It was nice and quiet although also exxy at €16.We unpacked the bike, set camp and headed in to Sort for supplies. All we could find was a small little out of the way market with limited choice but we made a nice meal and we very pleased with our nice single serving home. That night while we were doing the dishes, Tam sent me back to grab something from the tent and I caught 3 kids poking around our stuff. They had not yet gotten into the tent yet. By the way they ran when I got there, there is little doubt that they were up to no good. It was very fortunate that Tam forgot the drain plug, as she had left her wallet and passport in the tent by mistake (and the first time too).
Rising late, we headed up into the mountains to Espot with the intention of going for a walk. Espot is even more based on the mountain tourism then Sort, there was not a single business there that was not walking/skiing related. The interesting thing was that to get in to the park you could either get there very early (as we found out the park closes it gates at about 1030H) or you can pay between €15-35 for a 4x4 to drive you in.We decided to leave it a day and come back early. We returned to Sort to get on-line and contact friends and family and found a bar that had wi-fi. It turned out to be internet for 3 hours for 3€ including two coffees and a mineral water. They were good coffees too. I like Spain!!!
As planned we got up early and headed to the national park for an all day walk. It was awesome to be literally correct. It was like walking though an Ansel Adams picture (although a colour one). Both of us found ourselves speechless at some of the amazing views and
sights that we were seeing. I could only then understand why someone would pay €35 to be driven in (if they could not walk in). The sky was a perfect blue; the mountains were high and rugged. I have written that sentence 6 times trying to express what this area looked like and have failed miserably. So I wont bother. These pictures do not do the place justice but have done better then I can write it.We both slept like we had not done in weeks, but rose early and headed to Torla. An other town based on walkers and skiers. We found a nice camp, with some great rocks to watch. The camp store sold 2lt bottles of ice-cold sangria for only 4€. So we spent the night drinking Sangria and playing chess. Not long after the sangria was empty and Tam won her first game in a while a huge thunderstorm knocked our little tent around. The storm lasted until about 0200h, but amazingly we both slept really well. 
The aftermath in the campground told a different story for most
people, we were dry, most were not. Our tent was still up, most were not. 
Go Northface!! Despite the respite from the storm we decided to kick back and take it easy. We spent the day walking the small streets and back allies of Torla. This little village was what I had been looking for the entire time we were going though France and Spain. It was littered with small cobblestone allies, which would be an exaggeration to call streets. For those who know it, Torla has a Tamal, Kathmandu Nepal feel (with out the dirt streets and with a Spanish flare of course). We saw some wonderful views and although we were out all day. We both felt relaxed and ready to travel some more.
The original plan was to head back in to France to see the Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Pont city reputed to be “postcard” perfect. Well we (Tam) found about some cave paintings in the opposite direction. Two years ago on one of our first bike trips in Europe. We spent couple of days in Spain hoping from one 15000-year-old cave painting to 25,000-year-old cave painting and are still talking about it. So.. guess what.. screw postcard perfect.. we want to see really really old graffiti.. and I mean really old.. like 10k - 15,000 years old…
The aftermath in the campground told a different story for most
people, we were dry, most were not. Our tent was still up, most were not. 
Go Northface!! Despite the respite from the storm we decided to kick back and take it easy. We spent the day walking the small streets and back allies of Torla. This little village was what I had been looking for the entire time we were going though France and Spain. It was littered with small cobblestone allies, which would be an exaggeration to call streets. For those who know it, Torla has a Tamal, Kathmandu Nepal feel (with out the dirt streets and with a Spanish flare of course). We saw some wonderful views and although we were out all day. We both felt relaxed and ready to travel some more.
The original plan was to head back in to France to see the Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Pont city reputed to be “postcard” perfect. Well we (Tam) found about some cave paintings in the opposite direction. Two years ago on one of our first bike trips in Europe. We spent couple of days in Spain hoping from one 15000-year-old cave painting to 25,000-year-old cave painting and are still talking about it. So.. guess what.. screw postcard perfect.. we want to see really really old graffiti.. and I mean really old.. like 10k - 15,000 years old…
A short day on the bike as we headed towards the caves at Mallata. It
turned out to be only about an hours ride, and then 3 hour walk (some how I think we got this backwards??). On the way in we met 2 French families who were fascinated by our trip, and chatted with them while. The landscape was stunning; the valley was rough and craggy and was pockmarked with caves. The rock art was cool but to be honest we have seen better. You could not wonder how many of those other caves were painted as well. (So caves fanatics: yes they are worth seeing but if you have to chose see the paintings in Cave de Hornos, in the Picos de Europa.) By the time we hit our third cave and had been walking in the 40°C sun for several hours, we ran out of water just as we returned to where we parked Anubis. Although, we headed to the nearest town, I was obsessed with getting some more water, as I felt too hot and like I was getting dehydrated. The road in was beautiful and I can remember that I was impressed, but the greater memory was I WANT WATER!!. Luckily that town had both a shop to buy water and a tourist information sign that told us where the closest campground was. About 40km away in Alquezar. 
Knowing nothing about it we headed in that direction. As we were pulling closer we could see a huge medieval fort on the mountainside and slowly realised that this is where we were heading. Alquezar it turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. The campground was ugly and expensive, but we did not care. We pitched our tent and headed directly into the city. It did not take long before we ran into the same French families again. The city was amazing it was a warren of little streets that was dominated by a huge medieval abbey/cathedral. This Abbey was built at 
about 1067 on top of a Moorish temple and city. The Moorish settlement could have been there for 1000yrs before that! (my Spanish is not good enough to figure out all the signs).We spent the next serval hours wandering the streets and shooting this wonderful place.
The next and last full day in Spain (for a while) we headed for Salamanca. On route we stopped in Avila. Although also, a walled city and also cool it was too rebuilt and too sterile for my tastes. The result was that we walked around and enjoyed the city as a place for lunch, but the camera never came out of my bag. From there we went directly into the heart of Salamanca. Unfortunately we did not follow some advice from fellow HUBBer: “never go in to a new strange city after a long day of riding..”
We did just that looking for a campground, we saw an amazing cathedral but passed right on though. We did not stop once or enjoy anything. Eventually we found a nice out of the way campsite and relaxed. The plan for the following day was to head back in to Salamanca and explore but the previous night had made us not want to be near a city and when we awoke we could not be bothered going back. So instead of exploring Salamanca we headed head down for Portugal.
Knowing nothing about it we headed in that direction. As we were pulling closer we could see a huge medieval fort on the mountainside and slowly realised that this is where we were heading. Alquezar it turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. The campground was ugly and expensive, but we did not care. We pitched our tent and headed directly into the city. It did not take long before we ran into the same French families again. The city was amazing it was a warren of little streets that was dominated by a huge medieval abbey/cathedral. This Abbey was built at 
about 1067 on top of a Moorish temple and city. The Moorish settlement could have been there for 1000yrs before that! (my Spanish is not good enough to figure out all the signs).We spent the next serval hours wandering the streets and shooting this wonderful place.The next and last full day in Spain (for a while) we headed for Salamanca. On route we stopped in Avila. Although also, a walled city and also cool it was too rebuilt and too sterile for my tastes. The result was that we walked around and enjoyed the city as a place for lunch, but the camera never came out of my bag. From there we went directly into the heart of Salamanca. Unfortunately we did not follow some advice from fellow HUBBer: “never go in to a new strange city after a long day of riding..”
We did just that looking for a campground, we saw an amazing cathedral but passed right on though. We did not stop once or enjoy anything. Eventually we found a nice out of the way campsite and relaxed. The plan for the following day was to head back in to Salamanca and explore but the previous night had made us not want to be near a city and when we awoke we could not be bothered going back. So instead of exploring Salamanca we headed head down for Portugal.
