Monday 18 July 2011

The Sierra Nevada Mountains (in Spain)

I was looking forward to the ride on day 4 of our ride across Spain as we were to cross the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Having ridden across the mountains of the same name in California, I wanted to complete the set and ride both ranges in different continents.

We knew we had a long days riding so leaving early was a must. We skipped breakfast and continued our journey south. Paul riding around a bend with a spectacular background....


























The view of the lake near Hornos, north-east of Granada....





















Fantastic bends, just inviting you to take them at speed....


























The dam that forms Lake Negratin....










































The water behind the dam is very clean and clear and the fish make the most of the food thrown in by the passing tourists stopping to look at the dam. I think these were about 12 - 15 inches long....


















The lake is surrounded by trees and this makes the views even more special as you catch a glimpse of the turquoise water....






















Not as tall as there US counterparts, the mountains in the Spanish Sierra Nevada only rarely reach above the tree line....





















A haze was in the air, making a clear view of the mountains impossible....





















Looking down on one of the small towns in the mountains....





















Mile after mile of Olive trees, for which Spain is famous....









































Rounding one bend, a fire was blazing away on the hillside. It looked like the grass between the olive trees was on fire, but it was also catching some of the trees....


























What is it about signs like this that make motorcyclists stop and take a picture?....




















2,000 metres or 6,500 feet is not spectacularly high, but it had provided some terrific roads to get up to that point.

Another of the mountain villages....
















I love the roads in the foreground of this picture, crossing from side to side in a long ride down the hill to get into the village....





















Many of the bends have their sides protected by these stone blocks....





















We rode 317 miles in the mountains today, which was quite tough. By the time we found our hotel in the town of Berchules, we were very tired. It was all we could do to eat at the hotel of get to bed early. I slept very well that night.

The following morning we had a 184 mile ride, mainly along the coast, to get to my house in Sotogrande, in southern Spain. We had ridden 1259 miles from Pauls house near London to my house in Spain. We were greeted by my wife Jackie, who had flown down the day before, and that afternoon Paul drove to Malaga Airport to meet his wife Sarah and son Jack. We were to spend 5 days relaxing with our wives before heading out on the road again.

10 comments:

B.B. said...

Those look like some great roads! Everytime I read another post of yours, my list of 'places to go' gets longer.

mq01 said...

your travels are just fabulous gary!

Anonymous said...

Hi Gary,

Your photos are really making me miss Spain, great roads and great scenery over there.

Cheers,

Dave....

SonjaM said...

Now I have a craving for olives...

cpa3485 said...

Looks like an absolutely beautiful ride. Three hundred miles in that kind of terrain would wear anybody out.
Take Care
Jim

Geoff James said...

Stunning Gary...and I'm really missing the warmth at present. Boy, you've got a tough life :-)

Bluekat said...

Beautiful scenery.
I didn't know about the olive trees in Spain. Wow, there are a lot of them stretching out to the horizon.

Maybe the mountains aren't as tall, but it still looks like a beautiful place.

Gary France said...

B.B. – I was really surprised by the quality of the roads and riding in Spain has been a real joy.

mq01 – Riding in Spain is fabulous. Paul and I have been lucky with what we have been able to see, finding great roads and the clear blue skies!

Dave – Sorry about making you miss Spain!

Sonja – We are now on the journey back north. Yesterday we rode for about three hours and were riding through Olive groves all the that time. Mile after mile of olive trees!

Jimbo – It really was a beautiful ride. The colours were amazing. It was a real honour to ride through the hills, rumoured to be some of the best riding roads in Europe. We liked to stop in some small town neighbourhoods and sample the sights, smells and flavours. This we did with some humour.

Geoff – That’s what you get for living on the other side of the world – you have winter when we are enjoying the warmth of summer. It can be tough sometimes. Trying to work out which roads to ride, or where to stop for lunch can be a challenge! LOL

bluekat – There are zillions of them. Paul and I have been amazed at how many there are. Yes, beautiful indeed.

Unknown said...

Hi, I was just wondering, when was the Antequera, Malaga sunrise taken?

Gary France said...

Thomas - It was taken in July 2011, early in the morning. Or did you mean where?