Long time no blog

Unfortunately we haven't had the opportunity to update the blog since monday for numerous reasons (no time, no internet connection, no battery). So we'll sum up the past few days right here and now...

On Tuesday we headed out on the bike to explore the Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park. The quiet roads meandered through the endless landscape of gorgeous peaks and valleys while the sun shon in the blue sky. We stopped off at many place: to make a picture, to walk to a special location of natural/historical/cultural interest or to grab some much needed refreshments. We were out most of the day which was tiring but abosutely fabulous. We enjoyed a restful evening round our bucket-braai under a glorious Spanish moon with some lovely toasted sandwiches and a well-earned beer.

Wednesday we said adios to Spain, as we headed along the windy Pyrenean roads towards Andorra. The temperature rose with every mile. The closer we got to Andorra, the more barren the land became and the sight of vineyards became endless. In the distance we noticed dark clouds looming and just before the Andorra's border it started to rain. Somebody up above must have been trying to give us a sign, but we ignored it... Andorra was just aweful! Not only was it pissing down like crazy, the roads were congested, everything was cheaply built up, petrol station after petrol station cluttered the roads, advertising littered every delapedated building, and there was yet more building work going on (roads, houses, shops, etc). Even the campsites looked like shanty-towns. Andorra's status as tax haven has allowed it to be crudely raped by commercialism. We wanted to get out asap, but with all the traffic we were forced to make our way through Andorra very slowly, and within less than an hour the temperature had dropped more than 20 degrees: from almost 30 in Spain, to a bleak 5 in Andorra! We were relieved to be back on French ground and hit the motorway in search of a comfortable hotelroom for the night. A hectic, long day was soon forgotten in our nice warm bed.

Thursday we did over 500 km as we blitzed our way towards the French Riviera. We set up camp between St. Tropez & Cannes, we thought we deserved a splash of luxury on a shoestring. The location is amazing, less than a minute from the beach. Here we have enjoyed two extremely relaxing days soaking up the sun and swimming in the Med, whilst thinking about you poor mortals slaving away at work. Last night we sat on the rocks with a bottle of Bordeaux, watching the sun go down.

Tomorrow we're heading off to Italy. We'll be staying a few days near Genova before heading towards Lake Garda for the rest of the week.