Hotel Nh Luz Huelva

... It was a beautiful small fishing village with whitewashed walls and blue and yellow painted trim that overlooked the ocean and estuary. There were probably at most 50 houses in the town. You had to park your car outside before going in. We walked around, grabbed a sandwich and continued on our way. Vila Real de Santo António was also quite nice. It was a flat and clean town on the ocean and the River that separates Portugal and Spain. This town catered to the ...

... now that the journey is complete? It means I have learnt a lot about touring on a bicycle (I am now far more confident riding in heavy urban traffic); I've had a good look at parts of France and Spain that I had not previously seen; I've discovered that literally thousands of people from across the globe trek across the European network of pilgrimage routes that lead inexorably to Santiago de Campostella; and my fitness level has increased ...

... found a nice corner bar. I sat outside and sipped a couple of glasses of Rioja until disaster: I hadn't quite finished the second glass when I accidentally tipped it over and spilt the remaining contents. Before I could move a waitress appeared and wiped it up, before reappearing seconds later with the bottle and refilling my glass at no cost! Now THAT's what I call service! DISTANCE FOR THE DAY: 87 km TOTAL SO FAR: 2223 km

... over into the parts accessible to the public. As well as wild boar, red and fallow deer, the European Lynx has one of its last strongholds here. Soaring above the park are red and black kites, imperial eagles, booted eagles and ospreys, whilst as well as flamingo, spoonbills, stilts and glossy ibis wad in the marshes. The ubiquitous stork nests on every pylon. We have had several very pleasant walks in the park, spotting ...

ARRIVED from Sevilla i was trying to get to lisbon, portugal but the train line stopped in Huelva. the bus from there to portugal didnt leave for 8 hours (it was a holiday, so everything was closed, i couldnt even find anything to eat except at the bus station and no cars and no map so i wasnt about to hitchhike) not much to do all day other than my usual- skateboard, nap, read, walk around... DEPARTED to somewhere in Portugal

... continuing to be hit by waves and waves of realization, excitement and understanding. An example- sporatically I will have moments where I say to myself'wow, I'm in Spain' as if I didn't fully realize it before. The waves of excitement are a different thing, more like a pinball machine in my head. Ideas, goals, activities bouncing around and around while I stare at my Spanish professor with a blank look on my face. That's enough philisophical ...

... strijken we neer bij Foz de Odeleite, een wat ons later blijkt Duitse enclave. Een Duits echtpaar runt daar een aantal boeien en maken kampvuur en delen bier en wijn uit om een genoegelijke avond van te maken. Hier spreken we voor het eerst vertrekkers die het zeilen voor gezien houden en zich in de rivier hebben gesetteld, met hun eigen schip of hebben hier een huis gebouwd. Hier horen we ook dat we een boei voor twee maanden kunnen huren, terwijl zij op ...

... I have to admit I'm pretty good at this) because Alba is going to spend a term in England this summer and Yolanda wants her to practice and to be honest I want a siesta from Spanish. Which brings us no now on the couch. Its been a nice relaxing time here and its been good to see Yolanda and Javier again, but I think I have to break the news that I must leave soon, because I must be in Granada by the 28th and I still have yet to visit Cordoba.

... after encountering several toilet garbage cans packed full of smelly papers, I came to terms with the fact that yes, you really are supposed to throw away your toilet papers not flush them. I'm now easily disgusted, but GROSS!!! I did my best to adapt to this change in cultural paradigm, but found myself only able to follow through with the dirty deep half of the time. My apologies to the people of Portugal whose toilets I may have ...

... fabrics and artworks instead of acres of velvet and damask. The property feels easily as opulent but much more assured. There's no need to gussy up the battered bits because this is the real thing, baby, old money not New World! On Christmas Eve, butterflies of anticipation aflutter, we dressed, paced and headed downstairs to the restaurant at 8:20pm. We were pretty excited. "Best restaurant in the world" or not, no restaurant is so good it sets the right tone by ...