Wed, May 20, 98. HOLLAND: Amsterdam (Harlem).  

Thu, May 21, 98. HOLLAND: Rotterdam.  

Fri, May 22, 98. HOLLAND: Rotterdam.  

J.: Finally we were able to get our bikes. We spent about 5 hours putting our machines together and repackaging our luggage. Every smallest part of our equipment had to have its place. 

We set off in the afternoon, drove approx. 100 km and spent the night Fri/Sat 22/23 somewhere in Holland on a small private campsite. Well, that was a cold night. Our first night out camping was the coldest night we would have experienced during the whole trip.

Sat, May 23, 98. HOLLAND/FRANCE.  

J.: We headed for Paris. We were avoiding toll routes, as they were awfully expensive, and chose main roads. No one seemed to follow the speed limits, especially motorcycle riders. Lukas lost few screws from the radiator cover, but that was an easy-to-fix problem. The bikes were great, the riders too. The 3-way CB Radio communication was faulty. There were constant distortions. It needed some major adjustments. We decided to fix it later.

We arrived in Paris late that evening (around 9 p.m.). It was difficult to find a campsite. It was already dark, roundabouts were confusing, we couldn’t count on CB radio and we couldn’t afford to lose each other in the traffic. We asked a Frenchman for directions (Greg speaks French and lots of other languages too). This “nice” guy simply refused to help us saying that it was the police we should have asked for directions. His help wasn’t essential—we found the camp anyway and spent the night Sat/Sun 23/24 there.

Sun, May 24, 98. FRANCE: Paris.  

We decided to leave the bikes at the campsite and to head for Paris by subway. 

We came across a very interesting toilet. It was much more elegant and sophisticated than the ones we know from North America. 

Spent the night Sun/Mon 24/25 on the same campsite in Paris.

Mon/Tue/Wed/Thu/Fri, May 25/26/27/28/29, 98. FRANCE: Orleans.  

Sat, May 30, 98. FRANCE: from Limoges to Bayonne.  

J.: The next day we continued the trip. Suddenly, in the middle of the road, my chain broke. 

We (rather Greg) fixed it in an hour. We spent the night Sat/Sun 30/31 on a campsite near Bayonne.

Sun, May 31, 98.FRANCE/SPAIN: from Bayonne to Salamanca.

J.: We crossed the border 

and stopped for a short rest in San Sebastian.

G: Quick look around: it is a pretty city. I hope to return there once for longer. We withdrew some Spanish cash and left the town.

J.: Continued driving. It started raining. We were going several hours in the rain struggling with strong side wind at the same time. Fortunately we were well prepared. Having our rain suits paid off. We reached Salamanca at night. Spent the night Sun/Mon 31/1 in Hostel La Perla Salamantina.

J.: In daylight, Salamanca appeared to be a beautiful baroque city full of even more beautiful Spanish girls. Well, we were late already and couldn’t afford to stay longer in the city.  

We crossed the Portuguese border 

and headed for the mountains instead of going towards the ocean. Most of the ride was in the rain, again.

G: It was not difficult, but it was one of the most tiring rides: poor visibility, heavy rain, very bad roads and slippery conditions. We had to be extremely concentrated in order to keep the pace at a reasonable rate.

J.: We got lost a bit and drove extra 150 km. Driving through small towns was interesting. Major highways went right through small towns slaloming between the houses. Sometimes trucks passed as close as 20 centimeters or less in front of the main door of a house. Fortunately, people living in these houses had backdoors.

Portugal has nice hills and mountains. I was very intrigued by the orchards of a specific look. Later on I found out that they were olive orchards.

G: Once we left the mountains it stopped raining, yet the clouds were still hanging over us. Ahead we could see the sun, the line between clear sky and the clouds was so dramatic it created a sensation of going from the land of total darkness to the land of light and joy. Since it was already almost sunset the orange-red sun shined deep onto the cloud-covered land making it look like a fairytale picture.   

J.: Lisbon is like a huge construction site. A city map from two years ago that we had was not valid anymore because of the construction development.

We reached the campsite at 2 a.m. (in Costa da Caparica – ½ hour from the city centre). (Night Mon/Tue/Wed 1/2/3)

We took Greg’s bike and went to see Lisbon. Spent all day touring. We didn’t visit Expo ’98 because of lack of time. My most favourite part of the city was Alfama, a district of narrow and puzzling streets connected with narrow and steep stairs.

Despite the size of the streets, the streetcars were still in use there as a mode of transportation. The area was poor and dirty. Time goes really slow there.

G: You could see people just sitting or having a conversation, playing chess, having a drink or reading a paper. A very relaxed and peaceful community.

J.: Alfama was an introduction to the medinas (Old City in Arabic) in Fes, Marrakech, Tunis, Tripoli, Cairo and other Muslim cities in the region.

Baixa was another district we visited. It was much cleaner and sophisticated with its orderly designed streets and busy life - a sort of business district.

Thu, June 4, 98. PORTUGAL/SPAIN: Lagos and drive to Seville.  

G: In Lagos we came across many foreign travelers.

British “hooligans”- they traveled in their old beaten up camper van. They returned to the campsite late at night shouting and screaming for some reason. Like that wasn’t enough, they started throwing things around, among them bicycles! (I guess they were rentals). One landed not far from our tent but they did not come to pick it up or throw it again.

J.: Among others, there was a couple from Germany on their BMW 1100. Not only was the bike huge but also the amount of equipment they had. The couple was sort of “well in doubt” too. Still the bike didn’t seem to have any problems when they left in the morning. Our plan was to spent the weekend in Lagos and enjoy the weather. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate so the next day we set off to Seville.

We were approaching Seville when suddenly the temperature raised to 30C. We found a place to stay in the old part of the city - Pension San Esteban. (Night Thu/Fri 4/5). That evening we enjoyed the nightlife and a pleasant university atmosphere of the city.

G: On one of the plazas there was lots of young people talking and drinking. The situation intrigued us slightly so we asked what was the occasion of this large gathering. The answer was ”Oh, nothing, just sitting, talking and drinking.” - I saw that!!

Fri, June 5, 98. SPAIN: Seville and drive to Ceuta (Spanish Morocco).  

J.: Spent the day visiting Interesting places:

·        The biggest cathedral in the world. [Built on the site of Moorish Seville’s main mosque (1401-1506). The cathedral holds Christopher Columbus’ tomb. The adjoining tower, La Giralda was the mosque’s minaret and dates from the 12^th century.]