Photo Gallery: Riding to Granada

---

Yes, we made it to Granada safe and sound, having the most spectacular final day of cycling with perfect weather, cloudless deep blue skies, quiet roads (we saw only 10 cars before lunch!), and beautiful scenery as we rode through the Sierra Nevada mountains and got a taste of autumn colors with bright yellow Aspens back lit by the sun. And after climbing the first 20 or so kilometers (to a surprising 1297 meters), we descended on swooping curves in biking about as good as it gets. A nice finish to the trip--2600 km in total and all healthy and safe.
Granada is taking a bit of getting used to. It is a bit hard to adjust to not being outside all day and more active, and the city has a bit more tourists and dredlocked streetdwellers than expected. But as we settle in, we are finding our way around and Koby has found the daily neighborhood soccer game on pavement in front of a church with the local boys, so he is learning a lot fast about the game. We start Spanish school Monday and while am happy to speak Spanish in town, I am a bit intimidated by speaking with teachers who both can expect correct grammar and word use and I know can speak English better than I can speak Spanish. The kids are trying out more Spanish, both to get their revered Ficha de la Liga (soccer cards) and to play tourist office in the apartment we are staying in. It will be interesting to see how they progress in a more organized class.
I have once again become a Herald Tribune regular reader with the wild news of the week in the US. Maybe I am naive or too idealistic to think that government officials would be better role models for us all, and particularly kids who we continually preach to about honesty and integrity. It is upsetting to find this belief, once again, shattered, not to mention the repercussions of these actions for so many throughout the globe.
I hope to send long delayed photos here. I wish I could adorn all the entries with pictures to match, but that seems to be asking too much from the technology I have. Hope these sporadic albums suffice. Enjoy.

---

Photos

The Cliffs of the Caves
Leaving our cave hotel on the final morning of riding in Guadix, where there are over 2000 houses built into the clay cliffs.

A Touch of Autumn
Aspens Turning Colors in the Sierra Nevada

Granada
A small celebration for making it here at a venerable local institution

Riding the Coast
Mid coastal Spain, leaving the town of Peniscola, riding on a rough unpaved road but still smiling-sort of.

Scenic Break
Same coastal unpaved road--our resident map experts checking to see if there might be a better route. The other way was a major road with a big climb, so we took a ¨shortcut¨ that probably took about an hour longer and tested our spokes, but was certainly traffic free.

Fartons! in Valencia
Yes, the special treat to eat with the local drink, Horchata (Tiger nut juice that tastes like soy milk) is called Fartons. Good for laughs throughout the trip.

A Favorite Road
Seems like a long time ago we left Cadaques and rode this high road before dropping back down the flatter coast.

Museum of Arts and Sciences Valencia
Stunning architecture by Calavaterra. A great setting and more great museums.

Underwater
Another of those clever European museums, or, in this case, aquariums. Here the kids are walking through a tunnel under, or through the tank. Sorry about the blur.