Well, I am done traveling. Well, maybe not Done Done, but at the moment I am tired of planning and figuring out where I will go each day.
I found a fantastic house in Lamego, Portugal. This place is huge, with 3 bedrooms upstairs, two downstairs, two kitchens, two living rooms, a dining room, two bathrooms, etc. Well away from city center, but an easy walk to the center and the historic sites. Central to lots of good roads and scenery. All this for a bit less than what a hotel room would cost in town. I think it would have cost significantly more if I had more people, but it is a bargain for just one person.
The plan was to stay here for 4 nights, but the weather in Portugal is bit rainy right now, not bad but enough to make the best views and roads less fun. I decided to stay for 5 nights, and maybe a 6th.
Over the last week or two I finished with the Pyrenees and headed towards north western Spain. That was not as dramatic as the Pyrenees, but it was warmer and still pretty nice. I slowed down a bit and spent some time relaxing there. A bit of rain helped that decision.
From there I moved into Northern Portugal. Even less dramatic than NW Spain, but still nice. The only problem was a bit of rain. That and I am tired of traveling for the moment. I will be in Lamego, Portugal until November 2 or 3, then head someplace south, warmer and hopefully a bit drier. I will stay there for a few days, then head to Madrid, Spain. I drop the bike off for storage in Madrid on November 9th, then fly home on the 11th.
I think I have found my limit for traveling solo in countries that don't speak English. That limit is about one month. Off season like this, I am not meeting tourists that speak English (or any tourists at all). The few people that I am meeting speak only their native language. I like a bit of solitude but even I have limits. It is time to go somewhere that is English speaking. Preferably someplace where everyone knows my name. I am talking about NE Cafe and Molly's, not Cheers.
Speaking of Off-Season, I don't like traveling during Peak Tourist season as it is too crowded. Way Off Season like this is a problem because many places are not open even many hotels and Air BnB's shut down. A sweet spot for traveling is between those two times when places are open, but there are not many tourists in the way.
On this trip, I really loved Ireland, Scotland and Northern England. Great roads, scenery and people. Other parts of England were nice too, but a bit busier and not as dramatic in the roads and scenery. Plenty of History though.
Belgium was.... there. Well, at least there was history there. Luxembourg was nice as was the parts of France I went to before I got to the Rhone Alps. From there, almost every place I went to had great roads and great scenery. That part of France was awesome, as was the area south of there. Some parts between the Gorge du Verdon and the Pyrenees were nice, but not great. Then the Pyrenees were fantastic. This included the French, Spanish and Andorran areas. I already spoke about the rest of Spain.
Portugal I cannot yet say much about. I have only seen a small area, and most of that time has been in and out of the clouds. My observations would be highly tainted by my limited exposure. When I come back to get my bike I will have to spend a bit more time and see what Portugal is all about. There are a ton of places recommended by the travel sites, but none of those appealed to me at this point in my trip.