Spain Motorcycle Tour - Day 13 - Alarcon to Albarracin

From: Alarcon To: Albarracin Monday, 7th September Distance: 105 miles

We were waved off today by a couple of old expats who are quite smitten with the Triumphs!

Alisa stops at first petrol stop to put on her rain gear - not because it's raining, but because it is a bit chilly today (she also ran her heated grips all day). Perhaps it's because we are further north now and will soon be heading back to the UK where winter will be starting.

Our plan is to try and stay ahead of the rain again, but we may have set-off a little too late for that. There is no straight, easy route, so we set the sat nav to stay off the motorway and spend some time on beautiful, flowing twist roads through a forest.

We stop after about an hour and decide that as we are making better time, and as the weather is clearing, to go to the full windy road option on the TomTom. Due to the fact that we are in the back of beyond already, this only adds 30 minutes to our day. It effectively sends us on a pleasant detour via slightly smaller and slower roads.

It's great that on this trip we are doing lower mileage days than on previous trips, it also good to have the time to go slow and experience Spain, rather than blasting past everything. Quite a few places we see today are clearly poor, and look the worse for wear. The wealth in Spain, like many countries,  appears to be concentrated in the towns or the more industrial size farms.

As we begin to see road signs for Albarracin, we skirt along a wooded river which finally leads into the town.

Tonight's hotel was primarily chosen because it is one of the few hotels in the town that has a car park. The hotel sits facing the main town on the far side of the river, so once we have parked and freshened up, we head out on foot to take a look at this picturesque place.

Given the route we drove in on and the view from our hotel, it's not initially obvious that Albarracin has the moniker of most beautiful village in Spain, but once we cross the river and get a good view of the place, it clear that it is pretty special.

As we amble up to the older and higher parts of the village, it feels like we are walking into the Medieval era. From the village we walk all the way up to the ramparts to take some photos, then it is down to the town to find some lunch. It's been another somewhat unexpected surprise for me as Alisa chose the route for this holiday.

Later in the evening we go back into the Old Town for a drink. Initially we stop at a rather rough looking bar with lots of youths hanging around outside, so we decide it might not be too welcoming and head on up the hill. Arriving at the touristy place we couldn't get in for lunch, it is again too busy. So, we end up going to the bar next door for a beer. Then on to the next for a couple more, then a swift one in another local bar where we watch a tragic Spanish sitcom, then onto a trendy place (read expensive) Alisa spotted earlier.

Full of cerveza, vino tinto and having eaten only bar snacks, we head down to the rough looking bar with all the youths, which now seems like a great place to spend the night, so we while away a few more hours and have a great time.

We will be riding with hangovers in the morning, but it was a great night enjoying the town and each others company.