Good News bags

Good news  our bags are now in Lisbon at DHLs distribution Centre and will be delivered to the Hotel today, and we can have them when we arrive tomorrow... Yippee it has been 14 days since they went missing. These jeans should be able to walk by them selves now.

Also great news from Marrakesh that Alice (She was injured in the accident) can fly home on the 1st May she is on a stretcher and they have reserved 7 seats for her and Denny a Doctor and a Nurse to get them all back to Alaska she is still in pain but at least she be at home, Clauss friend has kept us all updated with her progress..

Clause ´s back has improved and he is again working out and walking and he is looking forward to going home to Germany on the 1st May`.

Looks like a little drizzle today , it will be a little tricky on the cobblestones to start for the ones that are inexperienced as most of the city roads are  cobble.Very bumpy in places..

All for now till the next stop. will partake in a little port nectar for you all.

Back in Portugal 28/4

Well so much to report, the trip has been excellent the `roads are twisty and the scenery has been magnificent  and the food just magic, the weather is perfect and all going well.Sorry about the delay in reporting but not having our little computer there was no Internet available in the hotels we were staying at.We are now in Porto in Portugal.

Our bags have been to Germany and "should be in Lisbon" today... so we hope they will be there when we arrive there Friday, we will be staying at the same hotel (Tiara) we were in when last in Lisbon and understand we will be having our farewell dinner at the same restaurant as the earlier tour.

The "Old Lawyer" is younger than Vic, what a surprise he looks about 75.  Yes he has dropped his bike but is OK and we lost him a couple of times and Nuno had to go looking for him. Some days have been very long "in hours" as we have to wait.. as the two Dr's and their Dad, "the Lawyer" have never ridden so far in their lives, so Vic and Nuno have been giving them riding instructions so that they can keep up.The tour is so much different from the last one. which was fast and we are missing all the guys and Ann.

Mike, the Canadian´, is good company and a good rider, he was to be on the Moroccan tour but for some reason decided not to, from our description he now wishes he had been. 

We have given this group a few laughs I don,t know if they understood us or laughed to be polite...

Iky is still in the truck and Claus has not ridden in Spain or Portugal as his back is still very sore from lifting the bike off Denny on the last tour.

We have stayed in some magnificent places.. from Monasteries and Convents to the oldest recognized hotel in the world next to the Santiago Cathedral, and we are now in a beautiful restored palace with our room in an adjoining warehouse overlooking the river.

We saw many pilgrims arriving in Santiago having walked over one thousand klms in a month giving hugs and many kisses to others who also made it (not being a Catholic we did not know anything about this). Santiago is one of the four corners of the cross.

We are off on a cruise on the river and then we are going to do a Yellow bus trip to see the sights of the city. As the name Porto suggests it is in the port growing region of Portugal and naturally one has to support the local industry.

Spain 28/4

4/28/10

Well so much to report, the trip has been excellent the `roads are twisty and the scenery has been magnificent and the food just magic, the weather is perfect and all going well.Sorry about the delay in reporting but not having our little computer there was no Internet available in the hotels we were staying at.We are now in Porto in Portugal.

Our bags have been to Germany and "should be in Lisbon" today... so we hope they will be there when we arrive there Friday, we will be staying at the same hotel (Tiara) we were in when last in Lisbon and understand we will be having our farewell dinner at the same restaurant as the earlier tour.

The "Old Lawyer" is younger than Vic, what a surprise he looks about 75. Yes he has dropped his bike but is OK and we lost him a couple of times and Nuno had to go looking for him. Some days have been very long "in hours" as we have to wait.. as the two Dr's and their Dad, "the Lawyer" have never ridden so far in their lives, so Vic and Nuno have been giving them riding instructions so that they can keep up.The tour is so much different from the last one. which was fast and we are missing all the guys and Ann.

Mike, the Canadian´, is good company and a good rider, he was to be on the Moroccan tour but for some reason decided not to, from our description he now wishes he had been.

We have given this group a few laughs I don,t know if they understood us or laughed to be polite...

Iky is still in the truck and Claus has not ridden in Spain or Portugal as his back is still very sore from lifting the bike off Denny on the last tour.
We have stayed in some magnificent places.. from Monastries and Convents to the oldest recognised hotel in the world next to the Santiago Cathedral, and we are now in a beautiful restored palace with our room in an adjoining warehouse overlooking the river.

We saw many pilgrims arriving in Santiago having walked over one thousand klms in a month giving hugs and many kisses to others who also made it (not being a Catholic we did not know anything about this). Santiago is one of the four corners of the cross.

We are off on a cruise on the river and then we are going to do a Yellow bus trip to see the sights of the city. As the name Porto suggests it is in the port growing region of Portugal and naturally one has to support the local industry.

Hoping to report again when we can get a computer... Yes we are having a wonderful time..

Porto Portugal Spain April 2010

Well so much to report, the trip has been excellent the `roads are twisty and the scenery has been magnificent  and the food just magic, the weather is perfect and all going well.Sorry about the delay in reporting but not having our little computer there was no Internet available in the hotels we were staying at.We are now in Porto in Portugal.

Our bags have been to Germany and "should be in Lisbon" today... so we hope they will be there when we arrive there Friday, we will be staying at the same hotel (Tiara) we were in when last in Lisbon and understand we will be having our farewell dinner at the same restaurant as the earlier tour.

The "Old Lawyer" is younger than Vic, what a surprise he looks about 75.  Yes he has dropped his bike but is OK and we lost him a couple of times and Nuno had to go looking for him. Some days have been very long "in hours" as we have to wait.. as the two Dr's and their Dad, "the Lawyer" have never ridden so far in their lives, so Vic and Nuno have been giving them riding instructions so that they can keep up.The tour is so much different from the last one. which was fast and we are missing all the guys and Ann.

Mike, the Canadian´, is good company and a good rider, he was to be on the Moroccan tour but for some reason decided not to, from our description he now wishes he had been. 

We have given this group a few laughs I don,t know if they understood us or laughed to be polite...

Iky is still in the truck and Claus has not ridden in Spain or Portugal as his back is still very sore from lifting the bike off Denny on the last tour.

We have stayed in some magnificent places.. from Monastries and Convents to the oldest recognised hotel in the world next to the Santiago Cathedral, and we are now in a beautiful restored palace with our room in an adjoining warehouse overlooking the river.

We saw many pilgrims arriving in Santiago having walked over one thousand klms in a month giving hugs and many kisses to others who also made it (not being a Catholic we did not know anything about this). Santiago is one of the four corners of the cross.

We are off on a cruise on the river and then we are going to do a Yellow bus trip to see the sights of the city. As the name Porto suggests it is in the port growing region of Portugal and naturally one has to support the local industry.

Hotel in Cascaras the beginning of the tour 2nd tour

We are back in the Hotel where we started from in Cascais but we have a better room, (for the gypsies )we went for a walk into the village and bought some more ts so now we have 4  and a blouse so I can mix and match my wardrobe.

We met the other riders 2 couples and 1 single guy , Rufus and his wife Carmin he looks a sports bike rider, and the other is a Ron and his wife (we can´t remember her name) he looks about our age and looks like he rides a cruiser his wife will be in the truck we understand?? and the single guy looks like a Harley rider.

You will have to look up Ron Ayres website as this will be a mystery tour for us as we don´t have any idea where we are going  it surely will be an adventure in 5 star hotels (Gypsies style with plastic bags an all)

We are going to dinner in a German beer house which is just across the road from the hotel, I guess we will just have to  have to drink huge beer steins.tonight  We now have brought a bottle of Whiskey for this trip, as the other bottle is in the bag that is touring the country 

We said our goodbyes to our last Rider this morning it was a sad occasion, he could not get a connection to London so he was stranded until to today, just hoping he made it OK.

It was a great tour and with many happy people it was a pleasure to have ridden with them, just hope the next group will be as happy and that we don´t have any accidents.

We will have our riders briefing tomorrow night and some maps, Vic GPS is playing up and we are going to use the old fashion way looking at maps and following the leader or tail end charlie.

We can get onto this hotels internet quite easy and it is Free, and there is nobody waiting for the computer like the last hotel in Lisbon..

All for now

Portugal meeting riders 23/4/2010

Hi All
This computer may be free but it is a awful one
Well we have met our fellow riders 2 Doctors( they should have been on
our last trip) he is quite short and has taken the bmw adventure and
Clause is a bit worried that he may drop it with his wife aboard, then
we have Ron and his wife Iky who will be in the truck he is a lawyer
retired he has a 650 and is quite old and is very unsure of his
riding, then we have Mike who is a Harley rider from Toronto and he
also has a big bike 1200 Bmw they are having trouble with our humour
at the moment.. Oh Iky is a Physo anylist (god I am in trouble)
We are having cluch out at 9-15 today so must away next stop will be
still in Portugal we think..

Thursday Cascais Rest day

After a German meal and beer we had to some walking so we walked the foreshores of the Atlantic and saw all the night lights of this beautiful place.As we were thinking it is a very lovely place to be stranded,it would have been rotten luck if we were stranded at an airport in Europe, (no 5 star stuff).

Today is our own to rediscover and eat to our hearts content, until the briefing tonight and we will have directions..

We had terrific storm last night thunder and lighting and heavy downpour but today it is bright and beautiful weather for today is about 22c

All is well this end except Vic who still has a nasty cold ..........Yes and the antibiotics are in the travelling bag with all the other pills and potions. The useby date will come up before we would have time to use them..     :-)

The decsion for a tour Spain & Portugal April

Vic and I are stranded in Portugal and we can´t get a flight home until the 2nd May due to the volcano dust and we arrive home on the 4th May

We have already completed our Moto tour of Portugal Spain and Morocco which was fantastic  had a few hiccups , one couple rode over the mountain in Marrakesh and she has a very broken body that was on the 13th April she has just come out of intensive care today but has plates etc inserted thru her shoulder and legs, her husband was the rider and the bike was written off, then to top it all off for us, ^^Manuel from Faulty Towers^^  fame put our bags in the wrong truck, so since the 13th we have not had our bags with all our clothes and computer medicines etc.. so now we have a new wardrobe,but with a bit of luck we should be reunited with them on the 30th April in Lisbon after the tour..

When the ash from the volcano started and the planes stopped flying we could not get away until the 27th April, so we decided to take another moto tour thru Portugal and Spain. look up Ayres adventures on the web and you can see where we will be riding  this will be a mystery ride for us..but at least we will have great accommodations and food ,due to the dust and money to get home it was a better solution.

We have just met the other tour group which are all Americans, the last lot were such fun and very good riders just hope this will be the same.

The tour guides are very good and very helpful and great company

Mikes Blog

Thursday, April 22, 2010 - Cascais Portugal

We spent the night at a beautiful hotel, the Villa Italia in the seaside village of Cascais. Our hotel was once the exile residence of the Italian Royal family. The coastal settlement of Cascais originated in the 12th century, primarily as a fishing village.Today, Cascais and its surroundings are a famous vacation spot for the rich and famous (and not so famous , as evidenced by my presence!). 

On the evening of April 22, we officially kicked off the Ayres Adventure with a meeting of the group. The group consists of: 

Nuno Leotte - Nuno is with Ayres Adventures and is our guide on this trip. He is a native of Cascais, Portugal. I met Nuno originally as our tour guide on on the motorcycle trip I took last year in 

Downtown

South America, from Macchu Picchu, Peru, thru Chili and Argentina to Brazil. Nuno's claim to fame is that, in 2007, he toured South America for 7 months with his wife, following the route of Che Guevara (as in the movie, "Motorcycle Diaries"). 

Claus Lazik - Claus is from Bavaria Germany. He is a motorcycle enthusiast who has been a motorcycle tour leader for 12 years with several organizations. He recently joined Ayres as a tour director, and with be in charge of the logistics on this trip. 

Vic and Lyn - A couple in their late sixties from Australia. They both have been riding motorcycles most of their lives, and have covered most of the world doing motorcycle tours similar to this trip. 

Ron and Ikie - a couple from Portland, Oregon , also in their mid to late sixties. Like myself, Ron rode a lot in his younger years, and has taken it up again. Ikie has elected to ride in the support vehicle, letting Ron ride solo. 

Rufus and Carmen - Carmen is Don's daughter and is married to Rufus. They are both medical doctors and live in Portland also. This is their second 

Beautiful Shoreline in Cascais

Ayres trip, having done one last year in Canada. 

After checking out our bikes and getting a briefing from Nuno and Claus, we went to a seafood restaurant on the ocean and had a fresh Sea Bass about 10 lbs, caught that day and grilled whole on the BBQ. Awesome! It was a great opportunity to get to know everyone a little better. One of the great things about these trips is the opportunity to meet people with common interests from all over the world. 

Friday, April 23 - Cascais to Belmonte - 380kms

Everyone is anxious to get going. We are all a little nervous - being in a new country with crazy drivers on bikes that we are not totally familiar with. My bike is a new BMW R1200GS . I rode a bike similar to this in SA and loved it. Hopefully this one is as good. 

We headed out at around 9:30am to avoid rush hour traffic. Our first stop was Cabo da Roca, Portugal, the westerly most point of mainland Europe. I thought this was pretty cool since last year I visited the southernmost point in Africa. Leaving Lisbon, 

The Group before departure

we crossed the Tangus River over the "Vasco de Gama" bridge, the longest in Europe at 17 kilometers. About 30 minutes outside of Lisbon, we passed the Varzea Polo Club , the only polo club in Portugal. I met the owners son, Diago, in Florida this year. I plan to stop by after the motorcycle trip and maybe play a few practice chukkers. 

The ride was 380 kms. A great first day, fairly uneventful, but we enjoyed nice scenery, and got used to our bikes. The highlight was checking into our hotel in Belmonte, located in the foothills of the Serra De Estela, the highest region in Portugal. The hotel, the Posada Convento de Belmonte , is an 800 year old convent that has been fully restored and added on to. It sits high in the hills with a spectacular view of the agricultural region in the valley and beautiful mountains in the background. After settling in, I sat out on the patio, sipping a glass of wine, enjoying the fresh air and scenery, reflecting on the past few days and finally being able to relax. I am indeed very fortunate to live the life that I 

Mike and Nuno, our fearless leader

live. As much as i miss my family and friends, there is something about travelling alone that allows you to get a sense of inner peace. 

Saturday, April 24 - Belmonte to Puebla de Sanabria, Spain

We had a long day today - 400 kms (about 250 miles) - through a very mountainous region. Our route took us from Belmonte to Serra de Estrela, the highest mountain peak in Portugal (at 1900 meters) and the only place where it snows in Portugal. I was right at home. They even have a ski hill - about 300 feet of vertical - oh well, its better than nothing. We visited some local villages and tried the local "Serra" cheese named after the region. We stopped in the walled Medieval town of Sortelha with a castle that was built in 1228. 

After lunch, we entered the Douro region famous for its vineyards, producing some of the finest Ports in the worlds. In addition to the vineyards, olive trees grow in beautiful terraced fields in the sides of the mountains. Quit a sight. 

The motorcycling was extreme. Most of the day we were riding up and down mountains on 

The Westernmost point on mainland Europe

switch-backs, steep pitches and winding roads. This type a riding requires you to be mentally alert at all times and is very exhausting (but very enjoyable). By the time we reached the hotel, it was almost 8pm and we were wiped. We all agreed we had earned a nice cold beer or two. Our accommodation was a very charming hotel, the Posada de Las Misas in the village of Puebla de Sanabria.

Sunday, April 25 - Sanabria to Cangras de Onis - 300kms

Today was a fairly easy riding day at 300kms. We left Sanabria and drove along well paved roads with beautiful sweeping turns. As it was Sunday, there were very few cars on the road.After driving through the city of Leon ( as in Ponce de Leon, the fountain of youth guy), we rode through the Cantabria mountain range of Picos de Europa. According to Nuno, we rode through one of the best kept secrets of motorcycling in Spain. The riding is similar to the Swiss and French Alps. We reached heights of 2500 meters with all the twisty turns you can imagine. This was one of the most enjoyable riding days ever! The

Mike blogging

weather was perfect, the scenery was spectacular, the riding was challenging, and the company was great. It doesn't get any better! 

We arrived at our hotel, the Parador Cangis de Onisabout 4 pm. After checking in, I had a little power nap, toured the grounds of the lovely hotel, then spent a few hours doing this blog. As much as it is a lot of work, I quit enjoy it. 

Monday April 26, Cangas de Onis to Santiago de Compostela- 390kms

Today we headed north to the Cantabria Sea and then progressed West along the coast. We started to see signs for the Camino de Santiago, the famous 800 km pilgrimage that starts in Burgos Spain and ends in Santiago de Compostela. It takes about a month to walk the entire route, however you can start at any point depending on your time availability and physical condition. I know 3 people that have done the Camino, and it significantly changed each of their lives. It is my intention to do part of this pilgrimage after the motorcycle trip. 

The riding today had some real highs. In the morning for the first 2 hours we 

Typical mountainous terrain

rode up and over one of the mountains. The rides were spectacular with many twists and turns. At the top it was extremely foggy, slowing us down. However, the ride down the other side was one of the best of the trip. It just keeps getting better! Tonight we stayed at what is said to be the oldest hotel in the world - the Parador de Los Reyes Catolicos. It is an old convent that has been housing guests since the 1500's. The hotel is located just in front of the famous Santiago Cathedral, the official endpoint of the pilgrimage. 

Tuesday, April 27, 2010 - Santiago, Spain to Porto, Portugal - 341kms

I know that this is starting to sound like a broken record, but another great day. The riding was spectacular through the Serra de Geres mountain range. The scenery changes constantly, from wide open sweeping turns, to narrow mountain passes, to beautifully forested areas, and many water features. There were a couple of highlights today. A wild horse was galloping down the road on its own. Shortly after that 4 bulls ran along the hill beside a couple of the riders. They just managed to get 

Walled city

passed the bulls before they deciided to cross the road. 

I can't say enough about my bike - a BMW R1200GS - It is probably one of the safest bikes made. It has great suspension, great brakes (linked with ABS non skid brakes), great handling, and great ergonomics. I have not been uncomfortable yet. I can't say the same about my Harley on long trips. 

Today it was very warm and sunny, peaking at 32 degrees celsious (about 90 Farenheit). We arrived in Porto mid afternoon. Once again our hotel, the Pousada Palacio do Freixo is outstanding. It is on the Douro River running through the middle of town. It was originally built as a palace in 1742, and has transformed many times to its current status as a 5 star hotel. 

Wednesday, April 28, 2010 - Porto, Portugal - Free Day

Finally a day of rest. I think everyone needed it We chose to have a tourist day. We went for a boat cruise down the river, followed by a ride on the hop on, hop off bus. Then back to the hotel for some R & R. 

Thursday, April 29, 

Picudeiro Del Rey

2010 - Porto, Portugal - Bucaco 180kms

This was a short day for riding, However, since we are in the town of Porto, the wine Port capital of Europe, we have to visit a Port Wine Winery before leaving. Not a great idea to be tasting wine before a motorcycle trip, but we all had a good breakfast - so what the heck. We visited the W&J Graham winery lodge on the other side of the Douro river from where we were staying. W & J Graham’s was founded in Oporto, Portugal’s second city, in 1820 by the two brothers William and John Graham. The Graham family already had extensive business interests not just in their native Scotland but also in India. The success of their affairs led to them being described by a contemporary historian, as being “among the merchant princes of Great Britain.” The brothers formed the partnership of W & J Graham & Co. with the aim of specialising in the production of the finest Port wines. 

Following the tour, we hopped on our bikes and drove along the Douro River and then through the mountains to our destination hotel. Again another great day of 

Santiago Cathedral

riding. Our destination hotel was the Hotel Palacio do Bucaco . While the accommoation on this trip has been amazing, this was probably the most spectacular. When Presidents of other countries visit Portugal, this is where they stay. The rooms must have been on sale for Ayres to put us up here. 

Friday, April 30, 2010 - Bucaco - Lisbon 270kms

Leaving Bucaco, we headed through the twisty roads of Serra da Lousa. Nuno had been our guide up until today. He, however, had to go to Lisbon early to deal with some issues, so Claus took over as our guide. These two have very different styles. Nuno is very aggressive in his riding style, which is typical of the way people drive in Portugal. Claus on the other hand, drives more as what you would ecpect in a tour like this - fairly conservative (although I understand that he does not always ride like this). At any rate, given that this was the last day of riding for the trip, we were all tired, and this was probably the best. It was a very enjoyable ride. The last 80 kms, we got on the

Lyn and Vic from Australia

expressway and headed into the big city. After checking into the Park Atlantic Hotel, a typical big city luxury hotel, we met up for dinner in the Lobby. 

Being the last night, this is always a very special dinner. Nuno arranged to take us to the Clube de Fado , a dinner theater famous for its live performances of artists performing a local type of musiic called FADO. I would say it is analogous to Tango music in Argentina - each song tells a story. It was a great evening, with lots of discussion reflecting on our 10 days together. As a group we all got along. We agreed that this trip was all about the riding and the accomodations. As you may have gathered the riding was very interesting and challenging. We were all thankful to have made it without incident. Every place we stayed was unique, interesting and historical. 

The next morning, we said our fond farewells. Lots of hugs, and exchanges of contact information. I hope to see everyone on this trip at another time and another place. 

Thanks again to Nuno and Claus for doing a superb job of leading the 

Snow capped peaks in Portugal

tour! 

---

Portugal Spain Morocco Back in Lisbon

Hi All

It is now Wednesday and we are still in Lisbon, BUT wait for it we can´t get a flight out to Sydney until the 27th April........Sooooo we have decided to take the next tour with Ron Eyre's adventures with the discounted rate...as we have many bike miles with the company.. Today we are being picked up and taken to Cascais to begin the next tour with some 3 other Americans..should be fun..

My new jeans are starting to look real cool, I have the hem rolled up 8 inches and now the waist has stretched my brand name undies peeps over the top of the belt... cool granny.

We have 3 ts and and Vic has a pair of shorts and 1 long pants for the next 10 days we just look like the poor relations or gypies in Portugal

Had a great tour on a sight seeing bus around town and then headed to a Fardo restaurant for dinner it was a fantastic show and feed,

Oh I had to buy another Video camera as my charger was in the big bag, and I could not buy another charger  so the next best thing was to get a new camera... yeah..

With luck and good management we MAY have our bags at the end of our tour..  We live in hope

We fly out on the 2nd May after great discussions with airlines and rebooking straight thru with no cost.. we will arrive in Australia on the 4th May  (WE HOPE with our Bags with pills computers and clean clothes)..
--

We will have to print out the next itineray to see where we are going to tour .

More when we get to Cascais 

Stranded in Paradise 21/4/2010

Hi All
It is now Wednesday and we are still in Lisbon, BUT wait for it we can´t get a flight out to Sydney until the 27th April........Sooooo we have decided to take the next tour with Ron Eyre's adventures with the discounted rate...as we have many bike miles with the company.. Today we are being picked up and taken to Cascais to begin the next tour with some 3 other Americans..should be fun..
My new jeans are starting to look real cool, I have the hem rolled up 8 inches and now the waist has stretched my brand name undies peeps over the top of the belt... cool granny.
We have 3 ts and and Vic has a pair of shorts and 1 long pants for the next 10 days we just look like the poor relations or gypies in Portugal
Had a great tour on a sight seeing bus around town and then headed to a Fardo restaurant for dinner it was a fantastic show and feed,
Oh I had to buy another Video camera as my charger was in the big bag, and I could not buy another charger so the next best thing was to get a new camera... yeah..
With luck and good management we MAY have our bags at the end of our tour.. We live in hope
We fly out on the 2nd May after great discussions with airlines and rebooking straight thru with no cost.. we will arrive in Australia on the 4th May (WE HOPE with our Bags with pills computers and clean clothes)..
--
We will have to print out the next itineray to see where we are going to tour .
More when we get to Cascais

Portugal Porto

Had a great cruise on the Rio Douro, went under the 7  bridges that connects one side of Porto to the other, had a little taste of Porto white port aboard, then caught a sightseeing bus that did the tour of the old and new city, just a magical place, little narrow roads many little cafes many many ruins.

Had lunch on the water front and we met Claus and had a lift back to the hotel, but we took a detour and went thru a car wash...Wow what a way to spend the afternoon

,We got back to the Hotel and lay around the pool with our jeans on as our swimmers are in the big bag,  but I guess we could have made a statement   ;-) (skinny dipped)

Tomorrow we head South but we stop at a winery for a little taste and have a tour of the Port wine growers.

Life is good.

In Lisbon 20/4/2010

Vic has just gone to the airport to see if any flights are leaving Lisbon to Zurich or if they are leaving Zurich for Hong Kong later in the evening.It is all a waiting game at the moment, until we know we can not make a decision about the other tour. Ron Ayres has given us a great price to do the tour, but if the circumstances may be worse when we return from the tour and there will be no hope of getting home..:-(

We went to St George castle yesterday and had a look at the old city it is a very beautiful place, then to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner, it was the first time we have had a great steak.

The weather has been good a little cool in the mornings but it warms up during the day..

If we are still here on the 24 th we can bring our bags back with us.otherwise they will have to go with DHL when the planes will be flying..

More when we find out what is going on

In Portugal 20/4/2010

Yes we are still in Lisbon with no hope of getting out the country until the ash drifts away, the air lines have doubled the price to get a ticket if you can fly. . We have bought another bag and some new clothes and look rather smart now  :-)   This is our last night in this 5 star hotel so we may have to down grade to a 1/2 star tomorrow ..

The next Tour with Ron Ayres has only 4 people if they can get into portugal it is a short tour of Portugal and Spain, so we may  tag along with them..

The bags are enjoying their tour wih the other Moto Tour but they  also have had a major motor cycle accident, there was 70 people on that tour all germans

The End of Morocco Tour 1

Hi All
Well our great adventure is over, had a wonderful time ate too much drank too much. Have met some wonderful people and the trip was most enjoyable. Just loved Morocco and the people.
We are now in the Park Atlantic Lisbon stranded until we get a flight home, as we are on Swiss air and they got to Zurich and the airport is closed, so it is just a waiting game. our flight is not until Tuesday so we will have to check again tomorrow.
Vic has now caught a cold, and all our medication is in the big bag, which will be flown home by DHL when all the airports are open again.
Will keep you posted when we return.
We bought some new clothes to get us thru the week, and it is great how many times you can twist your undies around.
All for now

Bags gone 16/4/2010 Spain

In Seville Spain, after a hectic two days of riding. One couple rode off the mountain and pillion Alice sustained mutiple breaks and in Military Hospital. Rider OK but bike written off.

Our bags still in Morocco doing a second tour with another bike tour company that stayed at the same hotel, Manuel of Faulty Towers took the bags to the wrong truck - we are dressing in borrowed clothes and living out of a plastic bag. Hope to get the bags back before leaving on Tuesday which brings up another problem with all the airports in Northern Europe being closed due to the volcanic ash from the Iceland eruption. No photos as our computer being in our bags along with the camera and mobile phone chargers, house keys, etc. Lucky I took copies of our travel documents on a memory stick.

Portugal Spain Morocco Tour Lisbon 15/4

Hi all

Yes we are still in Lisbon with no hope of getting out the country until the ash drifts away, the air lines have doubled the price to get a ticket if you can fly. . We have bought another bag and some new clothes and look rather smart now  :-)   This is our last night in this 5 star hotel so we may have to down grade to a 1/2 star tomorrow ..

The next Tour with Ron Ayres has only 4 people if they can get into Portugal it is a short tour of Portugal and Spain, so we may  tag along with them..

The bags are enjoying their tour wih the other Moto Tour but they  also have had a major motor cycle accident, there was 70 people on that tour all germans.

Markets 12/13/4/2010 Medina Souk

We are off today to walk the markets and the Souk lots of pictures to be taken.We hope to try out some tucker at the Djemaa el Fna square to night as we are on ou own as it is free day no riding.They tell us that there will be plenty of street performers- that will try to sell or make you pay for something'We are not to be intimaded by them
 They may even put snakes around our necks for good luck    Yuk

We had a great time in the markets, had a wonderful interesting tour of the Palace and as we were not Muslims we were not allowed to go into the oldest mosque in Morocco
We had fun bargaining for stuff we did not need or want,saw so many interesting things it is very vibrant and the noise of the snake stall holders with their pipes was deafening but all good fun
.We have an early start to morrow as we have to ride 470klm to Meknes and we will get to the hotel about 6pm .We will ride thru the middle Atlas Mountains  After that stop over we head for Tarifa in Spain

Marrakesh 4/12/2010

We have arrived in Marrakesh after a wonderful 3 days riding.Vic had a great time on the Quad bike in the desert we left the hotel in Erfoud and headed for Merzouga on the border of Morocco and Algiers. We crossed to our hotel overland thru deep sand and rugged tracks,nearly made me walk all the way, Vic hates deep sand..... stopped at a hotel  and changed our clothes as we went 4X4 driving in the desert, and of course we got bogged and had to dig the bloody truck out

Hot & cold water

Then hopped on a camel and  went over sand dunes to a spot where we could watch the sun set over the sand hills .We then rode our camels to  our Desert Bivouac (tent) and it was fantastic hot and cold running showers and a flush toilet, a typical Berber dinner was served and a great time was had by all.A great sleep in the desert and breakfast and we a
re on our way again. (This 5 star is bloody hard to get used to.)

Over the High Atlas mountains and the scenery changed again. The snow capped mountains and the green date oasis it really is wonderful,

We rode the Todra Gorge then onto Boumaine Dades up and over the great twisty roads over the mountains and now we have two nights in Marrakesh we are having dinner in a small cafe and tomorrow we are off to learn more about the 5 pillars of Allah.. then some shopping.
We have not had any problems with the bikes or any fellow traveller it is all going  great and it will be sad when it all ends

In the Sahara desert 9/4/2010

We have now arrived in the desert after a great day of riding.The scenery has changed drematily from greeen field to snow capped mountains, twisty roads and straights,the food is great and cheap'We are trying out all the cusine and have found it very good, we have a little gathering every night, and drink a lot of beer

We are now heading to sleep in a tent in the desert for the night a and ride a camel sounds all 5 star for us..the riding has been fantastic, fast and the roads are very well maintained

Our walk thru the old town was very interesting we learnt about the 5 pillars of Islam so we went into many mosks