Safe Return Doubtful

Day 45 – at Burbia There’s another campervan just 100 metres or so away, a young family from A Coruña with two little girls who love to make a fuss of Roja, much to the disgust of their own dog. Their dog is a younger male, German Shepherd of a…

Day 44 – at Burbia These Bierzo mountains are a plum choice for mountain activities, and the peaceful village of Burbia is a perfect base. There are actually quite a few people in the holiday homes with it being the Easter week and school holidays. The guy I got talking…

Day 43 – to Burbia I’ve continued up a 12 kilometre cul-de-sac into the Sierra de Ancares mountains to a remote village called Burbia. It’s school holidays now, so there are a few families around, most of which are based here all year. I’m stopped up by the village football…

Day 42 – at San Martín de Moreda Four degrees below last night, so ice on the inside of the van windows and the dog’s water only lickable. The bonus of course is a clear day, with the temperature into the early 20s mid-afternoon. My assignment today was the Rio…

Day 41 – to San Martín de Moreda Roja spends the first hours of the morning watching life go by at the aire at Villafranca. It’s an attractive place to stay, which, as usual, the community provide and maintain. It’s a five minute walk to town, and late in the…

Day 40 – to Villafranca del Bierzo After a windy night up at 1100 metres, it was just a hop into the next valley this morning, using the village of Montes de Valdueza as base. This is a much more genuine village than Peñalba, and actually has some people living…

Day 39 – at Peñalba de Santiago First stop an extra coffee. I checked past later, I was to be their only customer all day, spending just one euro. The owners are a young couple with a small child, and not bothered about the lack of custom, they see it…

Day 38 – to Peñalba de Santiago I finished Benjamin Myers’s new novel Cuddy this morning over coffee. It’s star is Durham Cathedral, originally built to house St Cuthbert’s tomb in the year 687. I’ll include a review separately, it does bear the usual dark humour of Myers, but is…

Day 37 – to Rio Truchillas, Truchas, León A couple of years ago I was in Montanas Vacias, The Empty Mountains, to the west of Teruel. It is a tremendous area to visit as a cycle tourist, quite spectacular scenery, but there is often big distances between services. The area…