Final Day of the Circumnavigation of the Iberian Peninsula

Thursday, 21 May, 2015:

DAY XVII OF THE CIRCUMNAVIGATION

OF THE IBERIAN PENINSULA

Our great driving adventure was coming to a close but we still had one more day to enjoy the scenic beauty of Spain's Mediterranean coast.

Morning in Tarragona

Miami Beach?

Strong winds make driving near
large trucks exciting
  

Hillside haciendas

Building that wall must
have been a chore

Hilltop fortresses are everywhere

As are small farm outbuildings

Closer to Murcia . . .

 Nice finca

 The sunny coast of Spain

The church tower is usually the
tallest building in a Spanish town

Chapel

Fortress orchard

Closer to Murcia . . .

 Map at our Rest Stop

I need one of these in English

Turret by the A-7 highway

Strange goats

Closer to Murcia . . . 

One of Spain's many well
maintained highways

Love this juice company

But why is the sign's message all in English?

 Nesting cars?

 Little villages are a joy

Closer to Murcia . . . 

Old wall

Cow crossings are always
an issue in España

Random farmhouse

It's getting drier the
farther South we go

REALLY closer to Murcia . . . 

We were hungry and the thriving metropolis of Yecla was the next town on the highway, so we pulled off the road.

Yecla's Plaza de Toros

It's only 25 years old

 Plaza de Toros
Dedication Plaque

Ticket Booth on the Shady Side
of the Plaza de Toros

Lunch at the bar next door to
Yecla's Plaza de Toros

Interesting Motif

We liked their dual image logo

The food here was both good and hearty campesino fare.

 Less than an hour to go

 Abandoned, what if it
could tell us its story?

 Olive orchard

 More hilltop fortresses

 Imposing hill

A sleeping dragon?

 Almost home . . .

 Closer . . .

WE DID IT!!!

Laurie and I were together, in a car, for 17 days and did not kill each other!

Granted, in large part this was due to the gun purchasing laws in Spain, Portugal and France, which are much more stringent than those in the USA.

During our odyssey, we covered a whopping 3,156 miles/5.080 kilometers.

We enjoyed stops in the amazing cities of Nerja, Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz, Lisbon, Espinho, Santiago de Compostela, Avilés, Gijón, Llanes, Guernica, San Sebastian, St-Jean-de-Luz, Toulouse, Narbonne, Aix-en-Provence, Écully, Lyon, Pont du Gard, Le-Grau-de-Roi, Aigues-Mortes, Tarragona and, yes, even Yecla before returning to Murcia.

We saw incredible sights, ate fabulous food and rekindled friendships all over these three charming countries.

Unbelievably, when I weighed in this morning after all of this vacation madness, I had actually lost 0.6 kilos, about one pound!

Will wonders never cease in the EuroBall experience?

Now we are down to our last few days in Murcia before finally returning to California via Madrid. Lots of packing and goodbyes ahead of us here, but a lot of family and friends back home that we sorely miss too.

Coaching the 2015 Murcia Cobras was another GREAT EuroBall experience to be sure!