We love Castles!!
hitchhiking on a lightly traveled mountain road = a beautiful hike on a lightly traveled mountain road
Monday, June 30, 2008
Fun in France
We love Castles!! hitchhiking on a lightly traveled mountain road = a beautiful hike on a lightly traveled mountain road
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Andorra and a private Chalet by the River
Our 'plans' for this trip consisted mainly of no plans just 'Be Flexible.' We were going to be heading west these past few days but from meeting locals and finding things out, we have been changing plans and have stayed longer.
Two days ago we hitch hiked to Andorra, a tiny county under 200 sq miles with just over 70,000 people, on the French and Spanish border. Where we were in the country was about 6000 feet in elevation so we left our bikes at a friends house in France and used our thumbs to reach Andorra. After a night in the mountainous, snow capped, duty free country, we went back to France. We took a different route over the Pyrenees mountains back and when our last ride left us at the peak of the mountain, we did not get another ride (nor see more than a few cars) for the next 5 hours. Eric and I descended the mountain's switch back roads for all the hours mostly in silence in awe of the beauty of the walk. Luckily, it was not a walk we minded.
When we got back to the bikes, our English friend, Collen, offered us his chalet near his house to stay in. The chalet is set next to the river at the bottom of a extremely deep gorge. So again, we gladly changed plans a little and we stayed here a few days.
Biking through a gorge.
Just after our last ride from Andorra before we started hiking down.
Two days ago we hitch hiked to Andorra, a tiny county under 200 sq miles with just over 70,000 people, on the French and Spanish border. Where we were in the country was about 6000 feet in elevation so we left our bikes at a friends house in France and used our thumbs to reach Andorra. After a night in the mountainous, snow capped, duty free country, we went back to France. We took a different route over the Pyrenees mountains back and when our last ride left us at the peak of the mountain, we did not get another ride (nor see more than a few cars) for the next 5 hours. Eric and I descended the mountain's switch back roads for all the hours mostly in silence in awe of the beauty of the walk. Luckily, it was not a walk we minded.
When we got back to the bikes, our English friend, Collen, offered us his chalet near his house to stay in. The chalet is set next to the river at the bottom of a extremely deep gorge. So again, we gladly changed plans a little and we stayed here a few days.
Biking through a gorge.
Just after our last ride from Andorra before we started hiking down.
Jonathan
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Camping in Castles
Excellent view from our bedroom this morning in the tower of a castle. We camped out here after stashing our bikes and climbing up the mountain.
French Countryside
The raddest Castle ever, this one fully restored and quite impressive. (Two days ago)
On the climb to camp in the castle, I found a small opening in the rock wall. Jumping in we discovered in to be a caveren! The difficult decent was made slightly more cumbersome, but more fun as well, going down the steep, wet, dark walls with camera gear! Eric got some sick pics though that will hopefully be up soon.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Along the Canal
We are loving France.
A lot of fresh bread and other baked goods.
The roadsides and villages are just what was expected and very...well...French.
We have been riding along the Canal Du Midi. Sometimes the roads are great, sometimes we should only be attempting the road with a well equipped mountain bike. Going down a steep, very rocky decent today, I popped a tire.
What looks like a brigde behind our camp site is actually the canal over the river.
We found a small castle tucked away in a vineyard today and ate tiny apricots till I was going to explode.
Last night was a Nation-wide, French music festival. From the ancient fortified city of Beziers we saw probably 7 different bands of all sorts.
Thanks Dad for the camera!
Jonathan
A lot of fresh bread and other baked goods.
The roadsides and villages are just what was expected and very...well...French.
We have been riding along the Canal Du Midi. Sometimes the roads are great, sometimes we should only be attempting the road with a well equipped mountain bike. Going down a steep, very rocky decent today, I popped a tire.
What looks like a brigde behind our camp site is actually the canal over the river.
We found a small castle tucked away in a vineyard today and ate tiny apricots till I was going to explode.
Last night was a Nation-wide, French music festival. From the ancient fortified city of Beziers we saw probably 7 different bands of all sorts.
Thanks Dad for the camera!
Jonathan
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Castles, Cliffs, and Crashes
We landed in Vilamoura, Portugal on the 7th to be greeted by Pat's family spraying champagne all over us. The next day Eric and I headed off on the bikes for a 5 day trip along the southern coast of Portugal. After so much planning for riding it was great to have everything work and us really find out we can do it. We rode a total of about 300km from Vilamoura to the far South Western point of the European continent and back.
The far point (and most of the southern coast, the Algarve) is famous for the huge cliffs bordering the ocean. Naturally, Eric and I set up tent right on the edge of the cliffs at the south-western most point of the continent. Talk about an epic view from your camp site!
The next night we camped at Ponte de Lagos along the Southern coast. We camped on the beach of a cove surrounded by the high cliffs. Lagos cliffs are much more diverse and not just sheer drop off. They have so many caves, land bridges, and islands. We explored these cliffs for endless hours, sometimes climbing, sometimes swimming to be able to get to new spots.
The last town we went to was Silves where we checked out a castle. We camped out in an orange grove that overlooked the castle. It was the garden of Orange gluttony. I had as many oranges in 12hrs as most people do for several months!
We are now back on Mojomo sailing in the Med. Sadly, Pat is no longer with us and has went back home with her family. So now it is just the 3 of us guys. Last night we stopped off in Marbella, the posh of the posh of southern Spain. It was the land of beautiful people, Ferraris and Lambo's, and people spending money just to spend it.
We will continue along the coast of Spain and in a few days get to Palma.
Jonathan
Crash Count:
Jonathan: 2
Eric: 0
And we'd like to keep it that way.
The first crash occurred on the very first day of our Portugal tour, not 10 Ks in. I am leading on a downhill and am dodging some crappy pavement sections. All of a sudden, I hear a great sliding/grinding noise from immediately behind me. Not good. I keep cool, come to a stop and then turn around. I see Jonathan, on his feet (happily), with bike and bags strewn all over the pavement. He was fine, and the bike required only minor tweaking
The far point (and most of the southern coast, the Algarve) is famous for the huge cliffs bordering the ocean. Naturally, Eric and I set up tent right on the edge of the cliffs at the south-western most point of the continent. Talk about an epic view from your camp site!
The next night we camped at Ponte de Lagos along the Southern coast. We camped on the beach of a cove surrounded by the high cliffs. Lagos cliffs are much more diverse and not just sheer drop off. They have so many caves, land bridges, and islands. We explored these cliffs for endless hours, sometimes climbing, sometimes swimming to be able to get to new spots.
The last town we went to was Silves where we checked out a castle. We camped out in an orange grove that overlooked the castle. It was the garden of Orange gluttony. I had as many oranges in 12hrs as most people do for several months!
We are now back on Mojomo sailing in the Med. Sadly, Pat is no longer with us and has went back home with her family. So now it is just the 3 of us guys. Last night we stopped off in Marbella, the posh of the posh of southern Spain. It was the land of beautiful people, Ferraris and Lambo's, and people spending money just to spend it.
We will continue along the coast of Spain and in a few days get to Palma.
Jonathan
Crash Count:
Jonathan: 2
Eric: 0
And we'd like to keep it that way.
The first crash occurred on the very first day of our Portugal tour, not 10 Ks in. I am leading on a downhill and am dodging some crappy pavement sections. All of a sudden, I hear a great sliding/grinding noise from immediately behind me. Not good. I keep cool, come to a stop and then turn around. I see Jonathan, on his feet (happily), with bike and bags strewn all over the pavement. He was fine, and the bike required only minor tweaking
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Campiung and Biking now!
Here is a few quick pics from my `normal person´ camera. Eric will get more up eventually.
First night of Camping. On the cliffs on the south western most point of Europe.
Our lovely mode of Transportation.
Our second camp site.
-Jonathan
First night of Camping. On the cliffs on the south western most point of Europe.
Our lovely mode of Transportation.
Our second camp site.-Jonathan
Sunday, June 8, 2008
We made it!!
We are now on mainland Europe, specifically in Portugal!!
Now we’re off on the bikes for a few days, then back on the boat for more sailing.
Here’s a link to Mojomo’s blog with our route across the Atlantic:
http://blog.mailasail.com/mojomo
Cheers!
Eric and Jon
Now we’re off on the bikes for a few days, then back on the boat for more sailing.
Here’s a link to Mojomo’s blog with our route across the Atlantic:
http://blog.mailasail.com/mojomo
Cheers!
Eric and Jon
Photos!!
Sorry I don't have photoshop, or else I could process RAW files, tweak levels, and such to show you a proper photo, so these JPGS will have to do for now :)
Eric
Saturday, June 7, 2008
From the Azores to Portugal
38’48 N 21’11W
We are now back aboard Mojomo heading for Portugal. We arrived at the Azores Friday morning and left Sunday. ETA for Portugal is Saturday evening.
The Azores were incredible. Friday morning it was so great to see the shape of mountains form during sunrise on the horizon. It was culture shock to be on land and interact with other people besides our small crew. We had some of the best food of our lives as sort very classic, and very posh restaurants.
Eric and I went on the best run of our lives about 2 hours after arriving. Cliffs bordered the coast as when ran around the edge of the island through all sorts of tiny roads. Eventually we ran through the remains of an old amphi-theatre made from volcanic rock on the edge of a cliff and then turned around at the end of a huge rock jutting out around a crevasse the waves were crashing up into.
A few hours after arriving Matt came back from the dentist (he had to get a tooth pulled!) he announced with a mischievous grin, “Hey guys, I just rented a big black Mercedes limo with a crazy driver to take us around the island for a few hours!” And indeed he was crazy, which made the evening even more epic. Besides showing us all the sights of the island, he also shared with us the uses of refrigerators, and the fact the his dreams frequently predict the future (he has seen several earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in his dreams just days before the actually happened).
The new section of the island recently formed by volcanic eruption 50 years ago was very interesting, along with some other epic views, but what really blew Eric and I away was the volcanic crater on top of the island that originally formed the island years and years ago. About 2000m across the top and 400m deep, it was extremely lush and terrain like I had never seen before. As we came to the edge, we simply were at loss for words. There was a trail along the top, and a very haggard one that lead down into it. Unfortunately, we did not have the spare hours to hike down, but Eric and I want desperately to come back to it one day.
Friday evening there was some festival and we went to see a very ’European’ band play an assortment of all kinds of instruments. I joined in the crowd and danced around for a few hours before Eric and I finally went back to the yacht at 1am, which we found out the next night was extremely early!
Jonathan
We are now back aboard Mojomo heading for Portugal. We arrived at the Azores Friday morning and left Sunday. ETA for Portugal is Saturday evening.
The Azores were incredible. Friday morning it was so great to see the shape of mountains form during sunrise on the horizon. It was culture shock to be on land and interact with other people besides our small crew. We had some of the best food of our lives as sort very classic, and very posh restaurants.
Eric and I went on the best run of our lives about 2 hours after arriving. Cliffs bordered the coast as when ran around the edge of the island through all sorts of tiny roads. Eventually we ran through the remains of an old amphi-theatre made from volcanic rock on the edge of a cliff and then turned around at the end of a huge rock jutting out around a crevasse the waves were crashing up into.
A few hours after arriving Matt came back from the dentist (he had to get a tooth pulled!) he announced with a mischievous grin, “Hey guys, I just rented a big black Mercedes limo with a crazy driver to take us around the island for a few hours!” And indeed he was crazy, which made the evening even more epic. Besides showing us all the sights of the island, he also shared with us the uses of refrigerators, and the fact the his dreams frequently predict the future (he has seen several earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in his dreams just days before the actually happened).
The new section of the island recently formed by volcanic eruption 50 years ago was very interesting, along with some other epic views, but what really blew Eric and I away was the volcanic crater on top of the island that originally formed the island years and years ago. About 2000m across the top and 400m deep, it was extremely lush and terrain like I had never seen before. As we came to the edge, we simply were at loss for words. There was a trail along the top, and a very haggard one that lead down into it. Unfortunately, we did not have the spare hours to hike down, but Eric and I want desperately to come back to it one day.
Friday evening there was some festival and we went to see a very ’European’ band play an assortment of all kinds of instruments. I joined in the crowd and danced around for a few hours before Eric and I finally went back to the yacht at 1am, which we found out the next night was extremely early!
Jonathan
Land Ho!
38’35 N 28’36 W
I was on night-watch hours before we were to hit the Azorian Islands. We were charging into 15 knots of chilly head-wind and crashing over decent sized seas with the knowledge that as we neared land, we would likely encounter ill-lit fishing boats and all kinds of other floating debris that could do our boat damage.
My eyes squinted and strained into the dark distance. Wind and sea-spray pelted my face. The ghostly figures of sea gulls were all the time swooping around the boat, barely seen. Since the radar doesn’t do you much good when the waves are bigger than most of the small boats you’re on guard for, I was left to wonder: “What is that faint light in the haze? A boat? Some low-hanging star? Or is it just my imagination?”
The sun came up soon enough, and after navigating around some beautiful cliffs, we landed on the island of Faial at a port called Horta. What a cool place! The first time we stepped on land after being at sea for two weeks, I got what I guess to be the opposite of sea sickness. I went kinda dizzy for a moment and had to crouch down to make sure I wouldn‘t fall. Who woulda thought?!? It felt great to be on solid land though.
Horta is a very popular way-point for sailing yachts, but the marina it’s self is not that big, and it‘s governed by a first come, first serve policy. So when it fills up, boats are forced to dock onto other boats and climb over one another to get to land. We docked onto a boat occupied by a nice Australian lady called Pipper, and then another boat filled with Germans docked onto us!! I guess it’s common practice to board other people’s boats with or without permission, but I found it all a bit crazy/odd. There were some extremely nice yachts there, and because of the aforementioned policy, Jon and I got to board some!
The next two days were filled with beautiful sights, great food, and interesting people, which made the stop super memorable.
Eric
I was on night-watch hours before we were to hit the Azorian Islands. We were charging into 15 knots of chilly head-wind and crashing over decent sized seas with the knowledge that as we neared land, we would likely encounter ill-lit fishing boats and all kinds of other floating debris that could do our boat damage.
My eyes squinted and strained into the dark distance. Wind and sea-spray pelted my face. The ghostly figures of sea gulls were all the time swooping around the boat, barely seen. Since the radar doesn’t do you much good when the waves are bigger than most of the small boats you’re on guard for, I was left to wonder: “What is that faint light in the haze? A boat? Some low-hanging star? Or is it just my imagination?”
The sun came up soon enough, and after navigating around some beautiful cliffs, we landed on the island of Faial at a port called Horta. What a cool place! The first time we stepped on land after being at sea for two weeks, I got what I guess to be the opposite of sea sickness. I went kinda dizzy for a moment and had to crouch down to make sure I wouldn‘t fall. Who woulda thought?!? It felt great to be on solid land though.
Horta is a very popular way-point for sailing yachts, but the marina it’s self is not that big, and it‘s governed by a first come, first serve policy. So when it fills up, boats are forced to dock onto other boats and climb over one another to get to land. We docked onto a boat occupied by a nice Australian lady called Pipper, and then another boat filled with Germans docked onto us!! I guess it’s common practice to board other people’s boats with or without permission, but I found it all a bit crazy/odd. There were some extremely nice yachts there, and because of the aforementioned policy, Jon and I got to board some!
The next two days were filled with beautiful sights, great food, and interesting people, which made the stop super memorable.
Eric
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