Europe winter 2001-2

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North eastern Spain then Christmas in France

Leaving in late November we planned a route across France to Narbonne where we camped beside the beach. We went to explore more of the eastern coastal area of northern Spain.

Jim had his latest KTM- it was Patsy Quicks old bike and he allowed Dot to take the new bike for a ride along the track beside the sea.

We explored the castle at Peniscola where the film El Cid was filmed..

After a short time in the sun we drove north to Arras where the 2002 Dakar Rally started.

We spent Christmas there and met up with the teams as they began to arrive.

The new KTM twins looked impressive- one for Meoni and one for my hero Gio Sala.

The members of RallyRaid UK arrived-Paul and Mark Round in the Desert Warrior and Mick Exstance riding a Husaberg, Dave Hammond on a KTM.

Mike and Sue arrived with the grandchildren and that night we all had a good time watching the start of the event.

Overnight the snow fell so we turned south and rushed back to Spain.

It was still cold when we stayed at Salamanca-the water supply at the campsite was frozen.

The old city is full of lovely buildings and we celebrated the New Year and the introduction of the new Euro money.

All the ATM's ran out of cash as people rushed to get the new notes.

Long stay in Portugal at Odivelas.

On the way through Portugal we stayed at the town of Evora where the Romans had a built a temple to Diana.

The ruin is in the centre of the town which also has well preserved city walls, a Roman aqueduct and gardens.

Situated away from any town and alongside a dam at Odivelas is a great campsite. We stayed here for many weeks and often watched the moon rise over the lake.

It is a perfect location.

The nearest shops were in the town of Vianna, about 17kms away along lovely tracks through the woods and farmland.

I had no problem persuading Jim to come shopping on the dirt bikes..

This is the old castle in the town.

This little church was in the middle of nowhere beside a long dusty track.

When we stopped to look around the old caretaker came out with the key so we could go inside.

As our eyes adjusted to the dark unlit interior we realised the walls were covered with the most beautiful frescos.

We were amused to see one picture of a monk with a crutch and an artificial leg hanging from a tree branch.

In this part of Portugal the charcoal is still made in the traditional way.

Local people bringing wood in exchange for charcoal which they use for cooking.

The Romans spent a long time in the area and this road bridge is a fine example of their road building skills.

It is still in use today and in good repair but we crossed in the ford.

The Ruinas Cucufate is a first century Roman villa. It has been rescued and is open to the public.

A family of some importance must have lived here as it is a very fine imposing complex.

With under floor heating, hot and cold plunge baths and a full size outdoor swimming pool.

The local people must have been impressed.

We were travelling along some great tracks and came across this Roman footbridge leading out of a village -

suitable only for donkeys and motorbikes.

At Alqueva the Portuguese government is building the biggest dam in Europe.

On the day we went to visit, the Prime Minister was also there to pour the last skip of concrete to close the top of the dam.

To avoid the police cordon we found some tracks leading down to the river and found ourselves on the other side of the dam.

We rode as close as possible and realised that all this area was going to be under water and never seen again.

An arena trial in Lisbon and rain in Spain.

A round of the World Indoor Trials Championship was held in Lisbon at the Pavilion on the Expo site.

As the start was 9pm we had time to explore the area and enjoyed the children's science experience.

Multi World Champion Dougie Lampkin and his dad our old friend Martin were surprised to see us.

We enjoyed a ring side view of the event and were amazed by the skills of all the competitors as they tackle the most unlikely obstacles.

We saw this unusual bike parked and couldn't decide what it was trying to be.

The first round of the WEC was held at Valverde de Camino in an area where all the strawberries are grown.

We expected sunshine but got lots of rain and the Spanish marshals tried to get warm around a fire.

The camping area was under two foot of water as we tried to cook our BBQ.

All the way from Canada Barry and Dale found the going a bit muddy and difficult.

They enjoyed the event but made the mistake of trying to keep up with Fast Eddy! (Paul Edmonson a multi World Enduro champion who had been over in the USA racing in the GNCC series)

The British fans were celebrating as David Knight did the double and took home two large legs of ham!

On the way to the next round in Portugal we stopped off in Serpa and found time to explore the rocks and canyons at the Wolves Pool.

It was a 2km walk from the road but our dirt bikes enabled us to get right down to the rivers edge.

Warm and sunny in the Sierra de Estrela, Portugal.

The next round of the WEC was in Oliveria de Hospital in Portugal and the weather was hot and sunny-

too warm for the riders who stayed in the shade at the start.

Checking out good places for photos we found a very tricky part of the course.

Jim rode down feet up-I had to get off and walk!

As the weather stayed warm we found a deserted campsite beside the river at Sao Giao.

This was a perfect base from which to explore the mountains.

The whole area is covered with tracks-many are signposted as 4x4 routes.

We found our way right to this tower along the ridge at 2600m.

Alongside one of the tracks was a sign painted onto the rocks-

Dinasour footprints!

There in the solid rock was the evidence that a dinosaur had walked along this hillside in the mud-

-we studied the marks and thought about how old the rocks were.

Everywhere was evidence of the struggle to grow crops on these steep hillsides.

Nestling down in a crack in the hills is the village of Piodao where all the buildings are made of slate.

Riding through the pine woods we could see the resin collectors tied to the trunks

Into France and the Lot valley and Dordogne

Back at the Atlantic coast near the Pyrenees we had to stay at Jean St Luc until a storm passed through.

Once again there was snow on the mountains so we explored the fine buildings in the city of Pau.

We camped beside a little river near to a huge cave complex.

Underground into the massive caves de Betharran where we rode on the train and sailed on a boat along the underground river.

French gardens are very formal and this one had lines of perfectly trimmed bushes and hardly any flowers

The old town of Rocamdour clings to the rock face and was worth exploring.

It is full of souvenir shops and has been spoiled.

This Chateau near Domme is unspoilt and commanded a good position over the river.

Inside the rooms were comfortable and homely.

Another lovely town was Sarlat which has retained its fine old buildings alongside newer additions.

The free camping place was right by the laundrette-handy!

Cold and wet in the Massif Central.

From the warm sunshine we climbed up into the snowy mountains to visit Massiac where a round of the UEM championship was being held.

Lots of British riders were entered so we went along to offer our support.

In the cold wet weather the riders struggled with a course that resembled a game of ludo-red route-yellow route-blue route-

typical French chaos!

We were glad to leave and head north towards home and better weather!

--------A few good places to visit next April 2002-August 2002-------

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