Spain-Portugal

[mcarpen50]

Well folks, my 2012 tour took 9 weeks to complete. Started on May 11th, and got back home (Munich, Germany) on July 16th. Covered all the points I wanted and ended up with a little over 7,800 miles overall and the decision to get a different bike.
The first leg took us (myself + another rider from Munich) via Lago de Garda, San Remo, French Riviera, and the Carmargue to Andorra (madhouse with "Dutyfree" all over the place!). From there we went via Ainsa and Pamplone over to Santiago de Compostela that has a cathedral thousands of christian pilgrims travel to by foot over 400 miles across the mountain ranges from France. There, the Munich biker headed home again while I continued through central Portugal to Lisboa and 2 days of R&R. From there I followed the coast south and then east until I got to Sevilla, Spain where I met up with my wife who flew down from Munich to join me for 3 weeks. Cadiz, Gibraltar, Ronda, Granada, and Corduba were the highlights in that part of the trip. My wife then went back to Sevilla for the flight home while I rode to Toledo and Segovia before I pointed the KTM north to Carcassonne, and Grenoble; France and on into Switzerland. At Airolo, Switzerland, I based myself for 2 days in a hotel and did the "Royal Flush"; Old Gotthardt Pass, then Furka, Grimmsel, and Susten passes plus the Nufenen Pass. After that I headed home and stopped near St. Moritz, Switzerland to met with some old friends. Next day, with only 266 Km (166 miles) to go, I had to stop; the seals on the shaft to the water pump had packed up and the bike kept overheating. So the last leg of the trip had to be done in a cage while the 990 Adventure came home on the back of a tow truck! I've got pictures from the trip on my Facebook site (look for Michael Carpenter, Germany). So if anyone is thinking about a trip to Portugal and/or Spain, let me know. I can share some ideas...

[ColdDirt]

I did Spain and Portugal in 2010 and saw many of the same places you went. That has to be one of my favorite places in the world. Unfortunately I was caged for the whole trip, I can't imagine the experience you must have had on the motorcycle!

[mcarpen50]

Riding through towns & cities in Spain and Portugal was a nightmare; drivers there love to tailgate and cut in front of you...
Out in the country side, it was a whole different story. People would stop work in the fields and wave at me! And traveling alone on a bike, it was so easy to get in touch with people. Whenever I stopped in villages (fuel, lunch), I was immediately surrounded by "friendlies" always asking 4 questions: "What's your name?", "Is this your first time in our country?", "How do you like our country?" and "Do you need any help?"
Now I'm thinking about a shorter tour next year (9 weeks was a bit long, even on the KTM 990 Adventure). Either through Czech Rep., Slovakia, and Hungary, or south through the Tuscany area...