Flamenco, Fado, tapas and wine

22 Oct 2024

/Sebastian Gohlke

/Lars Wuestman

/Markus Hellrigl

Welcome to the blog of our Christopher Columbus tour! On the coming 10-day trip, we will be exploring the cultures of southern Spain and Portugal, and the differences between the two. We are starting in Málaga and will make our way inland on the first day, winding our way towards Seville, where we will have a rest day to explore the beautiful historic city. Then on to Faro and through the Algarve, until the southwestern-most point of the continent. From here, we head north to Sines and Lisbo, where we will have our second rest day to explore the city. From there, we head east to Elvas and through the Extremadura region to Zara and Córdoba, from where we make our way back to Málaga, where we started. We will encounter beautiful roads, picturesque buildings, breathtaking sights and, maybe most importantly, great food and drinks. Stay tuned for our daily updates on our blog, follow along, and enjoy the trip with us !

Our first riding day took us out of Malaga. We departed the hotel and directly hit some traffic on the highway due to construction work. I think Malaga just wasn’t done with us yet... From there, we wound our way down the coast along the highway with breathtaking views of the luxurious houses along the coast. Around Marbella, we headed inland and stopped for coffee on the outskirts of town. The spot had a great view of the city and the coast, making it a perfect place to say goodbye to the coast, for now. After the coffee, it was time to get on the twisty roads. We encountered some traffic and actually hit some clouds, which turned into fog as we climbed higher. A few raindrops made it seem like we might get a little wet, but we were well compensated for it later. This winding road took us to Ronda. Here, we unintentionally toured the city first, as it was so busy that we couldn’t find anywhere to park the bikes. So, we waved at the bridge and the bullfighting arena before circling back to where we started, finally finding a place to park the bikes. A short walk through town, through a park, took us to the edge of town, where a cliffside offers a beautiful view of the olive trees and hills surrounding the town, as well as the town itself, of course. Strolling along with the flow of tourists, we passed the bullfighting arena again and headed toward the bridge. Here, we took some time to take pictures and enjoy the views. And, of course, it was also the perfect spot to sit down for lunch. A little side alley with lots of tables gave space for everyone, although we split into two groups, as we did for the ride. Some well-deserved salads, pasta, and pizzas refueled our energy to get back on the road. Since lunch and paying took a little longer than expected, some people were waiting at the parking lot and decided to leave with the other group that departed before us, leaving us behind and sad... After this, we hit more twisty roads, but here there was basically no traffic, so we had the roads to ourselves and could enjoy riding at our own pace, soaking in the views. No need to rush or be held back by a truck. Once we arrived at the coffee stop, both groups reunited, and the lost ducklings returned with the group they left with in the morning. Now it was the others who were sad to see them go again. At least we all had the privilege of riding with them for part of the day. We then got to test how accurate the fuel gauge on the Ducati Multistrada is, and we are proud to say that we managed to hit exactly 0 kilometers left! A perfect landing. I challenge anyone to do the same and tell us the results ;) (Luckily, the bike has at least 2 more liters as a reserve, so there was no risk of getting stranded by the roadside.) We are now in Seville and will go out for dinner together tonight and prepare for our day of exploring the city tomorrow.

Officially, today was a rest day, but we definitely got more of a workout than on the non-rest days. Most of us walked together from the hotel toward the center to do a day of sightseeing. We started off at the bridge, looking at the Golden Tower, where Sebastian told us about two stories that could explain why it’s called the Golden Tower. In the background, we could already see the ship that we were heading towards. This is a replica of the ship that Ferdinand Magellan used to circumnavigate the world. Here, Sebastian shared more stories of his adventures and the struggles he and his crew faced along the way—some of which were caused by the crew itself. After we said goodbye to the ship, we made our way to the Bull Fighting Arena, we had a look around and even walked on the dirt of the Arena, where the spectacle happens. The little museum shows us some pictures of what goes on around there, so we had a better idea of how it works, and they even displayed some of the very intimidating bulls, that were stuffed. Nothing you want to have storming at you when all you have is a piece of cloth in your hand, and a Speer in the other. From here it was on to the famous cathedral and explored the exterior, as well as the surrounding alleys and little streets. It took some convincing of semi-friendly waiters, but we managed to get some tables to sit down for a coffee or a glass of wine. We decided to head into the cathedral at that point, hoping that most people would use lunchtime as the name implies—for lunch. This seemed to work. After only a short wait, we were inside the cathedral and had the chance to look around, then make our way up the Giralda to enjoy the view from the top, where you can see the entire city. After the cathedral, the three tour guides went on a mission to find a nice place for dinner for tonight, as we need to stick to a tight schedule. We will visit a flamenco show, so we need to make sure we are on time and well-fed. Most of us met up for dinner, so we went to a nice tapas place and ordered food for all of us family style, so we could all share the dishes and try a little bit of everything. Once again, definitely more than enough food. All of us met up for the flamenco show, so we occupied two rows by ourselves and had great seats to enjoy the show. It was a great experience to see the dances and listen to the music—a wonderful display of the local culture. Then, some more walking back to the hotel, but this time through the old town at night. The cathedral was beautifully lit, offering a great chance to take another picture on the way back to a well-deserved bed at the hotel.

Now it was finally time to make our way to Lisbon! Our morning started off, as always, with a very nice breakfast and our daily briefing. Since tomorrow is a rest day, we were also preparing some of the plans for the day after regarding dinner reservations and such. From there, our route took us back the way we came into town for a few klicks, and then it changed for the better. The first part of our ride was through the cork trees. It really seems like they built the road around the trees, because in some parts it is hard to find a straight section. It was a bit narrow, but boy, was it fun to ride through twists and turns in the cool landscape. We did a quick stop to look at the trees and discuss the ride, then quickly went on for more of the same. In the first town afterward, both groups ran into each other, so more talk about the ride commenced until the first people took off again, leaving the rest for some more coffee and sunshine time. The rest of the ride was still very nice and took us to the spot where the Coca-Cola ferry docks. In the last part of that ride, the scenery changed to a much more sandy, beach-like landscape, and here the fancy holiday homes and communities started to show up. The ferry itself gave a beautiful view of the town of Setubal, as well as the peninsula we had just come from. The wind made sure we wouldn’t overheat in the sunshine, so it was nice to keep our jackets on. After the ferry, both groups once again went their own way. The group following Lars found a very cool American BBQ restaurant. They only opened two months ago, but definitely had the smoking down. Brisket, pulled pork, and ribs all tasted amazing, and the sides were stunning too. From here we made our way up to the hill behind the city to visit the Forte de São Filipe. We had a look around the castle and most of all enjoyed the stunning view from the top, overlooking the bay. Besides the great view of the bay, it also offered great riding: twisty roads with gorgeous views of sun-covered beaches and cliffs. This took us all the way along the coast until we got to Cabo Espichel, an old chapel and pilgrimage destination, once again—surprise, surprise—along the beautiful cliffs of the Portuguese coast. After walking around here for a while, taking some pictures, and having a drink, it was time for the last stretch of the day toward the hotel in Lisbon. The last part was a little busy with traffic, but we managed to get through quickly and are now in our gorgeous hotel. Now we can cheers to another great day and chat about what we want to do tomorrow when we go explore Lisbon!!

Today, we got to explore Lisbon. Since we had plenty of time to look around, we allowed ourselves a little extra sleep this morning and decided to meet at 10 am to start our tour of the city. We walked out of the hotel and toward the city center when we came across the first tram we would be on today. It was just off the main road and took us steeply uphill. The trams have a very old-school look, so the ride itself is quite an experience. This took us up to Bairro Alto, where we got on a viewing platform to look down at part of the city and get a great view of the castle on the other side. Here, we could really get a feel for how the city works, seeing how the hills on which Lisbon is built shape and structure the city itself. This spot also gave us a beautiful view of the city. After walking around a few more of the charming streets and admiring some of Lisbon's stunning squares, it was time for a must-do: pastel de nata. There’s one place in the city known for making the best ones, so of course, we had to try them from there. After we all had a taste, we made our way to the lift that connects Bairro Alto, the upper part of the city, with the streets below. This structure was designed by Mr. Eiffel, the same man who created the creatively named Eiffel Tower in Paris. It’s an almost surreal structure, made of very industrial-looking steel, standing among the surrounding buildings. This platform offered another great view of the city, including the castle and the river. The streets below were mostly rebuilt after the earthquake that destroyed large parts of the city in 1755. This area looks a bit newer, but it hasn’t lost the charm and architectural style of the older parts of Lisbon. These streets led us to the river’s edge, where we passed through the Arco da Rua Augusta, marking the entrance to the Praça do Comércio. Here, ships used to dock when they returned from sea voyages, unloading goods collected from around the world. For many, this was the closest they’d get to glimpsing the wonders far beyond the Portuguese coast. One of the best ways to reach another elevated part of the city is by taking Tram 28, which goes through narrow streets all the way up the hill. While we were waiting, the first tram passed us without stopping because it was completely packed. Just a few minutes later, an empty tram showed up around the corner and stopped right in front of us. We acted like this was pure luck, but of course, the three tour guides had planned this and arranged for it to work out this way. Of course. We concluded our tour with a lovely lunch together, sharing thoughts on what we’d seen and enjoying Bill’s diving stories. It was a great day of exploring, and even though the time was short, we got a wonderful impression of Lisbon. Big thanks to Sebastian, who is very knowledgeable about the city but, most of all, kept us engaged all day with his enthusiasm for Lisbon and its history.

It was time to say goodbye to Lisbon today. We got to enjoy it a little extra in the morning, as traffic ensured we got to look around a little more than we had planned. Once out of the city, our pace picked up considerably, as we were on the highway for the first hour or so. The highway starts with the longest bridge in Europe—a spectacular ride over the water, providing a great view in all directions. From then on, we made good time, apart from some issues at the toll booth. We first had to reverse out of one lane, and then the machine didn’t want to sort our tickets, so it took a little time to figure out. After the highway, we had an exciting stop for a 15-minute go-kart race. Most of us joined in and did some laps around the circuit. I think almost all of us spun out at least once, creating some funny situations. Collin even did some off-roading in his go-kart, but I don’t think that helped his time. Sadly, the timing system was broken, so we have no idea who won… Okay, okay, it was Sebastian. Sebastian had the fastest time. (It wasn’t a fair comparison—he had the wind at his back…) Once we finished chatting about our lap times, it was only a short drive to Evora. Here, we had a chance to look inside the chapel where bones were used as building materials, giving it a very unique decor. It was also finally time for our special Edelweiss picnic today. After about an hour's drive from Evora, we had a few raindrops from the sky, but once we got to the picnic spot, the weather was nice and dry. Markus was already waiting there for us, with some help from Tiffany today. The spot was right on the border of Portugal and Spain, overlooking the river next to a castle—a picturesque place to have some food. Right at the end of the lunch stop, there were a few more raindrops, but nothing too bad. After lunch, we checked out an old aqueduct and took a tour through Elvas—a beautiful old town where we wound our way through the narrow streets. The last 100 km of today’s ride were along beautiful winding roads through olive groves and fields. It was a bit of a shame we had rain while driving these. We still got to enjoy the roads, but nobody would have minded if we’d had them in dry conditions. Tonight’s hotel is the Parador in Zafra. This is an old castle in the middle of town—a very cool place to stay.

After spending the last few days traveling around Spain and Portugal, today was our final riding day. Our day started off in Córdoba and would ultimately lead us back to Málaga. In the morning, we had a bit of drizzle, but the forecast was positive, so our spirits were high. The first hour or so was on a broader road to get us to the starting point of the really good roads. To boost our energy, we had a short coffee stop at an old train station, where we also had the chance to buy some olive oil and other local items. Given that we had already passed about a million olive trees that day, it seemed appropriate. From here, we turned off the main road, and it instantly became an amazing ride. The first part was narrow and very curvy, winding between the olive trees. The roads were still wet, so we had to be careful, but we enjoyed the ride very much. We even took the opportunity to capture some drone shots of us riding along and passing through beautiful, picturesque towns. We hit some traffic just as we started looking for a lunch spot, so we decided to bypass it. This led us onto some narrow town roads, including a steep uphill with a turn, and traffic coming from the side. Sorry about that one, Bridget! We eventually made our way out of town and sat down at a roadside spot for lunch. We were very glad Hauger could help us translate, as we were all a bit confused by the different menu options and specials they were trying to explain to us. Lunch was a great way to let the roads dry out, ensuring we could enjoy the next stretch even more. The route took us through the mountains behind Málaga and was an absolute pleasure to drive, with plenty of turns to make up for all the roundabouts we’d encountered on previous days – at least in terms of numbers. Of course, all good things come to an end, and we finally arrived in Málaga. Markus was waiting for us at the hotel with some drinks, so we could all toast to an amazing tour and share stories from the day’s ride. To conclude our tour, we held a brief meeting before dinner. This gave us the chance to thank everyone on the tour for the wonderful time we had and for making everything so easy. It’s always a pleasure when everyone makes it back without any problems – no falls, no issues. It also allowed us to review each riding day and the rest days. Markus’s drawing from the welcome briefing was a great way to recap all the highlights. From there, we moved on to dinner, and afterward, some of us had a few drinks and played cards.