Brittany Ferries operate on UK time while at sea, but port arrivals are in local time. I guess it makes sense as most of the passengers are from the UK but as we passed the French coast around Ushant off Brittany on Friday our mobiles switched to French time an hour ahead which caused us no end of confusion for setting alarms for our early arrival into Bilbao.

We realise as we are passing the Brittany coast that in early July 2023 we were camping above the beach near the three rocky outcrops. What a coincidence.

Packed, breakfast and down to Streak and Storm waiting patiently for our arrival. A quick U turn, down the ramp and we are on Spanish soil. A cheerful and swift passport control, waived through Customs and we are off. Since the demise of our trusty Garmin GPS on the last trip in 2023, I have relied on the maps on the iPhone as a substitute using a Quad Lock to secure the iPhone to Storm. The Garmin had features such as “avoid tolls” which if they exist on the iPhone maps I have yet to discover them.

The superb maze of highways around Bilbao provide us a clean exit from both the port and city as we follow the well signposted A-8 eastwards. Given the difficult landscape, which includes soaring peaks that need numerous tunnels, we find all the roads have been well constructed. Some countries could take note of the excellent engineering undertaken to provide a quality road network. We plan to take the lesser well known roads and zig zag our way to Olite/Erriberri where we will see Palico (Palace) Real de Olite.

A stop in Altsau/ Alsasua provides Anne with a coffee fix and me with the thickest chocolate drink I have ever had. I had to eat most of it with a spoon. More like a desert than a drink but yes I would go back in an instant for another one.

Onwards and upwards, a combination of the NA-7183 then NA-718 from Altsau/ Alsasua to Estella-Lizarra take us up through winding hairpins, scenic views and moss covered forests. Our so called adventure riding exploration is tempered by the large number of extremely fit cyclists undertaking the same roads! Along with walkers and other motorcyclists it seems the entire population is undertaking some outdoor activity.

Palico Real de Olite which was one of the seats of court of the Kings of Navarre until the conquest of the Kingdom of Navarre by Castile in 1512. The current palace was rebuilt from 1937 onwards having been damaged by fire in 1813 by Spanish forces to stop Napoleon’s troops using the castle as a base. It was worth the visit and we get over 65’s rates. Both in the castle and around the town of Olite we realise that the majority other visitors are Spanish. We enjoy walking around the town, stopping at a market stall to buy tasty caramelised almonds.

As we walk back to our hotel with lunchtime supplies for the next few days the familiar sound of a group motorcycles draw near. Anne realises it is the crowd of riders from Pickering in Yorkshire on the same ferry. Not only have they followed us to the same town, but the same hotel. Well not quite. They are all riding 350 to 400cc bikes lightly packed and splattered with mud. They have been following sections of the Spanish TET (Trans European Trails), what is that you may well ask, en route to tackle the ACT (Adventure Country Track) across the Pyrenees. They are all seasoned off road riders and have had a most enjoyable day. It just happens that the TET in Spain crossed our path in Olite. Note to self: must put some mud on the bikes to make us look more adventurous.

The TET in Spain is part of a similar network of motorcycle trails across Europe identified and available for off road riders. The riders from Yorkshire explained that the TET can be harder in places than the ACT but we know that neither will be in our plans for the next few weeks.

The Bardenas Reales of Navarra is a desert like area of over 41,000 hectares / 100,000 acres in the South East of Navarra Province which was declared a Natural Park in 1999. A 34km. / 21ml. gravel road gives us an opportunity to both explore the area and try some of the mildest off road conditions we could experience. Beautiful scenery, stark peaks greet us as we ride around the centre of the park. Birdsong greets us each time we stop.

We ride onwards to Zaragoza where will spend a couple of nights ahead of Anne’s birthday. Two magnificent days with Streak and Storm on a variety of roads under blue skies. We are so lucky.

– Anthony