The destination was Cascais, 30km west of Lisbon, for the 21st
Annual European HOG Rally, the forecast was bad and, sadly, was right! High winds and heavy rain made the ferry departure
to Portsmouth rather miserable, although it did dry towards the end, which was
fortunate while we waited to board. All ferry
crossings were booked up to northern Spain within days of the timetable being
published last Dec, so we knew there would be many bikes from UK attending and lots
joined our ferry from around UK. The Bay
of Biscay was rather choppy but we all survived, 5 people on 4 Harleys - Jean on the back with me,
Wayne, John and Sue.
Wayne in the mirror!
24hrs later we were in Bilbao to encounter more rain! A short ride took us to our first Parador, in
Limpias, which used to be a 19th century palace. The Paradors are buildings that have ceased
their original use and been taken over by the Government. The architecture is generally grand, some
locations are superb, the service can vary, but the price is very
reasonable. The Portuguese equivalent is
the Pousada and we were to enjoy a few of them as well. There were to be no early starts from here on
and no unduly high daily mileages on our trip.
We were to enjoy the journey to and from our destination.
From Limpias, we went the long way round the Picos Mountains,
enjoying great scenery as the weather and road dried out and the temperature
climbed, to our next Parador in Leon. It
dates from 1515, is a very grand accommodation that used to be sanctuary for
pilgrims in the centre of the city with grand cloisters and gardens, and the
largest of all the Paradors in Spain.
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