The planned highlight of the year for me was A Spanish road trip, just me and the wife in the GT3, not an organised one like last year. I have been planning it for a few months now, and had booked the ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao so we arrived right in the good stuff and limited the miles I would be putting on the car ( Travelling down through France can be nice if you have the extra few days to make the most of it but time was limited and the mileage consideration was also important, having done 3500 miles last year when I drove all the way).
We had booked accommodation at the Paradors, different one each night. These are state run hotels, usually either in some historic old building or spectacular location and are generally reliable and very nice to stay in. The wife and I had also stayed in some of them on a road trip we did when we first met around 20 years ago, so we thought it would be nice to revisit some of them!
Unfortunately as D day arrived, on the 28th, it was clear from the forecast, that not only was it likely we would be leaving in the rain, but we would also be dodging it on my planned routes in the Pyrenees. This meant some frantic re planning of the route in conjunction with the Spanish weather forecasts and new GPS files etc for the garmin, which I did not need at the last minute! OK, its just a bit of rain, you say, but there was no way I was going all that way to drive in the rain on those roads!
I had originally planned to zig zag across up and down the valleys and cols from West to East and then back again, so factored in a southerly detour for the rainy day in the Pyrenees down to the Parador at Alcaniz and then back up into the mountains to carry on east to west back to Bilbao.
I had spent some hours planning the route, deliberately choosing roads that looked twisty and interesting and hopefully a good mix of fast sweeping stuff and more tight and twisty corners. I was not to be disappointed ! Curves Pyrenees by Stefan Bolger provided some inspiration, as well as some roads I remembered from several sorties on my motorbike with the lads several years earlier.
Fantastic write up of a great trip Mark.
Sadly, whilst you were away Photobucket decided to **** the world of blogging so we can't see your pictures !!!!!!!
See => How Photobucket have screwed us over.
I'm still looking forward to the next instalment though.
The first bit was a lovely minor road, the NA-132 out over the rolling plains to Sanguesa. From there we drove alongside the Yesa reservoir to pick up the N240, which runs alongside the A21 motorway. This end is not so special into Jaca, buts its still a decent fast bit of road with some interesting sections. As we got to Jaca, we were hit by a shower, much to my dismay, but it only lasted 20 minutes or so, but enough to undo all my good work at the car wash the night before!
It was hard work hustling the car around those corners for the last half of the journey and lesley's window of agreeableness was certainly past after approx 4pm, so it was a tired but happy driver and a slightly tetchy missus that rolled into Vic at around 5.30pm This Parador is unusual in that it's not in an old castle of monastery as many are, rather a purpose built hotel in a spectacular location, of which there are a few. It overlooks a lake in a gorge and the views are very beautiful.
After a nice soak in a hot bath and a little nap, we were ready for dinner, the restaurant overlooked the lake and we were treated to an amazing display of cloud colours as the sun went down, as around an hour before dinner, it rained heavily and there was a lovely rainbow across the lake.
The only complication came later in the evening, we got talking to an older english couple in the bar who were also driving around, bit more sedately in the Jag, and the Spanish brandies started flowing....Lesley could not finish her second one ( they were MASSIVE) so I ended up having 3. Dont really remember staggering up to bed..
Glad you got the picture thing sorted out.
Those roads look awesome. It's just a shame they're do far away. Taking the ferry across certainly seems the best option and when you take into account hotel charges, petrol and tyre wear etc probably isn't much dearer.
Really like these threads as definitely fancy doing something similar. Keep it coming.
I think the roads in Spain are flipping fantastic and the lack of traffic is brilliant ....... people rave about Germany but if you have time and the inclination Spain far outstrips it in my opinion ........ I must do another trip over there soon ........ perhaps in convertible ....... I feel my days are now numbered in owning the 993.
Thanks guys, must admit, after the last post , I had little or no additional views for ages and what with being busy, thought if no one was reading it, then why bother continuing...! But it seems to have picked up nicely recently!
However, as long as there is continued interest, I will carry on, leave it with me for the next installment!
As someone who suffers from seasickness, I can`t imagine the absolute purgatory you would suffer if that ferry had been a rough one.
Looks like a great trip and some stunning roads and views !
I've really enjoyed it so far so please contunue!
just like the other lads have said , its a great to read ......great excuse for a coffee and stop work for a while ........!!
.. and ..................makes me realize that I have to do a similar trip ........ soon!!
Agree with above comments very enjoyable read and really must look into a road trip although just back from Madeira where the wife screamed her head off on some of the roads over their ! and your squealy brakes would drive me nuts cracking car though.
This was yet another day of brilliant driving, amazing roads and lovely scenery, with the sun belting down....After the twisty stuff in the national parks we had a nice fast blast along the N420 into Alcaniz, where the next parador was, in King Carlos v old castle perched on top of a hill in the town centre. The views were amazing out over the plains.
There was a wedding going on when we got there, so we decided to walk into town and eat there for a change. It was a pretty big town with a large cathederal as well in the centre, but for its size, not much going on and a surprising number of the shops closed up for business. I guess inland from the usual tourist spots, rural Spain is suffering still in the recession.
We found a Tapas bar down a back street that looked Ok and had some beers and ordered a what we thought was a smallish amount of food, however what we thought were Tapas sized dishes were main portions and we were somewhat horrified at the prospect of having to try and eat it all, with out late afternoon lunch not too many hours behind. We did the best we could and staggered out feeling somewhat bloated and walked back up the hill to the castle and bed!
Thanks for sharing, looks like you crossed some of the same sections we did back in 2016 on our Spain road trip, awesome clear sections of road for most of the trip. The thing I did miss was the views aren't as great as in the Alps, the scenery is a little too brown for my liking in Spain.
the scenery is a little too brown for my liking in Spain.
Are you sure it wasn't your vision misted by all the fumes puffing out the back of Jackal's 993?
I can't rule that out.
The plan for this days driving was to retrace our steps from yesterday back along the N-420 until we crossed the River Ebro again, then a different variation of the same C roads across the Sierra De Montsant, then cut across the plain towards Tarrega, The C-63 to Balaguer and then we were well and truly back in the good stuff of the foothills of the Pyrenees.
I say good stuff, as if the first bit was not good, but that would be doing it a grave disservice. The N420 as mentioned is a stunning bit of fast snaking well surfaced main road that flows over the plains over some gentle hills and more open stretches. We were blatting along at a decent cruise of around 90 - 120 which felt perfectly safe and very easy and relaxed, with just the occasional car in front to dispatch, which the GT3 relished with a howl from the Mezger and the Kline exhaust. Once back in the Sierra de Montsant, on the smaller Croads, the roads were almost eerily deserted, sometimes we would go 10 or 15 minutes without seeing another car...The countryside was vineyards and olive trees, the sun blazing down from a clear blue sky. The mountains, although not very high meant there was a constant flow of corners, so it was second and third gear most of the time, and an occasional foray into fourth. This I think is really the cars sweet spot, 3rd gear with awesome acceleration right on tap and a good long spread of speed meaning you could run up to 6 or 7,000 RPM then roll off for the corner, with a dab of brakes. It was constant cornering and accelerating and beautifully enjoyable. Up in the sierras, we turned off onto the TV-7004 which started off great then about 2 k in, covered in freshly laid gravel.....We kind of thought it might be just a section and slowed to about 15 - 20 MPH, to save the paintwork and suspension components from a peppering but it just went on and on....in the end we drove about 20 miles and I was getting pretty pissed off when it suddenly went back to old tarmac. The next village we stopped for coffee.
The car as usual everywhere we went caused a stir as we parked up, bet they dont see many cars like that up in the mountain villages.
From there it was more open normal main roads as we headed north west towards Tarrega and Balaguer, where we refueled. The road out of Balaguer north is the awesome C13 which snakes due north following the course of a river which is dammed in several places forming some beautiful lakes. The C-13 is one of those super fast, wide sweeping roads up the river valley, with great visibilty, plenty of overtaking opportunities if needed, stunning scenery (which I was having difficulty enjoying, (having to keep my eyes firmly on what I was doing most of the time) and some great up and downhill sections. There are tunnels, dams to drive over and all the while the Pyrenees beckon from the north, getting ever closer...Driving heaven!! We were heading to the town of Tremp, and from there would cut due west up into the mountains on the C-1311, via the Col de Figols and pick up the N230 / N123 west before we again turned north to our destination for the night of Bielsa.
At the top of the Col de Figols we stopped to admire the view of Tremp and the surrounding hills and mountains.
The twisty road up the mountain was several miles of non stop hairpins and switchbacks and was hard work, but the GT3 lapped it up! You really appreciate the way it steers and turns in on roads like that. After that treat it was back to some more fast sweeping stuff on the N123 which was great for the variety, meaning I was never bored. At Estada, we picked up the A138 due north up into the Pyrenees proper. We could see jagged snow capped mountains looming ahead, the A138 was running through some amazing scenery, but was a little busier, although, busy for most of Spain compares to what you might find on a Sunday morning fairly early in England....We never got held up, Yellowbird blasts past in a matter of seconds.
A quick stop to snap the scenery and although we were making good time, Lesley was getting impatient to get there and kick back a bit, so we pressed on. Bielsa, our destination is a small village right in the middle of the Pyrenees, near the french border and the Parador there is built in the style of an old mountain hunting lodge, tucked away at the head of an amazing mountain valley with stunning peaks either side and Monte Perdido, or " The lost mountain" at its head. You turn off the main road into this valley up a small road which you could easily miss and the drive 16 kilometers right up the valley, which has alpine meadows and flowers either side of clear river, lovely alpine style buildings and the mountains all around. It was one of the most beautiful bits of scenery of the whole trip and it just kept getting better and better the nearer we got to the end, where the road stopped at the Parador.
And here is a mix of the best bits of the days Go Pro footage so you can share the enjoyment of the roads.
Once we had arrived we hiked into the forest along the valley floor for about 30 minutes, alongside the river and enjoyed the scenery. Then it was time to freshen up and hit the terrace to watch the sun disappear behind the mountains with a couple of large Spanish measure VaT's, beautiful......After that, some dinner and a nice wine before bed. What an awesome day.