Escape from Bilboa

Our escape to Bilboa was supposed to be just that, an escape! EXCEPT, we were greeted to filled hostels, filled hotels, campsite miles out of town and, RAIN! It got to the point as it was approaching seven in the evening, light rain and nothing but COMPLET ringing in our ears and seeing with our eyes places we could spend the night, like a store front with a set back entrance where we could shelter from the rain. Our very last shot was a hostel far from where we were but where some people were certain we could find shelter. It isn't easy getting directions from people anyway...... try doing it in Portugese which sounds like a combination of Italian and Russian. Somehow we get by, and low and behold we find the hostel. Its in a 'interesting' part of town but, a bed is a bed as they say in Hebrew! Anyway, NO LUCK, AHHHHHH!! BUT, on the other side of town, an hours ride away, up yet another very steep hill there was a new hostel and the guy offered to call and, YES(!!!!!), there were two beds available and like all hostels, a mixed dormitory situation which to our ears was a better hotel than my nephew Scott ever stayed in, especially when considering our alternative! Nope, no swimming pool but we'd had enough of water! Our only task was to get there which we did but considering the reaction of the people when we asked the way, they all pointed up! We were kept moving by the shere thought of arriving and to give you an idea of the difficulty, remember, we're pushing loaded bikes weighing in at Anna's, about 65 pounds me at around 80 pounds, at some point the town provided elevators in the street because for some, like us, the steps were impossible!

From the elevators we had about a kilometer to climb but hey, piece of cake! What a relief to find a hostel, although far from the center of town, brand new called 'all iron' but far from its rather Soviet look, the people working there were helpful and sympathetic! 

We showered, showered and showered then found a resto where anna tucked into a large hamburger as rare as possible and I ate some fish accompanied by more than one glass of beer! We dragged each other home and I in particular fell into my bed and woke the following morning still fully clothed. We wanted to visit Bilboa so we extended our stay in the hostel for an extra night.

The following day we walked all over Bilboa taking in the sights mainly around the river running through the center of town. In particular we loved the Guggenheim Museum but unfortunately it was ONLY the building that really impressed us and NOT the exhibits!

The following day we had decided to leave Spain and were convinced to take an overnight train to Lisbon and virtual guaranteed sunshine. The bikes do add complications to a trip BUT, bikes are not allowed on trains or buses unless packed, which is a nightmare in itself. However we were told that if we paid for the bikes as  passengers we could get a whole compartment and could take the bikes without packing them. This was almost right as we found out when we showed up at the station an hour before departure. It was cheaper to buy two first class tickets and then we could store the bikes in our first class compartment, which we obviously did! That is until the train arrived and the conductor told us the bikes needed to be taken apart as they would NOT fit into the compartment as they were. I thought about an argument, Futile(!!!!), as when I looked in through the window, he was dead right! I had an hour to take the bikes apart and when we loaded up, including having to use our tiny private shower and bathroom as storage space as the whole compartment wasn't much bigger than a match box, with bike bags all over the place, we were on our way.......!

We arrived in Lisbon at seven thirty in the morning, enough time to put the bikes together, have breakfast and find a place to sleep, much easier said than done, as they say......! After trying for a couple of hours with the same 'ol story, COMPLETE, we thought we'd ask in a bike shop if they knew of any places. The owner of the shop spoke perfect English and had a lot of experience biking like us, he in no uncertain terms said, "get out of Lisbon!" Unfortunately as Lisbon appears to be a really beautiful place, we agreed and he directed us to a local train, bikes free and our tickets pennies and we then found ourselves bound for Setubal where we spent two delightful days in a small cheap guest house accompanied by very blue skies and very bright sunshine complete with gorgeous golden beaches a few hills away! which is what we've been hoping for right from the beginning and as we're a few days on, we feel we've arrived and have done some great biking!

down the road....