European Summer

June - October 2023
Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands, Scotland, England, Faroe Islands, Germany and more!
Prides, motorcycling, hiking, running, scuba, and more!
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  • 130footprints
  • 17countries
  • 138days
  • 1.8kphotos
  • 89videos
  • 42.3kkilometers
  • 19.5kkilometers
  • 4.8ksea miles
  • 4.7kkilometers
  • 3.0kkilometers
  • 2.2kkilometers
  • 1.4kkilometers
  • 296kilometers
  • 282kilometers
  • 223kilometers
  • 104kilometers
  • 45sea miles
  • 63kilometers
  • 62kilometers
  • 22sea miles
  • Day 7

    Poolside performance 💃🤹💫

    June 14, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Another great cycle over for SCUBA. We decided to skip today's run and not tire ourselves out before the third and final day tomorrow. Instead we ventured over to the larger pool at our hotel, Vibra Lux Mar, for a late afternoon swim without the sizzling UV rays. To our surprise there was a duo doing a dance and acrobat performance! Very impressive for a free poolside show!

    Dinner at Booo Burger. Mmm good!
    https://thebooo.com/es/menu/dish/Booo
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  • Day 8

    PADI AOW & Nitrox certified

    June 15, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    We had a fantastic three days of diving with Centro de Buceo SCUBA IBIZA Diving Center. They have wonderful staff and a well-oiled setup. J's instructor, Vidal, was a lot of fun. He was impressed with how comfortable J was in the water with such a long break from diving. PADI has online studying which is done before arriving at the drive shop. J did two courses, Advanced Open Water (AOW) and Enriched Air (Nitrox). I completed my Nitrox.

    Dive sites were close by and only about 10 minutes boat ride. There were not many drivers, so it almost felt like a private charter! The weather was fantastic with very calm water.

    The sea life was awesome! We spotted many things: octopus, nudibranchs, many mediterranean moray (MURAENA HELENA), fishes, barracudas, slipper lobster, rock fishes, and more!
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  • Day 9

    Ibiza Tour-de-Scooter (day 1)

    June 16, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Decided it was time to get out and explore more of the island, so rented a scooter from a shop down the street. The proprietor was a bit leary at first to rent to to us as he's had issues with non-European tourists crashing. Luckily we had the International Driver's Permit which to put him at ease.

    He provided a map with suggested routes and stops on the way. Two days: exploring the west side one day, and the east side the next.

    On the road we went with our first stop in Sant Josep. Then onwards through twisting and windy roads through the western country side. Had a brief stop to enjoy a chilled beverage at Cala Bossa Beach Club near Sant Antoni. It is absolutely huge, stretching the entire bay!

    We finally returned, a bit exhausted around 9 pm. Probably covered 100km+!
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  • Day 10

    Ibiza Tour-de-Scooter (day 2)

    June 17, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    We had a much earlier start to our day of exploring the east side of Ibiza. Our main challenge was technology; trying to force google maps on to the side roads with various way points. Using our new Cardo heads sets we can talk and listen to music along the way, again, more technology challenges to get things to respond correctly 🙃 We succeeded!

    We had a quick stop in Cala Llonga for a coffee at MOOS cafe where one of the local cats was soliciting for food, exactly on the door threshold. Onwards to Sant Carles where the weekly Hippy Market was in full swing.

    We found a lot of fun narrow and winding roads to navigate along the coastal routes.

    When we were about to stop for fuel, I kept feeling something biting his leg. We pulled over, and shook out the shorts, but nothing. Five minutes later while fueling up, I shook out the shorts because it was still bothering me. Alas! A grasshopper fell out 🦗😱. That's not usually the type of action people get in their pants when on the island or Ibiza 🏝️🤣

    We finally turned to the hotel room to freshen up before taking the moto (scooter) to Sant Antoni for dinner, and to experience the famous Ibiza sunset 🌅👀 Our dive master, Vidal, recommended
    Restaurante Golden Buddha, which had perfect energy for us. Service was quick and the food was the best! We had an evening stroll along the sea wall before motoing home across the island.
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  • Day 11

    Ibiza Tour-de-Scooter (day 2.5)

    June 18, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    We got up early to enjoy the last of the scooter rental before the 1130 return time.

    Down to the clothing optional beach, Platja des Cavallet. It was fantastic being there early before the crowds. It was slightly overcast and a great breeze off the water. I enjoyed some yoga and we both swam in the warm water.

    Upon returning the scooter on time, Danny offered us to keep it for a few extra hours! We had a quick shower to get the sea off us and plotted some more roads yet to be ridden. The extra kms were fabulous! Lovely county side orchards and farms. We got a few errands done too.

    We cooked dinner at the apartment, marinated beef, rice, veggies and a salad 🥗🐄🍚😋.

    We packed out suitcases in preparation for the departure to Malaga.
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  • Day 12

    Malaga, here we come!

    June 19, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Well our travel day started off pretty sketchy... First, there was taxi confusion at the hotel; no one seemed to be aware of what taxi was for whom. Then there was the road raging taxi driver that was trying to pass slow vehicles on the outside of the round-about. To top things off, the conveyor belt at the airport for luggage drop off was broken, so the staff were trying to hand bomb suitcases into the back. Our flight was also delayed as the plane selected for our flight had mechanical issues, and it took them awhile to jockey a different plane to our tarmac spot.

    Upon arrival in Malaga, we took the train in to the city where we met up with our gracious and thoughtful Airbnb host. It was the most fun one we've ever stayed in 👍🏡

    After dropping our luggage off, we spent the afternoon walking and exploring the Centro neighbourhood. This included haircuts 💇💈
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  • Day 13

    Exploring Malaga Centro

    June 20, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    After a refreshing sleep, we decided to beat the heat and run along the beach for our Garmin half-Marathon training plan. The gorgeous morning definitely morphed into a very warm day.

    After a quick breakfast of toast with avocado, cheese, Iberian ham, and tomatoes, we jumped on a bus to find a motorcycle shop. J came out with a new helmet and riding jeans!

    Upon returning to Centro walked through Mercado Central de Atarazanas, a covered market similar to Granville Island. Sadly many of the stalls were already closed for the day. A spotted a fruit booth and bought some delicious figs and an amazing papaya. We continued on exploring a few more of the many winding streets, finding a place that served large chilled mugs of cold beer for 2€.

    Later A found a local butcher and bought some pre-seasoned pork to cook for dinner. It was quite an adventure to find the shop amongst the zig-zaging neighbourhood.
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  • Day 14

    Four Cat Corner

    June 21, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Started our day off with another run in the cool of the morning. A few drops of rain fell from a thundercloud before it moved on. Before heading off to explore more of Malaga, we packed our luggage for the next adventure.

    We found another motorbike gear shop, so headed over on the bus to browse. We bough a couple safety airbag vests, and J bought a pair of vented riding gloves! Dainese makes a very nice an comfortable product. We even remembered to get the VAT forms to recover taxes when we leave the EU.

    The market we discovered yesterday was open so we did a quick walkthrough.

    Our motorcycle tour guide picked us up around 3pm. Two other guests joined us on the one hour drive east to Vélez de Benaudalla. Our new home for seven days!

    After getting settled at the guest house, our guide took us for a quick tour of town, then a stop for cold beer and tapas.
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  • Day 15

    Alpajarro route - day 1

    June 22, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We had a great sleep in the guest house. We were given the bikes we had chosen. My BMW F800GS had 88,000km on it but rode well. J's G650GS was a good bike too.

    Into the mountains/hills we went. Five guests and our British expat guide. Twists, turns, round abouts, morning and afternoon coffee stops as well as lunch. Is was fabulous as expected.

    The 150km took all day to complete, and we returned to the house around 5pm, the hottest part of the day. I believe it was 31C.
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  • Day 16

    Contra Viessa loop - day 2

    June 23, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    It was the Long Run day. 6am was a perfect temperature for the 17km plodding around the sleeping town in the dark and into the sunrise.

    Today the Aussie ventured on his own so there were only us four. G&S from England are a fun father son duo! They live and breath motorbikes, and fantastic sense of humour. Glen is a motorcycle seat guru/creator and his son amazingly talented drawing them.

    We did some mountain roads and then a section of coastal road, which was quiet as it was only Friday. Our loop took us through a section of the local wine country. Lucky for us our morning coffee stop sold local wine. We bought a bottle of the Rose to enjoy later.

    We put on another 167km. It was warmer outside today, probably 34C! At least the low humidity and wind while on the bikes kept us from melting.

    The farms with huge covers for their fields was nothing like we have ever seen. Our guide said the temperatures inside them can reach 50C! This industry relies heavily on immigrant workers and pays very little, 😵‍💫
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