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International (Europe/Japan/Southern Hemisphere) Trip report from waterskiing in Spain

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Eleeski

Eleeski

Making fresh tracks
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San Diego / skis at Squaw Valley
Anyos Park hotel in Andorra was very nice. Not as busy as their health club. Amazing vertical projection. Multiple tall elevators with glass sides and fantastic views were needed to get to the room. The electronic key was needed to turn on the lights and plugs (that’s why things didn’t recharge properly when we were out). No internet. Coffee on the balcony was chilly but very nice. We couldn’t see the slopes but we could see the base of the tram.



The tram is the access to the skiing, was a long way off and looked like it would be a choke point. Zermatt restricted cars from town. This meant that the buses had clear roads and timely service. I wonder how getting to the tram would be in the winter in Andorra…



Parked in front of our car was the Russian Motorcycle Team truck. Really. No camera proof though.



Enjoyed a nice workout in the club including a hamstring healing session in the sauna before hitting the road back to Madrid. Six and a half hours driving is a pretty big drive. But not so big that a couple “shortcuts” have to be ruled out. Got “cheap” gas in Andorra (1.10 euros/liter – but the VW Polo got 40mpg) and started out (nobody has yet given me Clark Griswald’s wife’s name).



We got on N260 out of La Seu d’Urgell. Behind a big truck. But he turned off right away and we quickly caught up to the huge farm tractor. Had to wait for the Russian motorcyclists to blow past to get a clear road but this was looking like a fun choice.



Wound our way up a hill to a beautiful plateau vista. It was a National park with a couple cars picnicing. In the US there would have been an interpretive center with a full parking lot and a couple tour buses. Beautiful site. We headed down and noticed writing on the road. Had the Vuelta just come through here?



Stopped for a full meal lunch in Sort. Quite nice. Went for a little walk along the river and discovered a whitewater kayak competition course. Very cool! We waited for a while waiting for someone to practice there but they must have been at lunch.



Took N260 south out of Sort through a magnificent valley. Cool tunnels, steep cliffs and forested mountains. Took C147 south to C1311 west. Now things got very interesting. A narrow road with no centerline. Crazy curves. Good pavement and lots of signs reporting on the grade with a bicyclist pictured – another Vuelta route? Passed a couple cars going the other way. It was tough getting by the farm tractor with the sharp disc right next to my ear. But the Russian motorcyclist came closest. He was laid over in a blind curve and had to hold his line which put my tires right on the edge of the cliff.



You know, those Russians could make some money by renting motorcycles for the route and ferrying your car to the other end of the road. That road would be fun on a motorcycle – but I’m not sure I’m that adventurous.



Got back to a real road (N230) in Puente de Montanana to Benbarre. In Benbarre I Griswalded the wrong roundabout exit and went to the city center. The previously pictured typical Spanish road was huge in comparison as we weaved through people’s home’s front entries and church breezeways on the “business” route.



From Benbarre to Barbastro the road was possibly the most spectacular drive I’ve been on. A beautiful blue water reservoir bordered the road. Tunnels carved into the mountains. At the dam, the road went into a steep canyon. With walls like a little Yosemite. The road spit out into the foothills like out of the garden of the gods.



Finally got on A22 to Huesca and back to freeway driving. Now the countryside clicked by quickly. A castle on every mountaintop. Countryside like California’s foothills (to paraphrase Austin Powers). Packing the bags in the parking lot of the Respol gas station. Turned on Lisa’s GPS for directions to the hotel a half hour out. Eleven hours was the GPS estimate to arrival. “At the roundabout, take the third exit to camino servicio.” No wonder we got lost.



Made it to the airport and the hotel Melia at the airport. Flying home tomorrow.



Eric
 
Thread Starter
TS
Eleeski

Eleeski

Making fresh tracks
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Location
San Diego / skis at Squaw Valley
The sun rises late in Spain. We are driving in the dark to the airport. No signs to rental car return. Had to Griswald around the airport once to find the rental return. Turned into the return spot the wrong way. Swung a handbrake turn into the parking space and said “sheet howdy, pardner, we’re goin home!” Not really. The attendant said the French were worse at getting lost.



But we did go to the wrong terminal…



We made it to LA! Rented a car to get home. Had dinner in LA with Kirk at Roscoes Chicken and Waffles. His Uber ride was $60! That’s more than our rental car. Dropped him off in Santa Monica at some friends and headed home. Maybe the most unsafe driving time of the whole trip as I was quite tired. Quit driving for a nap and was OK after that. Still, I’m horribly jetlagged. But home safely. What a trip!



Some closing thoughts:



Travel is tough.

Spanish brandy is nice.

Spanish food is ham based. Good but not great. And nowhere near enough vegetables.

Croquettes are sketchy. Unless you are starving, then they fill you up nicely.

My Cheeto Pandillas as tapas removes any credibility I might have as a food critic.

Aer Lingus food is horrible.

Bidets are a waste of bathroom space.

Twin beds pushed together are not an acceptable substitute for a real king bed. Especially if they are made up separately as twins.

Duvets are a pain. Why no sheets? And do they really wash them often enough?

Jetlag sucks.

Injuries suck.

I need a new phone. Lisa needs one even more.

My Spanish sucks but I might be able to get by – if I practice. But nobody speaks anything but English in the USA. Maybe I need to travel more.

Bottled water rocks in foreign countries. Even the locals drank bottled water. I did like the 1.5 liter option but they wouldn’t fit in a pocket.

Mahou Negra is a nice Spanish craft beer. Nowhere near water. But the restaurants didn’t have it.

European gas is weird. Too expensive. Really stinky gasoline – especially in the boats and motorcycles.

The VW and other non US compliant diesels haven’t ruined the air in Spain.

Sniff the nozzle to identify the correct fuel to add – the green hose is gas, not diesel there.

Spain doesn’t have enough trash cans or public bathrooms.

Spanish towns are really densely packed. Squaw is not making a European ski town – the density is way too low.

Spanish builders really are good at building on hills.

Motorcycle riders are crazy.

Spanish scenery is fantastic.

Spain has been around for a long time.

I’ve been sitting on this plane a long time.



If it was just about the tournament I’d be totally bummed. But there was so much more. Having a reason to travel made the trip far more relevant than just touristing. The tournament activities, the new friends, connecting with the old friends, the extracurricular travels and the enlightenment of the travel made the overall experience magic.



Eric
 

LiquidFeet

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Will you take another big trip again soon? The landscape is indeed beautiful.
If I'd make this trip it would have completely worn me out.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Eleeski

Eleeski

Making fresh tracks
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Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Posts
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Location
San Diego / skis at Squaw Valley
It's catching up to me. Today I'm spent. And jetlaged.

Not sure where the next trip will be (or why). But the Spain trip did help me appreciate the beauty on my drive to the lake via Julian. Fun travels.

Eric
 

Yo Momma

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I just got one from going through NJ for a kiteboarding trip to the OBX in NC........... Bummer! They wanted $50 bucks! I called and they knocked it down to $1.50!!!! YES!!!!!!!

Sometimes I miss Spain........thanks for the memories........Andorra, though absolutely PACKED w/ tourists was always lots of fun. I LOVE the sports cars over there. They actually use them for their intended purpose and get them dirty. Awesome seeing a Porsche or Ferrari donned w/ tons of driving lights blowing past you on a mtn road curve kicking up dirt! My Dad is headed there in Feb. to a town south of Valencia called Oliva. He's checking it out and thinking of moving there.
 
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