http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/rrruss/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from rrruss en-us Mon, 20 May 2013 04:27:37 +0000 Mon, 20 May 2013 04:27:37 +0000 It was another grey weekend in Pamplona but the weather forecast suggested that just under two hours away in the car we might find some sunshine. So we headed off to Zaragoza and sure enough just as we were getting close the clouds broke up and we were left with a beautiful blue sky.About 50km Southeast of Zaragoza is the sad sight of the crumbling remains of Belchite. To get there we drove t http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Aragon/Zaragoza/blog-786157.html Towards the end of last year Trish was given the opportunity to be an extra in a film. You should be able to see The Counselor before the end of this year. Her scenes were shot in the desert of the Bardenas Reales and since then we have wanted to go and explore the area a little. Staying in Tudela gave us the perfect opportunity.We set off after breakfast and headed straight to the southern sect http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Navarre//blog-783265.html We hadn39t planned to go away last weekend but as the sun was shining we thought we had better make the most of it. So off we went down the motorway paying our tolls and soon enough we were negotiating the different coloured parking zones in Tudela. We ended up settling for the blue zone and astonishingly had to pay just 75 cents to cover ourselves for the whole weekend That39s because http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Navarre//blog-783261.html With a promise of some sunshine the Basque coast had a real feel of spring about it last weekend. Ok so it wasn39t as warm as a couple of weeks ago but we weren39t complaining. We jumped in the Bogey Buggy and headed to the small coastal town of Mundaka where we stayed in the imaginatively named Hotel Mundaka. It was really comfortable and not badly priced compared to most other options in http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/Mundaka/blog-778264.html A short drive from Guernika we found one of the most extraordinary sights we have seen on Northern Spain the Painted Forest of Oma. To get there we had to park up in the small village of Lezika where we had lunch at the restaurant. If you have time you can also visit the Santimamine Caves. We didn39t have enough time but it looks like there are some impressive cave paintings inside.From there http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/Guernica/blog-777126.html Many places around the world are known for the terrible things which have happened there. When you think of atrocities in Spain most people immediately think of Guernica and it39s a place we had wanted to visit ever since we moved to the North of Spain. Although we had been disappointed with Picasso39s painting when we saw it in Madrid 8 years ago seeing it reproduced in the woods of Zilba http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/Guernica/blog-776550.html The weather forecast suggested getting out of Pamplona for the weekend and heading down the Basque coast was a good idea. Who were we to argue So we took the Bogey Buggy out for a drive and tried to find the small town of Lekeitio where we had booked ourselves into the Hotel Metrokua for the night. Unfortunately we missed our exit from the motorway and ended up travelling cross country over a hi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/Lekeitio/blog-776380.html Winter will soon be over or so we hope Bearing that in mind we headed up into the Pyrenees and revisited Roncesvalles. At first we were disappointed by how little snow there was but then suddenly we hit the snow line and it was impressive. Huge banks of snow lined the road where it had been swept to one side and enormous piles could be seen between the houses.A short time ago several of the vill http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Navarre/Roncesvalles/blog-775593.html Has spring finally sprung With blue skies and a warm feel in the air well anything that39s not a biting wind feels warm these days we decided to take our car affectionately nicknamed the Bogey Buggy due it39s yucky green colour out for a spin. The snow has cleared from the nearby hills and it felt wonderful to be out on the roads and wondering if the air conditioning will be needed so http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Navarre/Pamplona/blog-773869.html An hour from Pamplona lies the capital of the Basque region VitoriaGasteiz. It39s a beautiful drive there through mountainous countryside but we couldn39t see a thing as it was extremely foggy It had just started to clear as we got to the city found somewhere to park for free and checked into the hotel. We found a great deal at the AC Marriott General Alava. it39s probably the poshes http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/Vitoria-Gasteiz/blog-772713.html It was another wet weekend in Pamplona. We39re tiring of saying that On Saturday morning though the skies cleared and we took a drive out to Estella about 40 minutes away.This town has been built up around a collection of churches which are part of the route of the Camino del Santiago de Compostela as are many of the villages in the area. It39s quite pretty to wander around and the church http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Navarre/Estella/blog-771070.html It was another grey day in Pamplona so we decided to head down to the coast to see if the sun was shining there. It was Just to the west of San Sebastian is the town of Zarautz. We parked up there and headed straight towards the sea. The waves were rolling in and the surfers were loving it. The public toilets were closed though so we had to go into a cafe immediately. There were surfboards to re http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/Getaria/blog-770373.html It had been raining in Pamplona all week. Several outlying villages are flooded and some of the roads are closed. Luckily for us the main roads were not affected but the weather never let up as we made our way down to the coast and along to the French border.When we got to Biarritz it was quite easy to find our hotel the oddly named TxutxuMutxu which we presume is pronounce Choochoo Moochoo http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Aquitaine/Biarritz/blog-766921.html After a smooth train journey to Rabat we checked in to the Pietri Hotel in the centre of the business district. It wasn39t exactly cheap but then again we couldn39t find any alternatives that were an awful lot cheaper and it was the same hotel where our friend Linda was staying. The room was very comfortable and no sooner had we checked in than there was a knock at the door and Linda was http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Rabat-Sal-Zemmour-Zaer/Rabat/blog-766097.html The best laid plans and all that Our intention had been to head South from Agadir but we found out that a good friend was about to start working in Rabat and so we took the opportunity to head that way instead. On the way up we decided to take a look at the small town of El Jadida where the underground cisterns were made famous by Orson Welles in his 1952 version of Othello.Getting there meant a http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Doukkala-Abda/El-Jadida/blog-765903.html Renting a car for a day in Agadir turned out to be more difficult than anticipated. Because it was a very busy time of year nobody wanted to give us a car for just one day but eventually we managed to persuade one of the local firms. Morocco39s roads have a treacherous reputation and the accident statistics make grim viewing but it was the only way to have the day out that we wanted.First of http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Souss/Taroudannt/blog-765786.html Moving on from Essaouira to Agadir wasn39t too difficult or so it seemed. Supratous and CTM have buses in the afternoon but we wanted to get there earlier than the evening so we decided to walk out to the bus station and see what else was on offer. We opted for an 11 o39clock departure and bought our tickets. On the day we were travelling we arrived in good time at the bus station and our t http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Souss-Massa-Dra-/Agadir/blog-765451.html We left Marrakech on a Supratours bus to Essaouira. It was full of fellow touriststravellers and was fairly comfortable. This company is part of the ONCFtrain network and covers the parts of the country where the rails don39t go. On arrival at Essaouira there seemed to be a hundred touts from various hostels and riads. We had a reservation so we were able to walk past them all into the medina http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Marrakech-Tensift-El-Haouz/Essaouira/blog-765176.html Christmas holidays so the world at our feet No spinning of the globe to choose our destination we had decided on Morocco a long time ago. It39s hard to believe it39s 16 years since we were last in the country. There have been many changes since then. Improved transport is a big plus but the influx of tourism and raising of prices is a huge negativeWe had a VERY early start to this holiday http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Marrakech-Tensift-El-Haouz/Marrakech/blog-764370.html Just 50km to the Southeast of Pamplona is the small town of Lumbier. It39s nothing special in fact we didn39t even go there. Nearby hides a special secret though and that was the purpose of our visit.Foz de Lumbier is a small canyon in which hundreds maybe thousands of Egyptian Vultures have made their home. It was amazing walking along the footpath a disused railway line and getting s http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Navarre/Foz-de-Lumbier/blog-762737.html