notas de viaje: (http://www.worldriders2.com/Journal_11_1.asp)
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http://www.worldriders2.com/Journal_11_1.asp
Bonne Lecture!
July 31, 2003
Estella to Islallana 74 Kilometers
Even as light as the room was we still had trouble waking up. It was after 7:00 AM by the time we started moving around. Though we were down for coffee by 8:00 we somehow failed to get away by 8:30. Cat fears the heat and the hills. We know it will be hot today, almost 40 C. (100 F.) but we dont know how many or how steep the hills ahead will be?
Estella is larger than the map would lead one to believe. We had to retrace our route to exit. Water was on our minds, we wanted good clean water to help with the hills. A small store had 5-liter jugs for only 80 cents. What a bargain when we consider how much designer water sells for in California.
Hilltop FortressVineyardsIt was a strong pull out of Estella then an even steeper climb away from town. It was nice and cool, the terrain, mountainous and beautiful. Once over the summit it was a long easy decent. The wonderful road we had been on for almost two days shrunk to a thin strip of paving without shoulders. Dangerous, no doubt about it but the traffic, especially the trucks, was pretty good about giving us room.
Decision time at the junction of the N 111 and the NA 112. The map shows that N111 is 4 kilometers shorter but NA112 looks like it will have a wider shoulder and will drop to the river then parallel it into Logrono. So off we went and the thinking proved to be true, good shoulder and down for the most part then level into town. Somehow we found ourselves on a major freeway as we rolled into town. Finally we escaped up the off ramp and out of harms way, as they say.
Stork on the Corner It was noon and we were hungry, it was noon and it was hot! We stopped at a service station and shared a cold Gatorade. Rare to find those here and we could see why, they charged 2¬ for the small bottle. There is a café/bar attached, we had 4 chorizo and egg sandwiches. Great tasting but we fear they will return as we ride. Wanting to know about the road ahead we backtracked into the heart of Logrono. The square was tree and flower lined. We caught the Tourist Info Office just as they were closing. They offered a map of the region, we have left Navarre and are now in La Rioja. It has symbols for restaurants and hotels. We decided to ride on 18 kilometers to Islallana, the digital thermometer blazed out 39 in bright red numbers. Our attempt to call the Casa Rural ended with a message machine. We couldnt tell whether it was open but I caught, leave message call back. I left our name and anticipated 4:30 arrival then we pushed off, up and into the blast furnace.
The road was up, not rolling, just slowly up and the road was straight as a string. (Where do sayings like, as straight as a string come from?) Another Service Station stop for drinks and directions. The guy there spoke great English, he had lived in Australia for 9 years. He told us that the village we were looking for was just 5 kilometers further.
Islallana Islallana straddles N111 and squats between massive cliffs in a valley carved over the eons by adjacent Rio Iregua. Cat asked a guy who stepped out of the Bar for directions. He spewed Spanish and pointed, even made her look down his arm to see the turn, down toward the river. He somehow got the point across that we would sleep down there and come up here for dinner.
It was steep and the Casa Era was right there at the bottom. Our hostess, as wide as she was tall, spoke only Espanola and she spoke it fast. She brought us cold water, we sat at a rattan table in the shade of a tree. We thought she was telling us that the restaurant would have meat, finally she got her point across, she wanted one of our Passports to check us in.
I asked a guy, her husband we think, about leaving the biciclettas in the casita, a small shop building. He really spoke fast but was easy to understand. NO, no problema to leave out. Okay, we leave out.
Our room has a spectacular view of the sandstone towers. We are just over the river, the sound is soothing and cooling. Cat hit the shower, I hit the computer.
As we started to dinner a flock of sheep came rushing down the hill. We felt like we had missed a real photo op. Even on telephoto the sheep were lost in the scenery.
River and Sheep Cat on Bridge Earl of Islallana
Sedona? Arizona? We walked out
Cat and the Card Gamenear the river and across the bridge then headed up the hill to dinner at 8:00 PM. There was a card game going on in front of the Rosas Café and they werent too interested in having customers. The guy, in the stripped shirt told us that the kitchen would open at 9:00 PM. We moaned and groaned then he said, Ocho y Media, 8:30. He did have white wine and poured us two glasses. It is the local wine and it is pretty darned good.
Dinner in Islallana?
We sat on the plastic chairs, drank our wine and watched the local comings and goings. Cat was starving so I made a run to the local market. As I stepped through the door a young guy pushed me aside and stopped then rang a door bell. I asked him if this was the Mercado and he said, Si .
The door buzzed, he opened it and we were in a tiny space at a counter. The rest of the store and the big, heavy owner, was behind the counter. The guy bought two kinds of lunchmeat and the heavy weight sliced it. Now, my turn, I asked for queso, cheese. He said "Si" then pulled out a round of white cheese and held up his knife. I chose the spot where he should cut and he weighed it, wrapped it and wrote down the price. I asked for pan, bread, and he said, no. I tried to ask for crackers but something was lost in the translation? I finally took a package of cookies and the cheese.
Back at the diner, the lady looked at our cookies and cheese and asked, No pan? When we explained in sign language that the store had no bread she disappeared and came back with several slices of baguette. We drank the wine and enjoyed the bread and cheese as well as the local comings and goings.
PapaMomma Rosas FamiliaPapa came back riding a tiny tractor. He parked in a garage across the street and carried two buckets and a bag back toward us. He had fruit, and left a dozen pieces on our table. Dinner was interesting, Pork again for Cat but this was not deep-fried. I had Breakfast at Dennys, fried eggs, potatoes and ham, that great dried ham. All in all we had a wonderful time watching the sun set on the mountain and the family go through another evening together. Cars and trucks go by and honk, everyone knows this family. The Mom, Rosa, and Dad have six kids. When we said, Bonita familia , she said something like, too fat, to much appetito. This is what our trip is about, we loved being a part of their lives for just a moment or two. The stripped shirt and the blue shirt boys are twins. The look so much alike but it took some work to get that fact from the family. The one who was playing card with Mama Rosa and his sister is married. His wife came and joined the table. The other brother has terrible teeth? We have seen that same problem on other young people. Makes you wonder how twins could end up at age 25 +- with black, snaggled teeth? Makes you wonder, too, how twins could be raised the same, eat the same, learn their personal habits from the same people yet turn out so differently. One of what we think is a sibling, a blonde gal, older than the others, has spangles on her sandals, long light purple finger nails and wears make up. The others are pretty basic, all nice but basic.
As we walked back a shepherd and his flock came cascading down, out on to the highway and across, in front of us. What a way to end a tough cycling day! It is all worthwhile!!
The Eyes of Lamb Cat Herder Dusk on Mountain
Lamb Jam
August 1, 2003
Islallana to Vente de Piqueras 43 Kilometers, 1,000 Meter Climb
It was a disappointment when Madame de Casa la Era told us that breakfast wouldnt be served until 8:30. We woke up and at 7:00 AM, took turns in the shared toilet then carried the bags down. As I began to load the bikes Cat leaned out the door at the top of the stairs and said, She has breakfast ready, right now , it was just a little after 8:00. We left the bags on the ground and ate. Typical juice coffee and bread but Madame also brought a handful of the same fruit that Papa had given us last night. They are green, they are plums and they are sweet. We made short work of them.
Martian RockHostess Says AdiosA couple from France appeared, as we were finishing. Its their first anniversary and they have returned to the place where Honeymooned, at least thats what we think Madame told us? The girl spoke some English, she had lived in Minnesota as an aupeurre for a year. Though she hasnt practiced the language in some time we did have a nice talk. I asked if her experience was good, I told her about the girl in Sweden who had a bad time with a family in New York, they were very demanding. She felt that her American family was demanding but they were good to her so it was a fair trade off. She has stayed in touch, in fact the American Mom was her Matron of Honor for their wedding.
We pushed out the drive and up the hill to the highway. A fellow who has had a tracheotomy held his finger on the hole in his throat and asked in Espanol, where we come from. He acted shocked when we said California then told us in squeaky Spanish that he was local. He called out a good luck, as best he could, as we headed up. And up was to be the word of the day, again today.
We really didnt know how mountainous Spain was. Riding up, we stayed in the saddles until 11:30 then stopped in the tiny village of Padilla. They have a Tourist Office and it was really helpful. Onward, just 1 kilometer and we stopped for lunch, well Tapas, tiny ham and cheese sandwiches, five of them, and soft drinks. We took seats outside in the shade, the owner, an old guy, came out and dropped the awing so that we had lots of shade. It felt great. We exchanged niceties with a Mom, Dad and son. They had bicycles on top of their car, he caught the back of our shirts and commented. We gave them a card, they tried to pry the boy away from his game boy or some such electronic time consumer but he acted shy and chose not to say hello.
Meson Los Angeles Climbing Above the Village Rushing Stream
Church
The up really gets to be up from that point onward. The hot was really hot, too. Sweat feels good when we catch a little of the breeze on corners. We are blessed or cursed with a slight tail wind so that at our speed the air feels completely still. The sign called it indicates water fountain but doesnt say whether it is potable or not. It was a cooling off place for us. The water runs steadily out of the side of the mountain through two large faucet heads. It runs out of the pool below them and down into a large concrete area at road level. We splashed our heads then our bodies, wetting our shirts a soaking the back of our necks. Extremely refreshing and we needed refreshing.
Somewhere behind us we had passed a restaurant, Meson Los Angeles. Now we were bypassing a village called San Andres. Both are names familiar to us and to anyone who lives in California. LA is the largest city and San Andres is the big fault that causes most of our earthquakes.
Above the Plume A dam holds back the precious water that will feed agriculture and sooth the thirst of those below. As we climbed the switchbacks we could se the face of the dam. At the base a plume of white water gushes up into the air with a roar. This is a tribute to mans efforts to tame nature. Our climb is in a way, another tribute to the effort of a man and a woman to conquer Newtons Laws of Gravity.
The bells on some animals necks seemed to beckon us. The steep was even steeper and we were tired. Just 4 kilometers from the summit we chose to pull up for the day. It would take us at least an hour, maybe more to climb the last, long winding road in this heat. Venta de Piqueras is an old church, a restaurant and hotel. It was 3:30 PM, they had cold drinks, ice and a room for us.
Hotel and restaurant Venta de Piqueras is a total family operation. Beatrice is the gal, daughter who greeted us, got cold drinks for us, checked us in and even fed us dinner. They have only us in the Casa tonight.
We walked around a little, took pictures of the horses and buildings. There was a group, a family we thought, sitting in the shade, drinking coffee and relaxing. They were not staying, just having lunch and drinks here. They did their best to talk with us and loved the thought of our Odyssey. After chatting and handing our cards they drove away and we settled in for a glass of vino with bread and cheese. To top it off, I ordered coffee. Unusual for me but I have felt drowsy and want to type a little.
Spanish Family Shepherds Horses of Venta
Venta de Piqueras
Down for dinner at 8:00, we sat alone in the bar, ordered salad and pasta. They dont have pasta as a main dish but we convinced them to make it for us. Beatrice delivered a dish of penne pasta and asked if we wanted another dish. We said yes then realized that she meant an empty dish for sharing. Sign language and our best pigeon Spanish and we soon had a second heaping dish in front of us. We needed carbohydrates, we loaded up for the big hill, manana.
domingo, 25 de noviembre de 2007 a las 0:59
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