Also it's where our friend Mike lives for most of the year and where we spent the last few days of our tour. We also hooked up with Eddie and Pauline Todd, ex Hamiltonians now living in Brisbane. They had also been at Catalunya and were staying with Mike too.
On the drive up from Catalunya, we visited the Moto Museum at Bassella. The owner Estanis Soler is well known to Mike having been involved for many years with the Catalunya Circuit. He gave us a personal guided tour of his collection of perfectly restored machines, some of great historical significance.
See the full collection of museum photos HERE.
After the tour and visit to the merchandise shop, we were treated to lunch by Estanis at a restaurant down the road. We were truly spoilt, again!
Our Host Estanis - Salud!
We were served up a HUGE spread. And just when we thought it was over, out comes the sausages and beans! Mmmm!
Here's the view from the Restaurant, just magnificent!
Incidentally the hydro lake in the pic above is covering Estanis's original family home. He rescued his Dad's workshop from before it was flooded, which he then transformed into the current museum (which was built using the stones and hand-made roof tiles from the original home). After lunch, we continued north into the mountains and over the border into Andorra.
This is a pic of the Andorran border post. The Spanish one is right behind us.
Here's a few pics from around the village of Ordino.
This is the view from Mike's house in Anyos.
On the Wednesday, Mike, Oscar and John went on a trail ride while Jan checked out the village some more. There's a cable car that runs from the village straight up the side of the mountain to a ski field. When there's no snow, skis are replaced by wheels. The week before we arrived they held the World Mountain Bike Downhill Champs there and there were still plenty of local riders enjoying the tracks that day.
First you need to clean your bike...
Then you go up the escalator...
Take the cable car...
Then get ready for yeee haaa!
So US boys went trail riding on MOTORCYCLES. I reckon we were the flashest kiwis in Europe that day - Oscar with his 'custom fitted' helmet and in new boots and panties, me wearing Daryll King's riding shirt sitting on Simon Crafar's KTM 525. Mike led us on almost 200km of roads (mostly unsealed) and trails to the west of his village. We were actually in Spain for about 90% of the day but it was an awesome day. There were virtually no gates and it was unclear at times who actually owned the land we went on but apparently all the trails were public (what we call 'paper') roads.
That's snow up there. A fortnight prior, there was snow on this road.
Most of the tracks were very rocky, we had to be careful not to get impact punctures.
There's that salute again - truly international!
"Come on girls, lemme feel ya tits..."
Then in the middle of nowhere, like 10 km from the nearest houses we find this wee church. It was over 300 years old. Makes you feel kinda insignificant.
It had been raining most of the morning but just before we got to the church the skies cleared and after we left it rained again. Mike reckoned it was a sign - a subtle message from his wife Rosanna back in Melbourne.
Lunch was taken in true Spanish style! We didn't wanna leave.
But there were more trails to ride, and somebody had to do it!
Back over the border into Andorra and a higher standard of housing.
You can take the Kiwi out of the country but you can't take the country out of the Kiwi - here we all are firing up the barbeque. No Waikato but!
I quite fancied that shirt. Eddie and Pauline were off to France next.
And before we knew it, it was Thursday and we began our 40 hour journey home via Barcelona, Milano, Singapore and Christchurch.
So grazie and gracias and thankyou so much to Mike, Davide, the Crafars, Bob and all the other people who's hospitality we enjoyed. That was the best holiday ever!
The End.
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