Along the coast to Málaga Towards Málaga is the coast getting more and more crowded: first seemingly unending satellite settlements for the rich, with one way only or even private and closed streets, so the only way to go is the busy highway. Later, around Fuengirola and all the way to Málaga, kilometres and kilometres of hotels for the proper mass beach turism. So it was refreshing to turn from the coast into the inland countryside, aiming for Granada. The countryside here has an interesting profile: from the shore the way goes up 1000 m and everything around makes an impression of being in the mountains. This continues to the top of the Zafarraya pass, which from one side offers truly mountainous feel: rocks, peaks, bending hairpin road, views all…

Over the border crossing and then by crossing the international airport I arrived to Gibraltar. The primary language changed, but also the architecture, or for example the city furniture (phone booths, postal boxes, litter bins all in traditional British style). The Gibraltar Rock is really steep and therefore offers beautiful views across the sea and into all directions. In this sense I was lucky already with my accommodation – which had a private terrace with a casual view at the entire city, two seas, three countries and two continents. The Rock itself is a natural park, offering all kinds of attractions: far views in all directions, forts and underground bunkers built since the Arab rule, throughout the Spanish-English wars all the way to the World War II. And off course…

I took a ferry again to get from Portugal to Spain, by a ferry over the river Guadiana. My goal was to thereafter continue south, to the southernmost tip of Spain. Theoretically this should have been easy: while compared to Portugal there were suddenly much more fields covered by plastic foil greenhouses, most of the way goes around river deltas, coastal lagoons and through natural parks. But the area of Sevilla turned out to be a major obstacle: in the whole are of approx. 150 x 150 km it is only possible to get across the local river Guadalquivir and the natural parks around it by bridges inside or very close to Sevilla city. There is no coastal track or e.g. a ferry connection by the sea. And Sevilla was…

Southwards along the coast From Lisbon, I first crossed by ferry to Seixal, then crossed the peninsula south of Lisbon to its other end at Setúbal, from there again by ferry to the local Troy (Tróia) and over the 18 km long thin stripe of sand protruding into the see I got to a proper land. From there I kept going south and where possible I kept close to the coast. In some places there was a difference of up to 10°C between the coast and a place just 2 km inland – and the coastal temperature was the more pleasant one. This whole part of Portugal had a rather peaceful rural feel, especially compared to the overcrowded Costa del Sol which I visited later in Spain. Here the Atlantic…

Last year I enjoyed the French Mediterranean coast. So what if I went the same direction this year, but even further – to the Iberian Peninsula? But that is already a serious distance, so how to get there within my holidays? By plane? What if the airport staff destroys my bike already at the start when they throw it off the plane? And won’t there be an unbearable heat for a bike trip? I’m going to find out.   The bike transport luckily happened to be without issues, including my exemplarily quick reassembling of the bike at the destination airport. However, the heat did surprise even the locals. In the middle of Portugal and Spain is the forecast up to very nice summer temperatures of 46°C. Even here in Lisbon,…