freeways, and speeding past us has not been encountered on this trip, not even Rome or the Autostrada compared! By the time we reached out next campsite just out of Genova we were exhausted, but were rewarded with an amazing meal at the campsite.

By the way, if you are looking for a campsite in Italy, find the place where the railroad tracks and autostrada meet and somewhere in the vacinity you will find it.

The next day after Genova we were rewarded, or so we thought with a coast road which had very minimal climbing, and a fast ride until we hit the village of Noli Ligurie. In Noli we started looking for lunch but were running a bit late and so everything was closed until one chef volunteered to open his kitchen to us and he prepared massive quantities of pasta for us, by far the best meal we have had so far! Little did we know that we would need every carb in that bowl for what lay ahead. Soon after Noli, the coast road was closed, no explanation, no way around or through, just closed, so we returned to Noli for what turned out to be a 600 foot elevation gain climb in a little over a mile and a half!!! OUCH! but we were soon at the top enoying a fast ridgeline ride to Finale Ligure and on to Albenga where we spent last night.

So now on to the Italian/French Border...

hmm, by the way, if you ever get the chance to go on a journey of your own making, make sure to try the Basil liquor while listening to DeJango Reindhart style guitar in a small cafe near the ocean, watch the SMART CARS speed by cuz they are everywhere, no one here drives anything else.

Ups and Downs remains copyright of the author NAPoulos44, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Passo Di Bracco

2009-05-11T08:44:41Z

After a late start out of Pisa we made our way to the coast and were rewarded with cycling tracks running through small Italian beach towns lined with beach side resorts where the who's who come to play on the Italian Riviera. The cycling tracks allowed us to make quick work of a fifty mile day and we soon found ourselves going through a small tunnel and coming out in the town of Lerici where we stopped at an information booth looking for the local camping sites. The quickest way we were told to find the camping was to go down to the water, find a certain street, climb back up a sizeable hill, and then we would find directions to three campsites...the first two were closed! The third site took us what felt like most of the way back to Pisa along the cliff side towns that you see in the pictures in our gallery, but we soon found the campsite on the hill. After pushing up the campside road and carrying our bikes down some stairs, were were rewarded with the most beautiful campsite view yet, and we decided that the effort of getting there was well worth it. In looking for the campsite we met an English couple, also looking for the mysterious campsite, who had cycled from Bilbao, Spain and were headed to Moscow via Italy and Greece, then to pick up the Transiberian Railroad to the coast to catch a ship to Japan. We exchanged information about the various routes we each were about to cover and shared a tin of cookies before settling in for the night. It was here that we first began to realize the work that lay ahead of us in the next day's ride to Sestri Levante.

Sestri Levante

"Men will learn the truth going through mountains" Ancient Taoist Saying

From the moment we set out from Lerici we were riding uphill. At times less steep, at times more challenging. push up and up and around the bend and up and up, and on it goes... And keeps going. Reminisicent of the Pyranees Mountains these hills are some of the most spectacular we have ever seen. The view of the sea spans the horizen, the sky is blue with no clouds, the motorcycles fly by us at speeds you can only imagine. Italians love their motorcycles and to go as fast as they can, there does not appear to be any enforcement against it.
We stopped now and again to refuel on water, cafe latte, salty chips, chocolate, and an occasional candy bar, this helped a little but not as much as the sheer perservance and determination that miralcously always seemed available to us whenever needed. Where does this come from? Finally we found ourselves at the ridgeline and then at the top of the mountain headed down towards the sea at Sestri Levantae.

Today we are being tourists, catching the train to Cinque Terre and staying in a hotel with real beds and a bathroom complete with shower and toilet seat...tomorrow on to Genova.

Passo Di Bracco remains copyright of the author NAPoulos44, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The Leaning Tower of...

2009-05-09T09:08:36Z

You guessed it, the primary image of your favorite Italian restaurant, the leaning tower of Pisa!

After riding out of the Internet cafe in Follonica we made it only about 10 more miles to the lovely campsite at Torre Moze which we have renamed simply...house of bugs...we are still tending to the numerous mosquito bites that we took as our memories of Torre Moze, oh and the train that went by every three hours and made you feel like you were sleeping on the launching pad of the space shuttle itself! What began as a sleepy ride out of Torre Moze continued on another beautiful Italian sun-filled day to the outskirts of Livorno where we were greeted by a tunnel, now most of the tunnels we have been through thus far have been very short maybe a few hundred meters at most, we missed the little sign at the start of this tunnel into Livorno which read simply...2200mt...(a reference here to our previous entries about the Italian racers...drivers I mean...) and enough said on that topic (we do after all have a Greek Father and Jewish Mother respectively) But as you can tell we are safe and sound and writing once again!

Yesterday was a short 30 miles through Livorno along the beach to Pisa

What can I say about Pisa? A landmark, a place where everyone comes from all over the world to take a photo of themselves pretending to be holding up the tower. Its very funny to see all of these people acting like that. Its a great town full of restaurants, bars, and nightlife. We camped in the center of town, a site fully equipped with hot showers, a pool, bar, and market. What else do you need? Being here, camping each night, makes it clear to me that simplicity, to be surrounded by nature, is the best medicine. Today we head out towards Cinque Terre.

And one last thing, we finally found a bowl of pasta. Belissimo!

The Leaning Tower of... remains copyright of the author NAPoulos44, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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A View of Elba

2009-05-06T16:09:04Z

In the midst of our fourth day of riding, we finally find ourselves in a town with an internet spot, and one with a view of the Isle of Elba (place of Napolean's exile) at that. Napolean would be proud of our progress thus far! Sunday May 3rd saw us riding out of Rome along the walls of Vatican City and onto the first part of the Via Aurelia, the road we will follow well into France. The traffic on the ride out of Rome gave us our first taste of Italian drivers, fast yet respectful, giving us a wide berth but never letting a foot off the gas! Slowly we made our way out of the city and onto some quiet roads with some short climbs through some beautiful countryside meandering our way through the Roman foothills towards the sea. The first views of the Mediteranean were spectacular and as soon as we reached Ladispoli, our destination for the night, Nathan was quick to take a dip in the Med...cold still...but refreshing after a long ride.

May 4th

Slept at a campground in Ladispoli, let me describe this unusal place to you. It was a tent city, a place where Italian families come to vacation, fully equipped with kitchens, campers, Awnings, and front yards. Children rode their ATVs across the beach while the sun set. Nathan went for an ice cold swim, the first dip in the Mediterrean. Ah, refreshing!
The only problem we have not been able to find a decent Italian dinner for the life of us, no pasta, just cold sandwiches, and anchivoi pizza which Nathan hates and Allen loves.
Waking up we had a cafe, a pastry, and began an amazing ride along the Italian Coastline, we cycled down tree lined roads under the warm sun, stopped and ran with our bathing suits into the Ocean, and on we road another 30 miles to our resting point at Marina di Montalto.

Montalto must be one rockin' beach town...during Italian holliday season...in May, however, we were lucky to find one bar open to serve us dinner, hamburgers at that...still looking for that amazing Italian food! The campsite, however, was a beautiful resting place underneath a canopy of pine trees, which later that night would provide some shelter from a brief rain, the only adverse weather we have encountered thus far...knock on wood...

Cinco de Mayo

It seems as if Italy was made for cycling, today like the last few days we found ourselves on long, beautiful, and quiet paths stretching for miles under the beautiful Italian sunshine. Things are so much different from the adversities we faced as we road across Spain last time, another day older and perhaps a bit luckier we are sailing smoothly along...AND THEN...

THE HIGHWAY...

So again, let me say that Italian drivers, even the semi-truck drivers are very respectful of our space, giving us as much as can reasonably be expected, but they NEVER let off the gas pedal! Today, every effort was made to get off of the highway (the E80 / SS1) but this desire only led us to out of the way dead ends or multi-kilometer delays that in the end weren't worth the effort, and soon we settled into the E80 until we finally reached the butcher shop in Alberese.

PATIENCE is the name of the game at the butcher shop in Alberese. We waited almost an hour just to buy some cheese and sausages, all the while listening to the bells tolling in the church next door. Alberese is known for the quality of the food, and later that night we had the treat of cooking for ourselves high quality steak and rissoto. We were exhausted by the time we left the butcher shop and with several miles to go before a campground, we decided to practice our Italian and asked a farmer if they had a room available. Lucky for us but not for our budgets, the farmer woman smiled and said

50 Euros please.

We had a good night and slept, and were greeted by a little dog on our front porch in the morning.

May 6,

Another beautiful day under the Italian sunshine though as we sit in the internet cafe in Follonica the skys have grown overcast, only a brief bit of highway today and the rest on relatively quiet roads. Today was the first real climbing we have experienced, but only a taste of what lies ahead, and now, like Napolean, it is time to make our escape...On to San Vincenzo

A View of Elba remains copyright of the author NAPoulos44, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The Journey Continues

2009-04-14T05:40:59Z

When last I wrote, Allen and I had completed an amazing journey across Spain on the Camino Santiago, a journey which not only challenged us physically, but which changed us spiritually. When I departed for the Camino the last time I was in the middle of a transition in my life. The Public Defender's in Placer Co. had gone under and I had been hired on at the Public Defender's in Santa Barbara which was both exciting and completely unknown. Five Hundred miles across Spain later I found myself sitting in a Motel 6 in Carpinteria California at 2:30 a.m., all my worldly possessions in my car and five hours away from starting a new job!

I lived in that Motel 6 for three weeks before I found a home in Santa Barbara and it was the feeling I carried home from the Camino that helped me keep the faith that this new adventure would work out. Two years and seven months later life is good. As Allen and I prepare to step back on the physical camino, I find myself in love with a beautiful woman who supports me in everything I do including leaving the country for two months to do this trip. I also find myself still in Santa Barbara having found a wonderful home in the Public Defender's Office with a truly amazing and dedicated group of people.

The Camino that awaits us this time follows a relatively uncharted, or at least largely undocumented course and will present a whole new arrray of physical and mental challenges. Our trusty bicycles Rocinante and La Mujer de la Plata will accompany us once again this time through both the Alps and the Pyranees. The plan is +/- 1600 miles along the Italian and French Riviera, down through the Pyranees to Barcelona and back to the wine fountain in Irache Spain where we will rejoin the Camino Frances until we hit Santiago de Compostela. As we chart our course we will do our best to document our experience here, please follow along with us as we tilt at a whole new set of windmills.

The Journey Continues remains copyright of the author NAPoulos44, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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