Today there is just a breeze and this made our visit to the Isla Tarifa much more pleasant. You have to go into the fort guided, but this is the only way to visit the southern most point of continental Europe. We also had a clear view of Africa which is just 14.5 km away across the straight of Gibraltar.

We finally headed back 22 km to Bologna to visit the Roman ruins of Baelo Claudia.

It’s only an hour east and 73 km from Tarifa to Estepona, but we managed to again make a day of it by going the long way. This means riding west and we initially took a small road north, but after 40 km it was blocked with a gate with only access to residents. Our destination is 26 km up this gravel road, but it’s 100 km to go around. From here we started on the small roads. This first half was very curvy, but the road surface was pretty poor. We stopped for lunch south of Ubique at a restaurant with at least 40 bikes out front.

The road after lunch was even more curvy, but smooth. The road down the mountain from Jubrique was like a corkscrew. We have rented a small house in the historic Center in one of our favourite small towns in Spain.


Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/Fumx6FMrW6o?si=oOZmwJJb56Of6Pcp

Today we will ride back up the mountain on a mostly different route and our destination is Ronda with its famous bridge. We got a tip from a long time resident while we had coffee in Glenalguacil who told us how to find the back way on the old Roman road to see the bridge from below. After lunch here we took the shorter way down in the main road that is still very curvy. There are so many bikes on these roads on weekend they have helicopters and drones for radar.


Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/ZmWfneEMxA0?si=v_Xjvx9SGKz1_yc-

Today there has been an announcement of a severe weather warning. After the terrible flooding and almost 200 deaths in Valencia last month the authorities are being very cautious. All the digital road signs read extreme rain warning Wednesday. Because of this we will leave Estepona early and ride east and north to Jaén, which is out of the main area of risk. This is only 300 km and mostly on secondary roads. For the last 150 km there were olive trees as far as the eye could see in every direction.


Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/eoJsbeJNbA8?si=QVHGifJ64qjkoEai

The rain has stopped and it has warmed up to 16 degrees. Our plan today is to make it to sleep in the UNESCO city of Úbeda. It is only 57 km directly, but of course we managed to make it into a loop of 160 km and got us to our 3 pm check in at a boutique hotel for 65 Canadian a night in a 14 th century building. The entire day was riding past olive trees as this region is known as the sea of olives. The town of Úbeda had a lot of very old buildings and of course a lot of churches. There is also a 14 th century synagogue here with a ritual bathing chamber. The one thing about nice towns off the beaten track is that everything is closed in the afternoon and you cannot get dinner until after 8 pm.

Watch Video Here: https://youtu.be/iqF31ZpIftc?si=f7ojVp7Yadl365oo

Today we are also not going very far on the direct route it’s only 143 km to Granada, but we made it into just over 200.

We woke up to a very windy day and this was a bit unpleasant on the open stretches of road, but much better in the mountains. After we crossed several mountain passes we made it to the highway for just 15 km and headed to a restaurant built in caves just outside the city of Guadix. It is known for the meat and the grilled mushrooms and we had another massive Spanish lunch … no need for dinner again. The goat cheese is aged in a cave for 3 months.


Watch the video here : https://youtu.be/JBuYwYeL3N0?si=4pZ1V2K3cbCMNcWb

Our accommodation in Granada is in a great location and up on the hill above the city. It’s a 23 min walk down to the cathedral and a 25 min walk across the hill to the Alhambra.

We are meeting our friends Modesto, Kata, and their daughter Emma today in the city. We first met them in 2015 and Modesto has done so many things to help us out over the years and made our lives so much easier. We did some sightseeing and then they took us to a very authentic restaurant for lunch and to try the local Vermouth!

After lunch we walked up to the Mirador de San Cristóbal which has an amazing view of the Alhambra and the snow covered Sierra Nevada mountains.

The day has finally come to leave Trevor and head home. We are traveling southeast to the village where Modesto and Kata live before heading to Madrid and home. Modesto knows all the roads in this region and recommended one of his favourite rides for us. This is a top 20 scenic ride in Spain according to Garmin. They were not wrong. The road surface is perfect and even on a Sunday other than bikes there was little traffic.


Watch the video part 1 here : https://youtu.be/0opRQefaVkA?si=FHVTOJXsA2IO_HmG


Watch the video part 2 here : https://youtu.be/TCNJ48fV4iU?si=RUoARSaUOor7WM9r

That is all for now see you in April… for it’s all GREEK to me!