Bike tour 2023: Parque Nacional de Doñana
5 March: walk in Parque Nacional DoñanaThe son of Manuel Ramón, my Warm Showers host with whom I stayed for three nights, has an outdoor activities company and he, a geology and biology teacher, organises nature walks of geographical and ecological interest all over Andalusia (see https://andaluciageographic.com/). On Sunday, he invited me to join a group of 55 people on a walk [...].
Bike tour 2023: Villa Ducal - Osuna
March 2: Villa Ducal in OsunaThursday night I unsuspectingly landed in Osuna having found a cheap hostal there. What a surprise! Osuna is a beautifully preserved historic town with many baroque gems, picturesque streets with snow-white houses, cosy squares and - very pleasantly - not (yet) overrun by tourists. Actually, I had better ended up here first to visit after [...]
Bike tour 2023: Granada
After my winter stay in O Sel Ling, my first stop was Granada. A fairly large and very touristy city, so that took some getting used to after the peace and quiet of the Alpujarra mountains. I allowed myself three days to visit the city at leisure. Friday 24 Feb: First, I had to look for a new [...]
Bike tour 2023: Wintering at meditation centre O Sel Ling - 2
Photos O Sel Ling 1 January: SalobreñaIt's never too late for a first time! On Saturday 24 December, it was the first time I was able to enjoy a Christmas lunch in T-shirt on a sunny terrace. Today, the first day of 2023, it was the first time I spent a few hours on a sunny beach [...]
Bike tour 2022: Wintering at meditation centre O Sel Ling - 1
Summary if needed
Bike tour 2022: Órgiva - O Sel Ling Buddhist meditation centre
Photos O Sel Ling Thursday 24 Nov: climb to Buddhist retreat and meditation centre O Sel Ling (18.4 km - 1,130 m D+)After three days of compulsory storm-wind rest at Camping Órgiva, this morning it was finally windless in open skies. I was able to set off uphill to my winter stop: the O Sel Ling meditation centre. That means the 'place of bright light' [...]
Cycle tour 2022: Almería - Órgiva - O Sel Ling
Photos Almería - Las Alpujarras Thursday, Nov 17: Almería - Adra (60.1 km - 480 D+)A gruelling day of cycling! Five and a half hours ride over just 60 km, which is at 10.9 km/hour. An average runner goes faster. Headwinds of 50-60 km/h and terribly ugly scenery, at least from Aguadulce onwards. Until there, the lane ran between a cliff and [...]
Bike tour 2022: Visit Órgiva
Tuesday 22 Nov: walk to and visit ÓrgivaWind wind wind wind, it still doesn't give up! So I chose to walk the two kilometres to Órgiva via the Ruta de Los Olivos. There is not a whole lot to see in this regional capital of the Western Alpujarras. The 16th-century 'Casa Palacio de los Condes de Sástago', a [...]
Bike tour 2022: Elche - Almeria
Photos Elche - Almeria Friday 4 Nov: Elche - Torre de la Horadada (58.4 km - 420D+)On Friday, I initially planned to cycle on to Murcia. I wrote to eight Warm Showers addresses on Thursday evening, but by Friday morning had not received any positive response. So I decided to turn back to the coast anyway, where the [...]
Bike tour 2022: Visit Almería
Wednesday, 16 Nov: Highlights city tour AlmeríaA day is not long to do some clothes shopping for my winter stay in the Alpujarras, where it can be brisk winter, and still see something of the city too. I mapped out a route that passes some highlights within walking distance, as my bike was at the bike shop. First [...]
