Sos del Rey Católico to Isla via Bardenas Reales
The ferry crossing from Santander would leave on Saturday afternoon so Friday would be all about getting onto the Cantabrian coast for the night via the most interesting route. Neither of us enjoy motorway (autopista) riding so today we started the day heading South West to look at the Bardenas Reales National Park before tracking North West, with close to 240 miles to cover. Rob and I met up at 8am for a really nice breakfast and I managed to order some bacon and eggs to complement the buffet with a brew of tea. Bikes packed and on the road at 9am the temperature already rising to 28 degrees as we dog-legged through the little town of Sadaba getting a little lost at first riding down back streets before picking up a few rough unpaved lanes into barren farmland and across what Rob described over the intercom as reminding him of 'the Paddy Fields in Vietnam'. The fields looked desert like and flooded with water with small shoots of plants growing. We were now riding off road again along a farm-track between them, and I recall looking ahead to see a great long ridgeway in the distance.
We became a little disoriented in the fields trying to find the entrance to the park, we could make out farm buildings in the distance but struggled to navigate since the Navigator wanted to take us deeper into farmland I was concerned we would meet with a dead end like yesterday. Rob following behind had spotted what looked like a road so we ignored the GPS and made it back onto the black top before spotting a sign to the park on the left. Bardenas Reales is know as the 'Badlands' a desert like area due to the climate around the Pyrenees and warm weather south loses out on rain fall so over the centuries has created a great wasteland with interesting rock formations. We were well and truly riding on gravel now leading out as far as the eye could see as the park opened out into a great desert like expanse and the heat rose over 30 degrees. I was pleased to be wearing my cool mesh jacket and back protector again today but could feel the sweat running down my back using all of my concentration for these gravelly roads. Eventually we settled into the ride stood up again while glancing down at the speedo I remember hitting 50 mph with Rob following some distance behind. After about an hour of riding on gravel we stopped in a shady area under a tree near some animal pens and goats for a much needed drink and rest before Rob led us out of the park.
We picked up the NA-134 near Funes (Navarra) the road was a real mixture of sweeping fast bends and straights and near the town of San Adrián I was tempted to look for a lunch stop but we agreed to continue on and find something nearer the road. Each town and village seemed to be high up on hillsides either side of the main road as as we came up and over a hill I missed a cafe on the left that I'm sure I recognised from a previous trip with Mark, Peter and Lindsay in 2012, but chose to continue on finding a small roadside cafe that looked open but sadly after parking up on the shaded side of the building wasn't serving food it seems. We rode on disappointed and just as I was thinking 'McDonalds, there had to be a McDonalds you can't escape 'em' we came through a town with a cafe and thankfully the young lad who was learning English at school invited us to take a seat and his mother would cook. The lad tried to convey the menu options as best as he could and seemed keen we eat a 3 course meal, but myself and Rob recognised macaroni and cheese as an option so soon after we were tucking into large plate each with a cool drink to escape from the heat. We watched with amusement as the lads mother used a mop handle to bash against the air-con unit to increase its fan power for us and we both changed into shorts using the cafes facilities.
Crossing into the small region of Álava now, I'd originally planned a lunch option in the big city of Vitoria Gasteiz, but not realising it would be too late due to the time we had spent navigating around Bardenas Reales and consuming that belly full of pasta earlier on we just continued straight through the city and out along the A-624 toward Basque country where the scenery turned even more green and lush. The riding now quite fast as we crossed into Cantabria and 'green Spain' joining the CA-153 near La Matanza heading due north toward the coast. I can't recall where we stopped for fuel but remember a toilet block behind with a nice view across the valley. By now the weather became much cooler with grey clouds brooding in the distance. Still wearing my mesh jacket and Rob without waterproof liners we decided to press on and hope the rain didn't come. During the steady climb into the forested Cantabrian mountains we experienced a slight drizzle, and on one section of a valley we needed to take care as the surface changed to dark brown silty mud for a while near Trebuesto.
I could now smell the sea as the Navigator had me turn off on to the autopista 8 heading west for a few junctions. By now I couldn't see Rob behind but hoped he was using his phone based MRA Navigator. The route would have taken us through the seaside town of Laredo but realising this meant a lengthy ride I chose to stay on the autopista for a few more junctions. I called Rob up on the phone to explain but he was all fine so we both met up soon after in the car park of Hotel Olimpo overlooking Isla Playa (near the beach) a pretty headland resort. A good clean hotel with a large balcony and view of the beach and gardens. We dined at the restaurant, early for Spain around 7pm and the first seated at the window overlooking the ocean and shared some fantastic Scallops in garlic sauce to start, and I followed this with what I thought would be a small plate of lamb so we were both amazed to see me served an actual leg of tender lamb instead. We followed dinner with a walk outside in the gardens while reflecting on a fantastic adventure we'd had over the last 10 days.
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