Samstag, 6. April 2019 | Dieter Arnoth / Ursula Peter | Europa
Last not least this is an awesome riding day through the Montes de Malaga, the Malaga mountains, down to the beach. Thousands of curves and no traffic and a delicious picnic high in the mountains awaits us.Lets see....
Famous for its Mezquita, one of the most magnificent Islamic buildings, Córdoba is one of the must-sees in Andalusia. The city was capital of Al Andalus, the Moorish Andalusia, when this region was at its political and cultural peak. So we tried to be there early. And getting there was not easy, because our hotel was next to the Mezquita.
Get up early for a long riding day and say good bye to Lisboa! We'll be heading east towards Spain on the freeway today. Medieval towns like Evora and Elvas tempt us to take a short stop before we cross back into Spain into the province of the Extremadura.
Being one of the oldest trading places on the Iberian peninsula, it was of great importance under the Romans. Almost 400 years under Moorish rule left traces, too. UNESCO declared the city center of Evora to be a World Heritage Site in 1986. The bone house is a must, but a bit weird.
Located at the bay of the river Tejo and built on and around seven hills, this city can be counted among the most beautiful in the world, and will leave you breathless in every way, due to its beauty, and also the steep alleys and constant ups and downs! The Phoenicians laid the cornerstone of Lisboa with a settlement at the River Tejo (“Alis Ubbo”); the Romans took over and fortified it (“Felicitas Iulia”); and the Moors conquered it and led the town to its economic and cultural high time (“Lischbuna”) until 1147. The big discoveries and expeditions of the 15th century made it to one of the richest towns in Europe. And we have the whole day to enjoy it!
Today we are heading for Lisbon! After a ride through seemingly endless cork oak forests, we arrive at the peninsula of Tróia - Lands End!
From here we take the ferry to cross over to Sétubal to enjoy the magnificent view over Setubal's bay. The winding road through the Serra da Arrabida leads us to the Cabo Espichel at the coast. At the end of the day Lisbon welcomes us with an impressive ride over a bridge similar to the Golden Gate bridge.
Heading out of Faro, we hit the road inland, getting to the foothills of the Monchique mountains. A steep climb takes us first to the village of Monchique, and later further up to Foia, one of the most spectacular viewpoints on our tour at almost 3,000 ft. The group wanted everything - so we rode out to Cabo San Vincente - the South-Western most point and had a delicious picnic afterwards, overviewing the Atlantic ocean.
Everybody is well rested. A beautiful day ahead of us. We are heading for Portugal! Northwest of Sevilla, we get to ride wide and open roads before we hit the motorway to reach the country of portwine and fado, endless beaches and rough coasts, traditional villages and booming cities like Lisbon.
With a population of more than 700,000 inhabitants, Seville is Andalusia’s biggest and most exciting city. Its unique atmosphere – stylish, confident, ancient, proud, yet also sociable and intimate - makes it an absolute must for every Andalusia visitor.
A must-see are the city’s two great monuments: The Muslim Alcazar and the Cathedral with its famous Ghiralda.
some impressions of these treasures
We were hungry. But as we passed by the Cathedral there were for what reason ever - no queues!!
In we went and up the tower as well
A short morning briefing and on we hop.Everybody is quite excited. We`ll cruising along the cost to get used to our bikes and turn in than to the back roads and up to Ronda. We will explore some to the "pueblos blancos" the white villages before we end up in Seville, the capital of Andalusia.
Ronda is most dramatically located on top of a sheer limestone cliff. The nearly unconquerable town was one of the last Moorish bastions in Spain. The Puente Nuevo, a bridge spanning the 300 ft. Tajo gorge, connects both parts of town.
It is the cradle of bullfighting and its bullring is one of the oldest in Spain. Every ambitious matador dreams about fighting here in September,