Forever

Motorcycle Diaries

What is an adventure?

I ask myself, while pushing through the clouds on a remote Portuguese mountain. Is it the view that opens up here above the clouds? Is it being in this different layer of the world at this moment in time? Alone on top of the world.

Is it the smooth barren landscape all around.? The strong wind guts trying to get me off balance? Is it to look out over the glaciar valley here in the Serra to ride these incredible roads on an early morning.

Is it to get lost, to be free as the birds? Or this in historical livery painted adventure bike, making me feel like Peter-Jan-sel? Is it a phrase from the script of the movie the 25th hour: .. keep riding, keep riding till you find…

Is it to discover? Or is it just slowing down. Stepping off and sitting down doing what you haven’t done for a long time…. I don’ know. Is a difficult one…

While I’m already feeling adventurous riding a softer piste there’s my travel companion for who the adventure ride only starts when there’s braaaap and braaap and jumps and slides. When there’s dust and rocks, splashes, bumps and sweat. A bit like a befriended MC journalist recently said: an adventure is when the ride becomes slightly uncomfortable.

So, for both of them the ride is only an adventure when it pushes you and there’s no importance weather you’re in the open terrain, blasting through thick forrest or anywhere else in the world. Their aim is the next top, the next bump, the next corner, the next trail. It’s the adrenaline the risk… Does this mean that any ride on a motorbike for anyone at any time is an adventure?

According to wikipedia - yes we donated - Adventures are often undertaken to create psychological arousal, or in order to achieve a greater goal such as the pursuit of knowledge that can only be obtained by such activities.

Anyway, let’s stop philosophising and get ready for this adventure. Last year we crossed the Serra da Estrella and mentioned you could be riding here for days. And that’s exactly what we’ve just been doing .

In one day we will leave from here as the Serra is the starting point of our upcoming trip. And we promise it will be a long trip...

In this episode you’ll be able to discover our latest idea. It’s to create a route that links the most beautiful area’s in Europe via great roads. We don’t plan to make it a continuous route, as in every next episode we’ll present you an at random chosen part of this route. In the end we’ll connect all tracks of these episodes and that final trace will create a trip of a lifetime.

It’s not an alternative Tet. It’s our own MD route. Some parts will be completely asphalted, some just trails, but in general it will be a great mix.

And this first part just happens to be focused on adventure…

We leave Lapa in the early morning. The village is still asleep and we sneak out for what will be one of the toughest days of this trip, but also one of the most beautiful ones.

On the program today there’s asphalt till Loriga and from there a happy mix with more off-road. The track we’re following on the GPS is made up from past rides and wild guesses on a topo map. So After 15km we’re already faced with a first impossibility. The map says there’s a track, reality says no track…

In General we’re going steady. The tracks are beautiful, still some are a bit more challenging. After 4 hours riding we still can see the top of the Serra Estrella. Progress, you can’t call this. The view after Silvares however is beautiful. The service road of the windmills creates an amazing track. The decent to Partida is the toughest one so far. We mustn’t forget we borrowed the bike…

Adventure you said. Slightly uncomfortable. All boxes ticked so far…

The not so comfortable feeling is persisting and we decide to win some time and to cut a few off road parts.

From Castel Branco there’s an important change in geography. One that will make us smile a little more. The Tejo river forms a natural barrier between the mountainous north and the more flat area of Alentejo. This makes the riding a little less challenging and at the same time it brings back our hunger for adventure. The roads are curvy the tracks dusty. And at certain moments we even feel like we’re riding through the African savannah. Mind you, this is still Portugal It is also very quiet here..

The storks can only agree. they too are enjoying the empty villages and the silence of the area.

Nothing ever happens here, life just flows.. with from time to time the occasional splash…

Day 2 is a different kind of Day. Is a day to ‘recover’ from the slightly more challenging first day. Maybe not in terms of difficulty, but in terms of uncomfortable-ness.

Anyway, the birds are up early. Alter do Chao is still asleep when we sip our morning coffee. We’re all day border lining with Spain and the white villages and local culture could make you think you’ve already crossed the border. Fronteira, Estremoz, Redondo all breathe silence and history. Ancient Fortifications to defend from the Spanish enemy can be found in every village.

We’re riding along the Albufera de Alqueva or the Rio Guadiana. Is extremely beautiful here. We hop from Asphalt to track and back to asphalt again. And we’re happy to see the spring has been generous with water. All lakes are full to the brim. Wherever you look there’s water.

Except for the sheepdog on the side of a dusty trail that has none We decide stop to help out.

The ride is getting faster again. The downhill from Monsaraz is short but we’re smiling like kids and ride it a few times up and down…

The rest of the day the route just flows and before we realise we have entered Spain. Aroche, just a few km’s over the border, welcomes us with tiny streets and a very well hidden hotel.

The village is build as a nest on the top of a hill. Also here the morning song of thousands birds that have made the town their home, is loud and continuous.

Knowing the day will be hot again we once more decide to leave with the early light.

Our road-book wants to take us out of the National road and in between the trees but the first track indicated on our GPS is closed of. The second one even so… And also at the third one a fence blocks the entree. All Private property… We’re in cerdo territory. Jabugo more precise.

The free roaming pigs rule the hills, forests and land. We ultimately decide to stop trying to get on the tracks and get our revenge another way.… Un Bocadillo con jamon. We shouldn’t, we’re animal lovers, but as one of or veggie friends always said: Jamon was the last meat to leave her menu. Bellota, iberico purro.

Luckily the twisty roads through the hilly and forested landscape make up for something. The incredible shaped trees look like veins connecting the earth and the sky sucking the oxygen into the ground.

These cork oaks do not only deliver the base for the delicious bellota ham, but are also used for the corks on the bottles of wine. We’re passing a team checking the state of the advancement of the cork and get a brief lesson in the how and when the cork is harvested. It’s a slow job, they only cover several km per day.

There’s loads of dust and the the air is hot and dry.. As any motorcyclist we know we need to stay hydrated. Especially for this purpose we bought some camel-baks. After several days however I’m still disgusted by the plastic taste of the water. I take drastic measures.

So if anyone has an advise of how to get rid of that horrible taste: you will be largely rewarded.

From here we move fast. Campofrio, Aracena, Riotinto. As always we stop to overlook the mine-pit. I’ve been here many times but my travel-buddy looks with open eyes.

The amount of dump tucks riding up and down is incredible.

Google tells us there’s electric ones too. Good for the environment… Still, not convinced of the green power compensation for the hole they are digging, we must admit we love the colours here. We look in admiration at what’s created by the mining. Like a painting it is. beautiful.

Our day ends in the soft afternoon light around Carmona. We take advantage of it to find a way through the millions of sunflowers on the flats just below the city. It’s an incredible view and there’s plenty of tracks linking with each other across the fields of flowers.

There’s also a million of mosquito and the moment the sun plunges in the dust haze is a sign for us to head to the hotel. The Parador offers stunning views over the flat fields outside Carmona. And from the hotel it’s just a short stroll into this surprisingly nice Andalucian city

Today is a special day. We’re passing close to Malaga and its’ surroundings are not exactly places we like to hang out. But we know our way around here and there’s one track in particular we consider a highlight.

It is one of the best kept secrets of this area. We assure you, it’s one of these overlooked by thousands. It’s the road less travelled. A little Gem Also today there’s nobody and we enjoy the silence and solitude up here.

The tracks are rocky but not challenging they won’t kill you… but a suicidal sheep may do.

Our trip is nearing its end. We’re olive tree bound for the first part of the day. Eastwards we ride to the Sierra Nevada. Through some of Andalucia’s nicest tracks with amazing views towards the majestic Mulhacen.

We don’t climb the mountain. Instead we meander handily between busy Granada and the mountain top Once over the Rio Genil direction Quentar the desolate feeling we like so much returns.

Let’s Enjoy the fast paced curves past the Quentar dam, the white trails and more dust, The mediterranean pines, the unnamed road out la pezza past the little tunnel bringing you to Benalua From there we ride hidden tracks through almond fields all the way to the back door of the Guadix racetrack.

We’re approaching the apotheosis of this trip but we decide to make a detour. So we’re on the highway to Velez Rubio, a torture for our knobbies.

Once back on track we enjoy a last blast through the white chalk surrounding Orce.

We take a moment and a late lunch above Negratin and from here we’ve got some final jewels to ride. Some may say we aren’t allowed to cross this bridge, but the via Pecuaria a little higher up is also a no go. So we choose the least of sins to reach the amazing landscapes south of the Gorafe Desert. You will be amazed what the flats here have to offer.

Just before the desert the clouds pack together and a heavy shower is our part. Rain and Gorafe absolutely don’t match - so once more we improvise a detour to allow time for the rain to get absorbed into the desert… and for us to get the best from the Canyon…

Adventure we said.

While at this stage the ‘uncomfortable’ has reached the limit for me, the true die hard will of corse choose the stars as a cover ….but that’s because he’s not aware that there’s a more comfortable place to enjoy the night here in the desert.

The next morning we’re up with the sun. Before heading back home we take a seat to enjoy the view of the desert.

Happy with our achievement we overthink this trip and our thoughts take us back to back to the intro. And we think by ourselves:

So, was this now an adventure?

Yes, we can say it was, but we decide to add some things to our definition of Adventure: Adventure is: A motorcycle trip that takes you to wonderful places, often not in the most comfortable way, but always remember: on a clear day you can see forever.