To Valencia and beyond.

We made it to Valencia and beyond... to Barcelona! The rain has stopped, we've gotten a few days with a tailwind and now in Barcelona we are taking a few days off for rest and errands.

Getting into Valencia late I caught the tail end of a festival full of large colored Styrofoam sculptures that were quite impressive. The small windy cobblestone streets full of restaurants and shops in both Valencia and Barcelona are beautiful and fun to wander. Old churches, cathedrals and ancient buildings seem to be around every corner, as well as castles in many of the towns we pass.

Camping has gotten better too since arriving on the coast. It hasn't rained in days and we found campsites close enough to the Mediterranean to hear the waves 4 nights in a row. One if those nights we were lucky enough to find a sheltered area (possibly a BBQ pit in the summer?). The wind coming down from the mountains that night would have made sleeping out really difficult. We constructed a wind block with a trash can and a bench though and slept great.

The roads have been quiet coastal roads, sometimes dirt or along windy cliffs, other times we had nonstop truck traffic, though the shoulder on those roads were always good. This is part of the problem with visiting a large city on a bike. It is very difficult to get into the city on anything other than a highway. Especially, as with Valencia and Barcelona, if you need to cross a bridge to get into town.

Now finally in a hostel with a kitchen to use I'm about to make a run for a second round of frozen pizzas.