Road Trip 2024

 DAY EIGHT Eclipse minus one First full day in Vinaros; a day to chill out and survey the surrounding area. The town of Vinaros lies on the coast approximately half way between Barcelona (north) and Valencia (south). With 40 000 inhabitants it can not compete with its two big neighbours. It is almost surrounded by hills but at a distance of 20 kilometers, which means many places will have a good sight of the eclipse, assuming observers dont stand next to a neighbour´s wall, or behind a hedge. Rolf has done loads of research and the eclipse begins when the sun is at approx 10° above the horizon, so visibke to almost all, but finishes an hour later at only 4° above the horizon, so even a big tree could block out the final minutes. our accommodation (with pool) After visiting Rolf´s cousin in Vinaros for a very full breakfast, we made our way in to town. There are the usual beaches - very nice with all amenities, shops - mainly Spanish within the town itself, and plazas - with pleasan...

 DAY SEVEN We arrive at the Spanish Coast We left Lleida after breakfast at a typical Spanish cafe. Our first stop was at Caspe, where we expected to visit a church with a wonderful panoramic view of the Ebro river. We had followed and criss-crossed this very large river a number of times. However, due to roadworks and preparation for the forthcoming fiesta - San Roque - we found ourselves at the wrong side of town. However we met five of the most important members of the town!                 An hour later we turned off our road and had 400 meters of very dusty, very rugged four-wheel drive country in a low sports model. Bumpy! We found ourselves at the Puente (bridge) de Cananillas near Teruel. Here the river flows through a gorge of large rocks which forms pools that are deep enough to swim in. So - off with the shorts and on with the swimming trunks!            Another hour of beautiful landscapes and we arri...

 DAY SIX Spain, here we come! Today the objective was to reach Lleida in northern Spain. After about an hour´s drive we came to a town called Foix. There were at least two markets on in the town, but as it was Sunday, no real shopping possibilities. But quite pretty with a fortress on the hill.         Then through the Pyrenees. It can take up to two hours to "cross" the Pyrenees, and no photographs can really do them justice. Lleida is a city of conundrums. A city of 140,000 it has a ruined cathedral and a castle overlooking it. The city is lively (on Monday morning) and the "old city" is also "alive" on Sunday evening - loads of young men apparently selling everything from shoes to "smokes". Ignoring the advice of the hotel concierge we walked through the area and found some nice grafitti, but didn´t explore too many side streets before climbing up to the ruined cathedral and a nice restaurant where we enjoyed our first Tapas.         ...

 DAY FIVE From Cro-Magnon engravings to Waggons for the Dead Le Bugue may be a small town but it does have a flea market on a Sunday - and it has cave engravings. We visited both before making our way south to Toulouse. Firstly we took in the flea market. Nicely situated just out of town and on the banks of a small river. Klein aber Fein as they say in German - small but nice.  Then we drove to the cave at Bara Bahau. The small car park was empty. The ticket office was closed. The place deserted 4 minutes before the first visit of the day. Then a car pulled up, a young lady arrived and opened up. We were the only visitors! We had a personal guided tour in English! Although not large, and not as exciting as the caves with paintings, the cave was rich in engravings. Apparently humans had found a cave, previously inhabited by bears (long before). On top of the bear´s paw scratchings the humans had drawn some figures and engraved all manner of animals. No photography allowed - but...