Italy and Spain

Hola from Spain! Since we wrote last we have made it all the way (with the help of a few ferries) from Croatia to north of Barcelona on the Spanish coast. It has been hot, hot, hot!!

From Dubrovnik we caught an overnight ferry to Italy and then biked across to Naples. The eastern coast of Italy was dry, hot, flat and barren in comparison with the Croatian coast. However, what the area lacked in natural beauty it compensated for in the warmth and vibrancy of the Italian people. At our first snack stop we soon attracted a small crowd, were given a free map of Italy and gifts of peaches!! The fruit is great this time of year...huge peaches, nectarines, plums and cherries! The icecream and pizza are fantastic too.

We hooned across Italy in two and half days. Not such great riding as the roads were big with lots of fast, crazy Italian driving- no small roads. We rode for 140km on the first day with the blazing sun above and olive trees as far as the eye could see. We rode until dusk and then asked a family if we could camp on their lawn. They were very friendly and gave us their downstairs area to shower and sleep in.

Our second day riding was a lot more interesting with lots of mountains and greener vegetation. We rode hard in hope of making it to Naples that evening. But after 145 hilly kilometres (plus time wasted accidentally riding onto another motorway) and with the light fading fast, we realised we weren't going to make it. Finding ourselves in a sprawling town surrounded by many other sprawling towns we knew our chances of finding a camping ground within 100kms were slim. In hope of some help we stopped at the tourist information office. We were greeted by a friendly group of Italians who quickly offered us their office as a resting place for the night. We gratefully accepted their generous offer and had a good nights sleep.


We had a brilliant downhill into Naples the next morning with great views of Vesuvius mountain. In Naples we spent a few days staying with a lovely dentist called Luca. He lives in a beautiful apartment right in the heart of the old town. With crowded, narrow cobbled streets, old cathedrals, motorbikes and cars driving wildly everywhere Naples is a crazy chaotic city- and very difficult to bike around! The streets are brimming with people - all speaking loudly with energetic hand gestures - so Italian!


One of things that struck us most about Italy was how dirty it was- the roadsides were littered with dumped rubbish, old furniture and plastic bags. Naples was no exception with piles of litter all over the place- apparently the Mafia are somehow involved with rubbish collection!?

Luca took us out in his boat with five of his friends to an island off the coast. It was great - swimming, eating good food and hanging with the Italians. In the evening we went to a fantastic open-air concert, followed by pizza dinner after midnight! The Italians eat very late and found it hilarious when Kate and I were looking for an open pizza restaurant at seven in the evening!

We spent a day exploring the remains of the Roman city Pompeii - Kate nearly wilting in the intense forty degree heat! Construction of Pompeii began around 6th-7th century BC. The Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD buried the city under 20 metres of ash and it remained undisturbed until 1748. It was incredible to see how advanced and elaborate Roman life was.....and all this 2000 years before Machu Picchu was built!
The Bakery
Plaster casts of victims caught in their last moment of life, with the expression of terror often quite clearly visible... Mt Vesuvius looming in the background... A Roman time cafe...
From Naples we made the decision to catch a train to Rome - breaking our unbroken run of riding every km in Europe. The heat, busy roads and a ferry booking made it a very good option. The ferry from Rome to Barcelona was the closest Kate and I will ever come to going on a cruise ship. We spent the 22 hour journey lounging by the outdoor pool, drinking beer and playing cards in the luxurious lounges as we crossed the Mediterranean.
Barcelona was a stunning city to ride into....vibrant Las Ramblas, beautiful buildings and fountains, thronging streets - the city sure has a great feel. We spent the night with Enrique, a Spaniard who had recently spent three months cycling in New Zealand and fallen in love with the place. Enrique cooked us a variety of delicious tapas, which we ate while discussing all the virtues of beautiful NZ.

The next four days were a complete change of pace for us. We met Ella, Suz, Nariah and Amanda in Bennicasim for the annual music festival. It was so great to see the girls, hear about their travels and spend some time chilling out. The four days of good music, beach swimming, crowded camping, late nights and drinking was only marred by one massive windstorm that resulted in the cancellation of Kings of Leon and many campers losing their tents. Luckily we reached our tents just in time and nothing was lost to the hurricane force winds. The aftermath...

Weary from lack of sleep we headed north on our bikes up the Spanish coast. The girls were traveling by car and met us in the evenings to camp (great to have a support crew)Ella even spent a 100km day on the bike while I went in the car...concluding I much prefer being on my bike! Ella enjoyed her day- despite dull, hot riding and Kate making her ride until 3pm before having a lunch of stale jam and bread!

Having rushed through Barcelona on the way to the festival we decided to spend a day in the city when passing back through. On arrival in the city we were tired, hot and Kate had more broken spokes grrr. Enrique (our Spanish host) was out of town, so we eventually decided to get a hostel. Inexperienced with hostels we didn't realise you were meant to book in advance, and soon found there were no rooms anywhere. Facing up to a night on the streets of Barcelona and reaching the limits of our traveler reserve, we eventually followed some Australian accents a few blocks and found a cancellation at their hostel. The following day we roamed around Barcelona, swam at the crowded beach and endured the cities hottest recorded day in 100 years!

From Barcelona we continued north up the Mediterranean coast (Costa Brava). It was a strange experience seeing this part of the world. Although there were some beautiful sections of riding and a few gorgeous, secluded beaches; for the most part the coast was crowded with tourists, ugly hotels, tacky fairs and carnivals. We crossed into France and are now riding north towards Switzerland. We are really looking forward to being back in the mountains, but will miss the ocean and frequent swim stops. The newest development in our plans is that we are going to spend our last month in Europe in Norway. So, on the 12th of August we will fly from Zurich to Alta- 72 degrees north, for some chilly but beautiful Arctic riding. Bring on the wilderness!!!

More from Pompeii....

Brilliant wild camping spot - Costa Brava

National park on Spanish coast