“I wanna go to Andorra “- so we did !

We leave Luchon and ride through Pyrenees to Andorra. As we ride we cross three mountain passes -

And pass nice Spanish villages

We get to Andorra

Now about Andorra. It is an independent country. It has a population of 77,000. The official language is Catalan. It is very small and the people live just in one tight valley. The town was established by Charlemagne yonks ago

Because Andorra sits between France and Spain and sits in a valley between the two it’s main activity was smuggling up until the formation of the E.U.

And here are two interesting statistics. Firstly Andorra has the highest average life expectancy for males in Europe. Secondly it has the highest annual per capital cigarette consumption in Europe ( 6397 cigarettes per person per year ) Go figure that one!

Then after Andorra we head down the coast to Valencia. Yes, there are Valencia orange groves in Valencia !

And the famous Caletrava architecture

South, south we go down the coast. Then we are suddenly in Gibraltar - the southern most point of our whole trip

With the British army all ready to protect us. I was worried that this soldier might have “ lost his rag “ !

Children and their families join the International Climate Change strike in Gibraltar

And last but not least this is poignant telling. Gibraltar seems to be forgotten in the Brexit debate. And now only 5 weeks to go !

And last but not least the famous Barberry apes

Now today is north towards London !

Comments

Stuart of Blyth said…

Just back from Russia yesterday - 5 nights in St Petersburg, 2 in Moscow, so catching up with the blog. Was in Andorra last spring and hit a pot-hole at a slightly higher speed than was wise, resulting in a gashed tyre and recovery by truck to a tyre-fitting place. "We can only fit these in pairs" the man said. Result - two new front tyres filled with Andorran air which, being from up a mountain, is thinner than usual ;-)

27 September 2019 at 05:07

The last post!

How do you summarise a motorbike trip around the world from Tokyo to Los Angeles?. With difficulty! Well we are not into record setting. But we believe we are the oldest couple in the world to ride a motorbike “ two up” ie with pillion passenger, right round the world on one season Let’s start off with the statistics for the little trip - Total mileage. 34,416 km * No of days travelling 165 No of countries visited 29 Max temp on bike 41 deg C Min temp on bike 0 deg.C No of punctures. One No of breakdowns. One

Chapters 1 and 2

WHY MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURES ? I have always been interested in adventure. Over the years I have climbed mountains, parachuted, had my private pilots licence, dived, sailed and done various adventurous pursuits (with various degrees of success I might add!). Motorcycling has been one of the later activities. Why motorcycles? Firstly it is all a bit easier on the body as one gets a little bit older. This is of course on the assumption that one does not inadvertently part company suddenly with said machine! Secondly, it does also require a bit of brain power - intellect you might say if that does not sound snobby. There is also, to me, an element of "man and machine" about motorcycling. Then if that is not enough justification in itself there is the scenery and the absorption into the landscape you are passing through. On a bike you see much much more than in a car, bus or train. You are aware of nuances in the landscape, you smell the smells and you become more than just

And a volcano stopped us!

What a day. First thing this morning it was off to check the rear tyre of the bike. Oh the relief ! The tyre was rock solid and the same pressure as after fixing yesterday. So it is a pack up and first day on the road today. We get on the way with a just a little bit of nervous excitement. On to the Japanese motorway system we go. And what a delight. The traffic is orderly, calm not going to fast and not too thick. We track right in towards Tokyo itself before bearing West. Yes, there were lots of spaghetti junctions - It looks like The Los Angeles motorway system but it is so much easier (and slower). Japanese politeness really shows thru’. However there were lots of toll booths - we had chopped thru about NZ$50 in the first hour and a half Then we are on to the slow bit and off the motorways. It was about a four hour stop and start crawl thru the urban sprawl of greater Tokyo. However I did find time for some serious reflection - I also saw a hotel called - and I kid you not

Hubbard Motorcycle Adventures

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