20130618-0803 Road Trip Thru S.Spain, Portugal, N.Spain, and France - A vacation within a vacation.

Southern Spain - Malaga, Tarifa, Seville
With the hurricane season upon us, our insurance company requires that aVida be south of the 10 degrees latitude, so we chose Bocas del Toro Marina, Panama to put aVida to rest for the summer. Since Bocas summers are quite hot, muggy, and buggy, we decided to take a vacation from our vacation by travelling abroad. The Caribbean has its appeal, but after spending 2.5 years in the Med, we missed Europe for its history, culture, people, and cuisine, so we planned a 6 week road trip starting in southern Spain, through Portugal, across the north of Spain, up the West coast of France, inland to the Loire Valley, up to the North coast of France, ending in Paris.

So, we begin via flights through Panama City, then Madrid, into Malaga, Spain, where we rented a compact car. Malaga was an overnight stay, a time to recoup from the travel, but quite a lively city rich in cathedrals and old Roman ruins.

The highlight of our entire trip was our visit with our crazy Spanish sailing friends Dani and Bernard - our clowns we call them and in whom "In Wind We Trust". We spent 3 nights in Tarifa, lodged at a seaside bungalow next to Bernard's house (Torre de la Pena) overlooking the bay. We were warmly welcomed by his lovely wife Margherita, their 3 well mannered kids, friendly dog, and very inviting home with a view to die for. The complex of vacation bungalows and restaurant on the beach apparently has much history and political drama today. Margherita and siblings are heirs to their parents' surviving business, and must deal with the operations on a daily basis and long term, at least for now.... Many challenges as we learned more.

Dani joined us the following day.... What a gem. Very warm welcomes and hugs. We dined at his close sailing friend Ebon's sheik apartment, a traditional Spanish feast of paiella whipped up quickly by this master chef. We planned to sail on Bernard's monohull, but unfortunately the weather gods did not cooperate, as huge seas and some heavy winds hung around for the coming days. Instead, the guys sailed on land.... "Blowcarting" is what they call it. Good wind, great speed, but on land versus water, and great fun. The three days we had together, we explored surrounding villages, hiking parks and beaches, dining together and just enjoyed each other's company and families. Especially Dani's charming and entertaining four year old daughter Ines, and his pretty and petit wife Rosaria.

Our good friends spent 3 full days and evenings hosting and entertaining us, we are very fortunate to have Dani and Bernard as friends. After Goodbyes to our friends, we drove our rental car Nwest with a stop in Seville.... A second visit for us, and a chance to see another spicy Falmenco show.

When we planned our trip, we mapped out destinations from 1-3 hours driving time with stops along the way, and 1-3 night stays at each destination. Similar to our voyaging by boat, anchoring at a harbor, although this time by land. We also decided to pre-book many boutique hotels, located in the old towns or by the sea, to maximize our touring time. It meshed well together generally, with minor tweaks along the way.

Portugal - Lisbon, Obidos, Porto
Mark says, we always want to experience something new. Portugal was a new destination for us (except for the Azores). We stopped in many towns; Lisbon - a large, lively city, best to be toured via a hop-on-off bus, Ingles, Cascais, Sintra, Obidos, Nazarre sea-side, stops in Coimbra, Aviero, over to Porto sea-side again. Lots of castles, walled medieval cities, cobblestone streets, great cherry liquor, and Port wine of course. Even though the Portuguese language is oddly different, the service, friendliness, and open-minded people were much admired.

And they drive crazy Fast- In a 120km/hr zone, Mark would drive 130-140 (about 84 mph in our compact car), and many other cars would blow past us like we were standing still- probably 180-220kph. Mark has driven on the Autobahn, and this was even faster. We read that Portugal has 3x the death rate due to speeding vs the rest of Europe... go figure.

Unlucky. Unfortunately, Portugal's larger cities are known for pickpocketing and petty theft. So, unfortunately, my purse, along with cell phone, $500 US, credit cards and driver's license was stolen. We filed a police report, checked each of the places we visited the day before, and then noticed lots of signs warning tourists of theft in the area. With help from AVID admin, we were able to secure a new phone and replacement credit cards for me and have them FedXd to a hotel ahead of our arrival. Whew.

Northern Spain - Santiago de Compostela, Coruna, Viveiro, Oviedo, Santander, Bilboa, San Sebastian
We worked our way from southern Portugal up to the north and drove east to cover northern Spain and its Basque Country. Instead of hiking "The Way", yes we drove it, but we truly felt like we hiked it as we walked many many miles in many villages just about every day. We stopped in the famed Santiago de Compostela, Coruna, Viveiro, Santander, with stops at Covadonga, Picos de Europa, St. Vincent, Comillas, Santillana, and Bilbao.

Europe surprises us time and time again. The drive through northern Spain was exceptionally scenic and rewarding. The winding roads, with breathtaking vistas everywhere, lush greenery emitting fresh pine scents, snow capped mega-mountains, jagged cliff coastlines, old bridges and architecture, etc. etc.

At the end of our tour of Northern Spain, we stopped in the Basque village of Bakio before moving onto St. Sebastian- our last stop. Bakio is Dani's hometown, a small seaside quaint village. Dani arranged for us to be escorted by his fine cousin I - AKITXU. We hiked an aggressive upward climb to the point of St. Juan, an ancient church at the top of a peninsula jutting into the sea. And then we visited Dani's mother who lives in a seaside townhouse, where Dani grew up. A pleasant surprise awaited us there. Dani sent us a published photo book with captions from our sailing voyage last November when he and Bernard sailed with us from Gibraltar to Lanzarote, Canary Islands - a super fun 3 night sail.

SW-W Coast of France - Biarritz, Bordeaux, Angouleme, La Rochelle, Poitiers
We moved onto France. Many seaside resorts including Biarritz, a stop and hike up to the massive Dunes du Pilat, then Bordeaux, stops in St. Emilion, Angouleme, a stop in Cognac, sea side again in La Rochelle, and then to Poitiers. Many of the towns were surrounded by rivers and/or canals, many fortresses, cathedrals, monuments, castles, vineyards, sunflower fields, lively squares filled with cafes, street performers, classical, salsa, and jazz music. Sound, visual, cultural, historical, culinary, and vino overload.

"Have it OUR way". Further up the coast into the heart of France, the bread just got better. We were in "bread heaven", for sure. Even though we had some of our best dining experiences, we also had some of our worst. On many occasions, we asked to be served bread with our wine before our dinner arrives. And many times, our servers said "It'sss NOT posssssible"! We were shocked. On a particular incident, two older Italian couples at a table next to us were served a main course after everyone was finished with their meals. The waitress insisted they ordered the 4th main course, when in fact they did not. We tried to fend for the older couples, agreeing that they did not order and should not pay for the 4th main meal. Thinking it may make a difference, we complained to management, letting them know of the incident, and how it makes for bad business. It is clear that the French arrogance expects you to accept what they present to you- there is no notion of "Have it YOUR way".

France - Chinon, Tours (Loire Valley), La Baule, Dinard (Brittany)
Then we drove inland through the Loire Valley; Chinon, Tours, La Baule; a region just littered with hundreds of ancient chateaus, castles, forts, tiny villages with original stone structures... at every turn.

On to Brittany - Dinard, Dinan, Angers, stops at chateaus in Langais, Azay-Le-Rideau, Usse (Sleeping Beauty inspired from this castle), Montsoreau, Montreuil-Bellay, then over to La Baule with a stop in Nantes. Many, many grand old chateaus, perched on forested hilltops, some over water. It is evident the Brits occupied this place for hundreds of years; the terrain looks almost like an English countryside, with old stone farmhouses, hamlets, walls and cobblestone streets.

The seaside towns manage a dramatic tidal range of about 30 feet. At high tide the water laps at the tops of the quays and hundreds of boat float in the bay; at low tide the waterline recedes 2000 feet, and most of the boats lay resting on their hulls on the mud bottom. Quite a sight.

Lucky. No, we were fortunate. We again frequented several casinos several nights in Northern France, despite their being very small, and with very old slot machines. And, fortunately, we won more than we lost, but not like in Aruba. I topped our last night off with a $400 euro winning. Mark was more conservative, winning in total what I lost. So, overall, we were up only about $200 US.

France - Mont St. Michel, Courselles Su Mer, Honfleur (Normandy)
Mont St. Michel. No cars are allowed on this peninsula, so we parked ours at a nearby lot and were shuttled in. This is actually an island, connected to shore by a causeway, crowning a rocky islet at the border of Brittany and Normandy. Its massive walls measure more than half a mile in circumference and is known to be one of Europe's greatest attractions. We can vouch for that based on the hoards of tourists that invaded its streets. We hiked to the top and its main streets, and then moved on the following day.

I always like to know of the origins of words. Do you know why they called the invasion of Normandy D-Day? D-Day and H-hour denote the moment a military campaign begins. All planning is relative to that moment, ie D-Day + 18 hours, etc. So the military planners can devise a plan, and can change the moment of D-Day without altering the plan. They can communicate the plan, without revealing exactly when D-Day is, until that moment needed. We toured the German cemetery housing over 22,000 graves, the American cemetery where est 10,000 Americans were buried after invading the French northern coastline in 1944, including Omaha Beach, and the sites of German batteries built along the shoreline to battle invading troops. Quite an incredible plan was organized by Churchill to liberate France from the Nazis including a mammoth prefabricated port, and calculated approaches by air, land, and sea from American, British, and Canadian forces. The preserved areas where huge bombs beat the s..t out of the land were incredible to see.

We all dream of being on stage. Well, a night in Honfleur Mark was, literally. We found a great jazz bar where a group of musicians with 3 guitars, 1 harmonica and 1 clarinet were playing. The band took a break, and Mark kindly asked if he could play the clarinet. Having had much experience from his past, Mark improvised on some notes with lots of energy. At the end of his session, the crowd gave him a huge round of applause. It was surreal, but somehow he pulled it off. Try it sometime... only if you can play an instrument of course.

After leaving Honfleur, we took the scenic route along the Seine River, with stops along the way to see many Abbeys, including Villequier, Caudebec-en-Caux, Abbay de Jumieges, and Abbay St. George, one of France's most beautiful ruins.

France - Paris, Back Home Through Madrid (Spain), and Panama City (Panama)
On our return to Panama, we planned a three night final stay to revisit Paris. We booked a B&B near one of our favorite areas - the Latin Quarter and St. Germain. We pre-booked a night of entertainment in the famed Moulin Rouge known for its Cabaret burlesque dance shows, comedy routines, and sexiness filled with handsome men and gorgeous girls, virtually all topless. No wonder Mark had some saucy can-can dreams that night.

We revisited several cave bars, built underground, some of which were former prisons but now are lively jazz, swing, and salsa joints. Walked the Eiffel tower area and many neighborhoods we frequented in the past, took a boat river tour to get a view from the water, enjoyed great dining, and ended our French experience with a relaxing couples' massage at a Six Senses Spa.

The more you learn about the world, its exotic places, different peoples and culture, the more you know how little you ever knew. We had been fortunate to experience Europe again, however, we missed aVida. As we approached the marina, and walked to the Cantina for their Friday night happy hour, we received warm welcomes and hugs from the fellow sailors and the managing couple we've grown very fond of. Kind of like a second family. Some catch up work to do in the coming weeks, until our good friend MarkJ (and new partner) join us again for 10 days early to mid-September. We will share with him the "Hippie" life we have come to enjoy for the time being, and the many water and eco sports available here; sailing, snorkeling, ATV jungle trips, zip lining, caves to explore, stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking, etc. etc. And just enjoy each other's company.