Tangiers, Morocco \ May 7 & 8

Well, the ferry ride was fantastic.  I love transportation; really I do, and there is nothing better than a ferry ride especially when it takes you to another country. Nothing out of the ordinary but just knowing you are leaving Europe and about to step foot on the continent of Africa is quite the experience.   The ferry from Tarifa to Tangiers is very classy and cost 38 Euros (a bit pricy for a 30 minute ride).  Once on board you can grab a coffee or a snack and wait in line to get your passport stamped…very cool!

 I had read in quite a few places that you are inundated with touts and chaos as soon as you step foot off the ferry in Tangiers.  To our great surprise Tangiers was totally chill and laid back.  Only had a couple taxi drivers tried to give us a ride and offer us hotels.  Told them we already had a place and even gave then the name of a resort I had seen in a guidebook.  Several drivers told us that our hotel was shut down.  I assumed they were saying the hotel was closed in order to get us somewhere else; the ‘your hotel is closed, stay at my friends hotel’ is a tried and true taxi driver technique.  As it turns out that hotel was shut down and everyone was just trying to help us out.  In the month to come we would learn that many of the usual rip off trips just don’t happen in Morocco.  Oh, those crazy honest Moroccans.

We walked ourselves out into the kind, mellow streets of Tangiers on the hunt for a hotel.    It didn’t take us long to wander close to our first Moroccan medina (the ancient walled city that most of the action is in any Moroccan city or town).  Our hassle free wanderings lead us quickly to a clean, comfortable and centrally located hotel called Hotel Miami…and cheap to boot.  We dropped our bags and headed out to get lost in our first medina. 

My first medina, like many travelers, is in Tangiers.  Medinas are the old quarter of a city in Northern Africa.  Tangiers medina, like all medinas, is a maze of small roads, alleys and walkways lined with simply shops and homes.  We learned quickly that the action in Moroccan cities is within the walls of the medina.  Wandering around a good souq (covered market streets) while trying to find the Kasbah or mosque are just some of the good times to be had in the medina. We had a list of places we hoped to check out but spent most of our time lost within the walls of the medina, which by the way is part of the fun of travelling in Morocco.  Tangiers medina is a tangle of alleys on a hillside and we did manage in out lost state to find a killer view of the city with the ocean in the background. 

Food and Morocco go hand in hand.  No matter how picky you are Morocco is a culinary delight.  If you are coming over to Tangiers for a quick visit from Europe and want to dine an as many Moroccan delicacies as possible then hit up Hamadi in the medina.  It is designed for tourists but the food is top notch and the entertainment is well worth getting your ‘touristy’ on.  We dined on kebabs, harira, pastilla, and mezze while dancers contorted around us. 

Now, you always hear the most about the happenings in the medina but the Ville Nouvelle (new city) has heaps to offer.  The Ville Nouvelle in many cities is like jumping forward several hundred years.   In the bigger cites like Marrakesh, Casablanca, Fez and of course Tangiers the Nouvelle is a fantastic place to chill out with the ‘suite and ties’ over a mint tea and watch the modern world blend with the old world. 

There are literally hundreds of cafes to choose from in Tangiers but one stands out as a must go spot.  Café de Paris is like stepping back in time; in fact, it has been around since 1927.  The dim lighting, dark wood, and smoky atmosphere draw businessmen, tourists, and the old world Moroccan men.  The mint tea comes in a tall glass half full of mint leaves and is served on a silver cup tray but a tuxedo-wearing waiter. This watering hole is often full but it is worth waiting for a table to open in order to spend an hour or two taking it all in while you wait for your ‘Bogart’ to walk through the door.   

I am quite use to spending the better part of a day parquring bus or train tickets even in Europe.  I can’t tell you how refreshing it was to walk into the CTM station (CTM is the best and most reliable bus company in Morocco) and buy tickets.  We walked in, didn’t wait in a line, asked for tickets to Chefchaouen, and got them.  It was a new phenomenon to me.  By the way, the bus and train system in Morocco rocks.  The USA should send someone from the FAA, Amtrak, and Greyhound over to get schooled!

More photos:

Tarifa, Spain \ May 5 & 6

TARIFA, SPAIN

(quick note: finally in a spot where I can start posting blogs again...rest of the trip coming soon!)

Took a three-hour bus down the coast from Torrmosolis to Tarifa today.  What a view; at least the last hour or so of the ride.  The coast down to Tarifa is quite hilly and because of the high winds there are new windmills peppering the hillsides. Really makes for a spectacular view to see these huge windmills spinning away with the ocean in the forefront.  Very cool!  Wish our driver could have stopped along the way so I could take pictures.

Tarifa is a windsurfer’s paradise.  The wind blows wild in Tarifa most of the year to the delight of the avid windsurfing community.  I absolutely hate, hate, hate wind!  That said I am so thrilled that we spent a couple days in Tarifa.   Granted we had to roll through to catch the ferry to Tangiers anyway but…

 There are heaps of adorable little shops with what looks like one of a kind jewelry, and just as many clothing boutiques that could have kept me satisfied for days.

Did I mention the hip little coffee shops around town as well?  I do loves me a good coffee.We stayed at Correos Hostel right next to the church.  The hostel is housed in an old, multilevel-whitewashed building.  The doors are all painted a vivid blue, which makes for a great contrast against the whitewashed walls.  The room was huge; actually it was three rooms and a bathroom.  I rarely take photos of the places I stay, especially since I am a budget girl, most of the places I stay are forgettable, but I did snap a few of this place.  There is one downside to the Correos Hostel and it is not the staff, which is a super friendly family, but the church bell rings as it pleases.  There seems to be no rhyme or reason behind the chime. 

All the streets here are whitewashed and as usual they are a maze to wander, which I love.  One of the cheapest meals we have had it Spain was in Tarifa and what is funny it was about one of the best.  I don’t even remember the name of the place but it was just a simple pizza joint.  We ended up there for the mere fact that some soccer game was on and everywhere was packed out, well everywhere with a TV anyway.   The pizza joint was the only place around without a crazed crowd of men screaming inside.  It was greasy, New York style, Pizza to die for.  And did I mention it was cheap!

I would highly recommend Tarifa for anyone coming to Spain for more than a couple weeks.  Beautiful beaches, great shopping, tasty grub, and chilled out atmosphere.

Left for Morocco on the 1pm ferry.  Actually considering it is only a 30-minute ferry ride the cost of 37 Euros is quite steep.   Off to Morocco soon.  Adios amigos!

More photos of Tarifa

Torremolinos, Spain \ May 2,3,4

May 2
First thing I noticed right off the train was that the temperature has gone up by a good 20 degree and this made me a very happy girl. Spain is not a big country but the climate from North to South is so dramatically different. I had been cold for so long now that torremolinos has made a very good first impression on me just with the temperature alone.

Torremolinos is a suburb of Malaga really but it doesn’t feel like it is attached to a largish city. There is a defined beachfront, resort town feel here. Cortney is out for the count but Nathan and I head off in search of just what this little town has to offer and for some well deserved grub.

Food is not going to be a problem here, there is a café or restaurant on ever corner. I can already see that the English pounce on this place in the Summer. Every other menu I see raves of it’s Full English Breakfast (sausage, eggs, toast, tomato, and baked beans). Sounds great for my heart and waistline. Nathan and I were a bit worried we wouldn’t find food as it was three or four in the afternoon and we have learned by now that all of Spain shuts down between 2-5 to catch up on sleep. In Torremolinos the tourists rules and we found plenty to eat. Nathan dined on fried fish surprise and I ate whatever.

After a tasty meal and some wine we decided to wiggle our way down to the beach which stretches on forever. Torremolinos is on a hill so down is always to the beach (unfortunatley that mean up is always back to your hotel). Like I said there is more than enough dinning options here as well as shopping. I didn’t really pay too much attention to the shopping as I live out of a backpack at the moment and have to save ever penny but it looked like good times for someone down for a week of beaching. I can see Torremolinos as one of those places where you play on the beach for hours, eat, nap, shop and then hit the beach again.

The main boardwalk stretches on for miles and is lined with shops and food, all a girl could want. The news stands have newspapers from all over. I was very excited to pick up the International Edition on the New York Times. Cortney will be happy with all the English tabloid mags too.

May 3 & 4
I am going to call this one day as it would appear I cannot distinguish between the two days. That, my friends is very sad indeed. We arrived in Torremolinos just a handful of days ago as well. Me poor mind is going I do believe.

Today was beach day for us. Cortney is finally feeling better, not 100% yet but ready to recoup at the beach. Grabbed our books and made a beeline for the beach. Before making the big decision on a location to park our bodies for the day we ate. Surprise. Just about every beach front restaurant has a whole set up of beach chairs with umbrellas. I am not a sun bunny by any means so we decided this was a perfect option, if they don’t charge an arm and a leg for the pleasure of a cozy spot. 4 Euros for the day works for me. We picked a joint that also had king sized beds on the beach. The beds where 40 Euro a day but if you are having drinks you can hang out on them for an hour or two.

Very little happens now. Read, have a glass of wine and watch people fry their skin. Just about everyone on the beach must be out getting there first sun of the year. Don’t think I have ever seem some much pasty white in my life. Within a few hours those same pasty white bodies were a nice pink color…a couple more hours and we can feast. I really wanted to wander the beach with my sunscreen and help folks out.

(I fell terrible about it but I did take unnecessary photos of some interesting sunbathing characters out there on the beach. Believe me the tabloids wouldn’t touch these photos with a ten foot pole.)

Travel Day: Santiago de Compestela to Malaga \ May 1

Our train isn’t until 10pm and Cortney has nasty case of food poisoning. As seems to often be the case on Fridays in Spain it was a holiday, Labor Day I do believe and we were unable to keep our room as the entire pension was booked out. Thankfully the owner walked me over to a friends pension where he thought there might be a room.

There was a single for only 16 Euros and I grabbed it. It look quite a while as the little, old lady who owns the place can barely get up the stairs and has almost completely lost her hearing. Very cute and very fantastic that Cort can sleep away the day until our train….if she can even get on it.

After moving Cortney to her new digs’ Nathan and I had an entire day to kill. Don’t get me wrong, Santiago is a beautiful city with lots to do but it was a holiday and only restaurants were open. In the end Nate and I chilled out and several different cafes moving between coffees and wine. Not a hard way to kill a day really.

Cortney decided she could do the train thing which was a nine hour overnight train to Madrid before changing stations and jumping on another three hour high speed train to Malaga. The 1km walk almost killed poor Cort but she pulled it off. The train had sleepers (not for us unfortunately) and tourist or second class. Not a full train so tourist class worked out fine.

Jumped off train number one and had to get onto a local train to get us to Atocha Station where our train to Malaga departs from. Easy as pie except for the fact that Cort is still battling a nasty bug in her body. A ten minute train ride and an hour wait later (over coffee of course) we where in our cozy first class seats off to the sunny beaches along the coast of Spain. Only a few of us on the train to Malaga as well. Nothing wrong with Tourist Class but a First Class ride every now and again hit’s the spot.

Malaga is a decent size city (600,000) that sits on the coast of Spain. The beloved Picasso is from Malaga and he has a museum in the city. It had been a tough decision but we decided to stay in Torremolinos just south of Malaga instead of in the city itself.

OK. So we are on train number three now (train to Madrid, local across town, high speed to Malaga). Just one more train and we are there. Another local train down to Torremolinos. Even at the train station in Malaga you can tell we are in tourist central. The ticket machines cover all the major languages and you can hear the buzz of different accents in the air. All the sunburn bodies was a bit of a giveaway as well.

This last train was buzzing with activity. Travelers with there suitcases, backpackers navigating their packs around people, English retirees, and sun baked 20 something English girls with sunburns and very few clothes. We kicked back and enjoyed the activity especially the just over middle aged drunk Spanish ladies out for a mid-day booze fest in Malaga.

Found our hostel with trouble and put Cort to bed at last. It is now May 2.

Camino de Santiago \ April 24, 25

LEON
April 24 & 25 (no KM)
Arrived in Leon, by bus, around 4ish in the afternoon. Not far into the part of town we wanted to stay in so we walked it. Leon is one happening town. It is about the same size as Burgos but has the heartbeat of a much bigger city. Pretty sure we will be able to find anything we want here….including an iPod charger (ended up getting shipped to Santiago de Compostela).

Left Nathan at a bar to watch the bags and Cort and I headed off to find accommodation. Turns out that there are several weddings in the area over the weekend and we are out of luck on getting a room. Wandered around looking long enough for Nathan to kick back a couple beers. Finally found a hostel a bit off the main drag but more than suitable for our meager means.

Like I said this is one pumping little town 150,000) . We did find an iPod charges (yippiee) and could have shopped for days. The Cathedral here lived up to the hype it gets in travel guides. We spent most of our time wandering about checking out the beautiful buildings and mingling with the weekend crowds.

Did manage to book our final train ticket. It is over a holiday week and in the end we have to do the long leg of it...from Santiago de Compastela to Madrid (9 hours) in 2nd class then change trains to Malaga down in Southern Spain. As we left the train station in search of chocolate we saw a man who had just been hit by a car. The ambulance finally got there, still wonder if he is ok. Didn’t look good.

On a brighter note, we found our chocolate. In Spain they are into their chocolate.

Camino de Santiago: Rabe de las Calzadas to Carrion de los Condes \ April 21,22,23

From Rabe de las Calzadas to Castrojeriz April 21

Day 2 on the Camino (28.5KM)

Towns: Rabe de las Calzadas, Hormillos del Camino, Hontanas, Castrojeriz)

Stayed at Camping “Camino de Santiago” (had a house to ourselves)

Woke today at around 7am, still dark. Found out that the time changes by two hours in Spain for Daylight Savings which means waking in the dark. Hit the road, er Camino, with the sun just wakeing. It was chilly and misty out. Very cool for a couple gals who read horror movies into everything. The village was just as asleep at 7am as it was the night before.

It actually felt great to put our packs on and start walking. We ended up walking almost 30 km by the days end. The trail from Rabe de Calzadas to Castrajeriz was basically deserted except for a smattering of Pilgrims. It is only day two and we keep meeting up with the same small groups (ones, twos and threes) of pilgrims. It looks like there is only about five sets of us on this bit of the Camino. The folks on bikes are always seeing new faces as they move on so quickly.

The greeting on the Camino de Santiago is “Bueno Camino” or “Good Camino”. You hear it almost every time you pass by someone, whether they be a Pilgrim or a local. Just a quick mention of those living along the Camino. It amazes me that they are all so friendly to us (smelly, hungry, tied) Pilgrims. It would seem that we would get on their nerves, especially when it picks up in the summer, but no, everyone is exceptionally kind and go out of their way to make you feel important.

Today we seriously tested our walking. Our packs are a bit bigger than most others for the mere fact that we are going on after this journey. Because of this simple fact, our packs start out weighing a couple pounds more than those just here for the Camino. We also don’t have super sleek, super expensive sleeping bags. We have bulky cheap blankets instead. Figure we can give them to a homeless folk at a train station after the walk.

From Castrojeriz to Bodilla del Camino

April 22 \ Day 3 on the Camino (18.9KM)

Towns: Castrojeriz, Itero de la Vegas, Bodilla del Camino)

We had a fantastic nights sleep. With the economy like it is and less than half the usual pilgrims we ended up with an entire house to ourselves…yes, a living room and all. Grabbed a bottle of wine and settled in for a bit of Texas Hold em’. Little Man Nate taught us and Cort and I cleaned the floor with him. It was good fun.

It would appear that 30km did us in as I had a nice big blister and all of us were quite the gimps. I heated the end of a needle and sewed a piece of thread through my blister (leaving a bit of the tread in the blister to drain it). By the am our bodies were healed and my blister was no more. Time to hit the road.

As it turns out we slept in until 9:30, which is crazy late on the Camino. Typically someone wakes you by 6ish to be on the road no later than 8am. I must say we got the best nights sleep ever. Nice and cool in the room and so ridiculously quite. It was fantastic.

Any who when we finally made it to the reception, bar area the owner said Buenas tardes to us, meaning good afternoon. He was giving us crap for getting up so late. I figure we might as well take advantage of the chance to sleep in. I have a strange feeling it won’t happen often on the Camino.

We ended up hitting a road block of sheep today. I bet farmers think it bizarre that tourists grab for the camera when they see sheep in the road. We did stop for coffee is some itty bitty town and ran into everyone we have seem along the Camino. They all stopped for the night but we were tough and carried on another 8km to Boadilla del Camino and stayed at a beautiful private pilgrims hostel. This beauty had a fantastic common outdoor area with a small pool (not warm enough yet) and the staff was super friendly. We ate olives, bread, cheese, and ham along with two bottles of vino. Played Texas Holdin’ and chatted with the staff.

At these Pilgrims Hostels they turn out the lights at like 9:30pm (these places do only cost 5 Euro). Everyone, I am talkin’ 20 plus people in the dorm where already in bed by nine For some reaon this struck Cort and I as just about the most amusing thing ever. Will an entire room of adults sleeping before dark, Cort and I began a 30 minute laugh fest. One of those can’t stop no matter how hard you try. Even went to the bathroom to try and contain it by to no avail. We tough we had done a good job of controlling it, which meant stuffing blankets in our mouths but Nathan informed us the next morning that everyone hear us. Couldn’t help it.

From Boadilla del Camino to Carrion de los Condes

April 23 \ Day 4 on the Camino (25.3KM)

Towns: Boadilla del Camino, Ista, Poblacion de Campos, Villovieco, Villalcazar de Sirga, Carrion de los Candes

I really only have one thing to say about today…we walked, and walked and walked. It was hot and we walked. Later in the day we ate and walked. Then after walking for a while we drank some water and then walked some more. One fun thing that happened when we got water was that there was an army of caterpillar crawling up the fountain we got our water from. Cortney and I are quite sure that we have some strange caterpillar amoeba brain bacteria now. Nathan thinks we will start pooing butterflies within the month. Over the horizon we say Carrion De Los Condes so we walked into town got a room (no Pilgrim Hostel this time) and stuck needles in our blisters then walked around town and ate.

Over dinner we realized that the only way to get our full month in Morocco is to cut a few days off the walk. Looking at things it seems that now is the best time to jump a bit of the walk as it would be several days of walking along the main road anyway, and seeing a ton of the same thing we have been walking through. Will look at jumping on a bus to Leon in the am…that should cut two and a halfish days off the walk and give us our full month in Morocco. Cool!

(next morning) There is a bus at 12:45 and we bought tickets at the bar this morning over coffee. Many people waiting for the bus with busted up feet, wow. Nathan and I just have a couple blisters.

Very glad we took the bus in the end. The Camino followed the motorway most of the way to Leon. Feel like we picked the best bit to skip. Looking forward to Leon.

Camino de Santiago

From Rabe de las Calzadas to Castrojeriz April 21 \ Day 2 on the Camino (28.5KM)Towns: Rabe de las Calzadas, Hormillos del Camino, Hontanas, Castrojeriz)Stayed at Camping “Camino de Santiago” (had a house to ourselves)Woke today at around 7am, still dark. Found out that the time changes by two hours in Spain for Daylight Savings which means waking in the dark. Hit the road, er Camino, with the sun just waking. It was chilly and misty out. Very cool for a couple gals who read horror movies into everything. The village was just as asleep at 7am as it was the night before.
It actually felt great to put our packs on and start walking. We ended up walking almost 30 km by the days end. The trail from Rabe de Calzadas to Castrajeriz was basically deserted except for a smattering of Pilgrims. It is only day two and we keep meeting up with the same small groups (ones, twos and threes) of pilgrims. It looks like there is only about five sets of us on this bit of the Camino. The folks of bikes are always new faces as they move on so quickly.
The greeting on the Camino de Santiago is “Bueno Camino” or “Good Camino”. You hear it almost every time you pass by someone, whether they be a Pilgrim or a local. Just a quick mention of those living along the Camino. It amazes me that they are all so friendly to us (smelly, hungry, tied) Pilgrims. It would seem that we would get on their nerves, especially when it picks up in the summer, but no, everyone is exceptionally kind and go out of their way to make you feel important.
Today we seriously tested our walking. Our packs are a bit bigger than most others for the mere fact that we are going on after this journey. Because of this simple fact, our packs start out weighing a couple pounds more than those just here for the Camino. We also don’t have super sleek, super expensive sleeping bags. We have bulky cheap blankets instead. Figure we can give them to a homeless folk at a train station after the walk.
From Castrojeriz to Bodilla del Camino April 22 \ Day 3 on the Camino (18.9KM) Towns: Castrojeriz, Itero de la Vegas, Bodilla del Camino)We had a fantastic nights sleep. With the economy like it is and less than half the usual pilgrims we ended up with an entire house to ourselves…yes, a living room and all. Grabbed a bottle of wine and settled in for a bit of Texas Hold em’. Little Man Nate taught us an Cort and I cleaned the floor with him. It was good fun.
It would appear that 30km did us in as I had a nice big blister and all of us were quite the gimps. I heated the end of a needle and sewed a piece of thread through my blister (leaving a bit of the tread in the blister to drain it). By the am our bodies were healed and my blister was no more. Time to hit the road. As it turns out we slept in until 9:30, which is crazy late on the Camino. Typically someone wakes you by 6ish to be on the road no later than 8am. I must say we got the best nights sleep ever. Nice and cool in the room and so ridiculously quite. It was fantastic.
Any who when we finally made it to the reception, bar area the owner said Buenas tardes to us, meaning good afternoon. He was giving us crap for getting up so late. I figure we might as well take advantage of the chance to sleep in. I have a strange feeling it won’t happen often on the Camino.
We ended up hitting a road block of sheep today. I bet farmers think it bizarre that tourists grab for the camera when they see sheep in the road. We did stop for coffee is some itty bitty town and ran into everyone we have seem along the Camino. They all stopped for the night but we were tough and carried on another 8km to Boadilla del Camino and stayed at a beautiful private pilgrims hostel. This beauty had a fantastic common outdoor area with a small pool (not warm enough yet) and the staff was super friendly. We ate olives, bread, cheese, and ham along with two bottles of vino. Played Texas Holdin’ and chatted with the staff.
At these Pilgrims Hostels they turn out the lights at like 9:30pm (these places do only cost 5 Euro). Everyone, I am talkin’ 20 plus people in the dorm where already in bed by nine For some reaon this struck Cort and I as just about the most amusing thing ever. Will an entire room of adults sleeping before dark, Cort and I began a 30 minute laugh fest. One of those can’t stop no matter how hard you try. Even went to the bathroom to try and contain it by to no avail. We tough we had done a good job of controlling it, which meant stuffing blankets in our mouths but Nathan informed us the next morning that everyone hear us. Couldn’t help it,
From Boadilla del Camino to Carrion de los CondesApril 23 \ Day 4 on the Camino (25.3KM) Towns: Boadilla del Camino, Ista, Poblacion de Campos, Villovieco, Villalcazar de Sirga, Carrion de los Candes)
I really only have one thing to say about today…we walked, and walked and walked. It was hot and we walked. Later in the day we ate and walked. Then after walking for a while we drank some water and then walked some more. One fun thing that happened when we got water was that there was an army of caterpillar crawling up the fountain we got our water from. Cortney and I are quite sure that we have some strange caterpillar amoeba brain bacteria now. Nathan thinks we will start pooing butterflies within the month. Over the horizon we say Carrion De Los Condes so we walked into town got a room (no Pilgrim Hostel this time) and stuck needles in our blisters then walked around town and ate.
Over dinner we realized that the only way to get our full month in Morocco is to cut a few days off the walk. Looking at things it seems that now is the best time to jump a bit of the walk as it would be several days of walking along the main road anyway, and seeing a ton of the same thing we have been walking through. Will look at jumping on a bus to Leon in the am…that should cut two and a halfish days off the walk and give us our full month in Morocco. Cool!
(next morning) There is a bus at 12:45 and we bought tickets at the bar this morning over coffee. Many people waiting for the bus with busted up feet, wow. Nathan and I just have a couple blisters.
Very glad we took the bus in the end. The Camino followed the motorway most of the way to Leon. Feel like we picked the best bit to skip. Looking forward to Leon.

Update

sorry i havent had any new posts lately. have not had computers with flashdrives, all my blogs are on my laptop.

we are now in tangiers, morocco. took the ferry over from tarifa, spain yesterday. i will try and find myself some wifi in the coming days and upload a few blogs.

here are a few photos from the camino de santiago. as you can see, i cant find caps on this arabic keyboard.

Camino de Santiago Day 1 \ April 20

Burgos to Tardajos and stayed in Rabe de las Calzadas
(10.2 KM)
Stayed at Hostel Ospital Santa Marina y Santiago (owned by Michelle)

We didn’t leave Burgos this day until about 2pm as we had to go to the post office. Ended up sending three boxes, which is a good thing as long as they are on the other side to great us. Grabbed a Baguette, olives, laughing cow, apples, and figs for the road. Finally, before officially becoming pilgrims, we had a couple café con leches (coffee with milk) in the hotel bar.

One thing every guidebook and website stress is that you must have a sleeping bag. Well, go figure, we don’t. We bought some cheap blankets instead. They take up a ton of room by don’t weigh much. I am covered up in mine as we speak and it is just fine. In the end, we are probably carrying less weight because of the bags bulkiness. Whatever, it seems to work, but I do like the look of everyones tiny little sleeping bags.

We left the city center of Burgos around 2ish I guess. Nathan went and got his Pilgrim Credential stamped (Cort and I did this the day before) and off we went. Every Pilgrim needs to have this Pilgrim Passport in order to show their status as a pilgrim and to stay in the pilgrim accommodations along the Camino de Santiago.

We don’t have a map, but we do have a general guidebook. So far, a map is completely not necessary as the route is well marked with the Camino sea shells and yellow arrows. Just put one foot in front of the other and you are off. After leaving Burgos proper we were quickly on a dirt path a few hundred meters from the train tracks. Very easy walk, only had to deal with motorway walking a few times.

We did stop once to eat some cheese, bread and figs at a little park along the way. Arrived in the first town of Tardajos much earlier than expected. Had planned to stay in Tadajos but instead had a cup of café and were on our way again. A short time later (less than 2km) we where in Rabe de las Calzadas. This is a lesser town than Tardajos but fantastically charming. Cobbled roads and a beautiful bell tower over the village.

We stayed at …………… at the Plaza Mayor for Rabe. Michelle is the wonderful woman who lets pilgrims into her home. It was a bit more than we had planned to pay (20 Euro including an insanely good dinner) but in the end it was perfect. Really, 20 Euros for a stellar meal and a great nights sleep isn’t bad.

Dinner was a traditional Pilgrims meal. It was a stew with veggies, blood sausage, and hotdogs. Served with fresh bread and a pitcher of wine of course. This pilgrims hostel only has eight bed as it is Michelle’s home so there were only five us for diner and in the room. As it turns out the other two pilgrims were from the States as well. Actually, they have been living in South Africa for about seven years now. They seem quite happy in their life there. They are doing Missionary type work and have traveled quick extensively through the Southern countries of Africa. The seem to be very cool people….hopefully we will run into them again on the Camino.
Oh wait, what was I on about…dinner. Ok, I mentioned the stew and bread and wine. It was all served around Michelle’s kitchen table and we ate and had wonderful conversations. Our new friend told us about life in South Africa and a cool road trip they took around the country on a Harley. We told them about our motivations for coming on the Camino. Michelle, the home owner, told us about her many trips on the Camino and how the number of Pilgrams is half of normal because of the economy. It seems there is no corner of the planet not effected…..scary.
Anyway, I am now going to try and get some sleep as we plan to walk 20ish km tomorrow and Nathan and I have lost our iPod charger….which I actually think is a good thing. I almost sent mine ahead today in the mail anyway. It almost seems wrong to listen to tunes on the Camino. A blessing in disguise I do believe.

(sorry for all the misspelled words, spell check is not working)

Burgos \ April 18 & 19

Sorry about the gap in the entries. Have jumped by almost two weeks but it was a crazy couple weeks and didn't have as much time as I had hoped to blog. I will do my very best to get those missing cities (including the entirety of the Algraves, Cascais, and Porto in Portugal as well as Vigo, our trip back to Madrid and Figueres in Spain).

BURGOS
We are finally in Burgos which is where we start our walk across Northern Spain on the Camino de Santiago. It was quite an interesting day attempting to get here. Arranged for a wake up call and a 6am taxi from our hotel in Figueres. It was to be an easy day…a two hour train back to Barcelona then a 40 minute wait to jump on our six hour train to Burgos.

That, my friends, was not to be. The taxi was a no show and as it was a quite Saturday morning the guy at reception was unable to reach anyone to pick us up. The reception guy told us that it was a quick 10 minute walk to the train station. I am sure that someone familiar with all the twisting roads and alleyways would agree with him. We, on the other hand, got terrible lost, watching the minutes tick by on my cheap Hello Kitty watch (which at the time of posting this has died a sad Hello Kitty death). We asked anyone who was up at that hour but as it turns out we were on some crazy highway when our first train left without us. Remember the only way to make our long train was to be on the 6:40 train to Barcelona.

Finally got to the train station, grabbed a coffee and jumped on the 7:20am train that got us to Barcelona 10 minutes after our train had left for Burgos. Thankfully the lines were chill at the train station. Hit up customer service to give us a stamp then over to the medium distance counters to get a new ticket. Only had to pay the reservation fee again (10 Euro) and wait several hours and take a slow train (9 hours vs. 6 on the high speed train). I actually think it all work out quite well. These things are what make travel interesting and fun.

Cortney and I decided in the last hour of the train trip to hit up the café car for for a glass of wine. Not sure how it happened by the language thing led to Cort and I kickin’ back two bottles of wine….in a very lady like way I must add. A few minute till our station the lights went off throughout the train and we were in pitch black tunnel after tunnel. Super fun making our way back to our car to get our packs.

After finally arriving in Burgos we started walking t0 our hotel. Figured we are going to walk 400-500km from here anyway...why not start now. From the train station, that is the main train station, it takes about five minutes to walk to our centrally located hotel. It would appear that there are two train stations in town, our arrival station being quite far from town. It was getting late but we kept trying to find the hotel. Everyone we asked said it was very far but the map said something different. Finally called for a taxi and within another 30 minutes we were chillin' in our very nice hotel.

Burgos is a beautiful city, cut in half by a river. The center everything we wanted to see was a short walk from our hotel. Sent three boxes of our stuff to Santiago de Compestela (0ur final destination on the walk). Crossing our fingers that our much needed gear arrives at the post office on the other side. If not I guess we are traveling light and catching some funky bugs along the way.

As we spent the better part of a day sipping coffee and wandering around historic Burgos we saw quite a few Pilgrims of the Camino de Santiago. Some of these folks have been walking for two weeks already. Bet it was a shocker to walk into a big town like Burgos (population around 160,000). Most of our soon to be fellow pilgrims had seashells on their packs, a symbol of St. James. On our wandering around town we also began to run across the markers you follow along the Camino which include the seashell markers and yellow painted arrows.

Well, tomorrow we will put one foot in front of the other and see what happens. Wish us luck!

Seville, Spain March 30,31 and April 1

Doubled back to Madrid in order to jump on a fantastic high speed train to Seville. Love doing this First Class thing. Trains are typically a nice comfy way to travel (at least the more developed countries) but this was one step up. Sat in my big cushy seat and drank vino, ate one of the best transportation meals I have ever had and had a lovely view of the landscape zooming by.

We stayed at the Samay Hostel near the center of Seville. Since there were six of us we got a room to ourselves. Most people think that hostels are for the 20 something’s but it just isn’t true. The younger crowd definitely out number everyone else but you can easily steer away from the party hostels. At the Samay there were quite a few over 50’s and a few parents with kids like us.

I adore Seville. This is one of those cities I could live in. Finally over our jet lag and ready to get some serious sightseeing on. Our hostel was in Barrio Santa Cruz which is a high energy neighborhood right in the middle of everything. After getting settled in and getting a bit of a seiseta in we decided to just wander our ‘barrio’. In some ways it reminded me a lot of the cobbled alley like roads of Venice. The lanes are so small in fact that that we often had to jump into a doorway to avoid getting run over. Good fun.

The first night in Seville we got our tapas on big time. Found a great little tapas bar and gave a bunch of goodies a try. During this dinning experience I realized that everyone in Spain dines outside no matter the temperature. In fact, most places don’t really have enough room to hold more that a couple tables. I really notice as it was bloody cold out and has been but everyone still eats outside. Very Colorado of them.

On our second day we did a nice walking tour around town and spent some quality time at the park near our hostel….rockin’ slide park for the girls. Amazing how quickly little kids make friends. Ever time we hit up a slide park, which is often, the girls have conversations with kids that don’t speak a word of English. Even though I don’t want to have kids of my own, they are pretty cool little beings.

After the park we went to the Cathedral. Ever city in Spain it seams has a major Cathedral and they are always simply referred to as ‘the Cathedral’. Mr. Christopher Columbus has a fancy little crypt here. Never been a fan of they guy so it was not such a draw for me. But….this Cathedral was absolutely overwhelming. I look at things we build today and wonder where our creativity and honor has gone. The delicate sculpting of the Cathedral in Seville are mind blowing. For me this is the number one attraction in Seville. Next we walked the 30 plus levels to the top of the Giralda Tower (Cathedral tower). The views on the way up were great but wow…the view of Seville from the top of the Giralda Tower is one you don’t want to miss.

I think this is also the day we took a horse drawn carriage ride around the touristy stuff. The best part of the carriage ride was the stroll through Parque de Maria Luisa and Plaza de Espana. I usually am not one to do a carriage ride but I must admit that this was a great idea….thanks mom.

Since I am a bit behind on my journal I can’t quite remember which day we went to the Flamenco Dancing. I do know that is was the same day that we ate ice cream at a hoppin’ plaza just behind our hostel and guess what….we hit up another slide park after ice cream. Anyway, we went to a Flamenco Dance show at a bar like setting (kid friendly). First drink was included and since we were watching Flanenco Dancing in it’s birthplace we decided to have a Spanish specialty….Sangrias!

The show was super cool, I really wish I had any kind of talent. I have to get my dance on behind closed doors, I think my dreams of becoming a Flamenco Dancer will remain just that. We did get some video of the dancing, will have mom post it for me as it is on her Flip.

After the show we went once again for tapas. We have already fallen into the Spanish ways of dinning after 9 or 10pm. The bar\tapas joint we hit up this time was jam packed and everyone was loving their eats. Legs of ham hung from the ceilings (common around Spain). Everything in Spain is ham….ham this….ham that. Thank Goddess I love me the ham. Would love to take a leg with us on the Camino de Santiago…just strap it to the back of my pack. Wicked!

Let’s see how did we get out of Seville. Oh, that’s right! Getting to Portugal from Seville looks like it would be easy by not so. We ended up taking a bus as it cut the travel time in half. As we were sitting in front of our bus, mere moments from loading luggage I notice that one of the stops was Lagoa and two or three stops later was Lagos (main and final stop…big tourist city).

We had bought tickets for Lagos, of course, as that is where everyone goes in the Algraves region of Portugal (Southern Portugal). I turned to everyone and said ’wouldn’t it be funny if our resort were actually at Lagoa since the names are so similar’. Well we pulled out our confirmation and lo and behold the Boca da Rio was is Lagoa. If a bus doesn’t have a record of tickets for a particular town they don’t stop so we had to sort it out. We did get off in Lagoa instead of Lagos. What was really amusing is that most of the folks on the bus were also tourist and they assumed that the fact that we where getting off ment it was Lagos. Luckily for them the bus driver let them know that the stop was Lagoa not Lagos.

Easy trip to the Algraves. Portugal should be fantastic!

More photos of Seville

Toledo, Spain \ March 28, 29

Madrid was amazing and I would love to spend a hell of a lot more time there but off we go. After hitting up the ‘Big Smoke’ of Madrid it’s time to slow down the pace and enter the medieval walled cited of Toledo. Toledo is one old mother, I’m talkin’ 192 BC things were happening here. UNESCO listed the city as part of World Heritage in 1987. There is defiantly a Venetian feel to this city. Toledo is a labyrinthine of curvy, curly walkways that turn out to be actual roads. Amazing to turn a corner and watch a car squeezed themselves up a lane only an inch bigger than they are. Very cool, hope to get to drive around here.

We stayed and a reasonably nice hotel called the Carlos V. It would appear that our hotel is quite centrally located as it was Mardi Gras loud every night. Not to worry…that’s what ear plugs are for, right? We did get a fantastic breakfast included in the mornings.

The Cathedral is the major attraction in Toledo and I can see why. Quite the little church I must say. I was a bit bummed that we where there on a Sunday but couldn't’t go to the service. I am not Catholic or anything but wow, the Catholic Churches rock, so when we found out that only Spaniards could go to service is was very sad. I should have just gone…I can’t imagine that they have passport control at a church plus I blend in everywhere. My sister even lost me in China when I was standing right next to her. There is something to be said about looking like everyone I guess.

more photos of Toledo

Madrid \ March 25 & 26, 2009

MADRID
The shuttle picked us up at the ridiculous hour of 3:45 am. Actually it was not as terrible as the hour sounds. It gave us time to get our coffee on at DIA and watch the early morning commuters do their thing. Both flights (Denver to Miami and Miami to Madrid) were more than comfortable. We scored on the second flight and got those great seats at the front of economy where you get all the extra leg room. The only downside to those seats are that you are stuck watching the ‘chosen ones’ in First Class get treated right.
We met up with the rest of the Family in Madrid as we were on different airlines because Cortney and I are on an Around the World ticket (which means you go funky, long-layover ways). I quick taxi ride later and we were passed out in the Calridge Hotel. More than a handful of hours later we were up and ready to check out the city. Didn’t get very far as we were all still beat. I always have a ton more trouble recovering from an Eastern travel route. Pretty much a spent day.
On our first night we drug ourselves to a tapas joint across from the hotel. We somehow managed to get ourselves a full set up of amazing tapas (everything from potatoes in a creamy garlic sauce, cheese sandwiches, fish and a few other yummies) and a round of drinks. In the end we had to carry the girls (five and six years old) back to the hotel. Talk about crashing out, wow, there was some sleepin’ going on in our rooms.


MADRID
March 27, 2009
Big tour day today. We try to walk as much as possible because you end up seeing so much more than jumping on the metro or taking a taxi. Wandered our way to the Museo de Prado and the girls saw a fantastic slide park off to the side…we actually managed to talk them into going later.
Our first stop was at the famous Museo de Prado which is in the Golden Triangle of museums (others near by include the Reina Sofia and the Thyssen-Bornemisza. This is one big museum. If you have a number of days in Madrid I would go every other day to the Prado for a few hours so you can really get a good look about. Pick up one of the free floor plans if you only have a day (as we did). Most of the must see pieces are on the main floor which help quite a bit. If you are in Spain you really should see the Velazquezs, Goyas even if it is just to say you saw it in Spain. A little bit about the Prado for all those ‘Art Dorks’ out there. The Prado means ‘meadow’ in Spanish and was built by Juan de Villanueva starting in 1918. I really must go back as we only had a couple hours (just not enough).
We are traveling with kids so the next stop that most people forget about was a park but in this case we hit up the ‘big mother park’ of Madrid Parque del Buen Retiro. Parque del Buen Retiro is basically the ‘Central Park’ of Madrid. The girls wanted to hit up a slide park to have a bit of a play about so off we went in search of such a place. As it turns out taking a bit of a Sunday stroll through Parque del Buen Retiro is a Madrid tradition much like tapas and outdoor café life.
The lake area of Parque del Buen Retiro has at its focal point the Alfonso XII’s Mausoleum with giant marble lions overlooking it. Cafes and buskers make this area of the park a fantastic spot to dine and kick back a vino before continuing your walk about. In the end we never did find the playground but a good time was had by all.
Very sad that we only had two days in Madrid, especially since those where our jetlag days. Thankfully, Madrid is a short easy, cheap trip from anywhere in the states. Another trip here is an absolute.

Ice Skating in Gorky Park \ Moscow, Russia

Last night I was thinking back on some of the best experiences I have had while traveling.  One that came to mind took place back in the Winter of 2002.  I am usually not good with dates or times of the year when things occur but this one is easy because it involves ice skating in Moscow with the snow a falling.

My sister Tisha and I had been traveling for about five months by the time we reach Moscow via the Trans-Siberian.  It was December something or other and wicked cold.  Way back when I had read the book and seen the movie 'Gorky Park', so of course, we had to track it down.  It was actually quit easy to find...just a 1/2 mile straight down from a metro stop. 

 The first time we visited Gorky Park it was just days before we headed off to St. Petersburg.  It was well into December so all the trees where bare and icicles hung everywhere.  Wandering around the meandering footpaths throughout the park you could tell how crazy fun this park must be in the Summer.  There where rides, food stalls, and entertainment venues everywhere (most closed for winter).   Both of us thought it pretty cool that we got to check out Gorky Park.  As we were leaving we notice a little old man ice skating on a small patch of ice.  We stopped to watch for a minute not thinking much about the ice he was on as we had been slip sliding our way around Russia for a couple weeks.  This ice was different than the chunky bits of ice we had fallen on repeatedly throughout our trip.  This graceful, old fellow was on a picture perfect piece of ice.  It the background we saw a Zamboni (esk) machine laying down water and smoothing ice. COOOOLLLL!

(a week later)

Upon our return from St. Petersburg we made a bee line for Gorky Park to see what that 'Super Cool Zamboni Thing' had done.  OH MY ICE SKATING GODDESS!  The entirety of Gorky Park was under ice.  All the walking paths were covered in a perfect coat of ice.  It was the middle of the afternoon and people from all walks of life were out on the ice.  Men in business suits, retired couples, tough looking kids, and anyone else you can imagine were out enjoying the ice.  

We worked our way to the main hub of activity and inside an old building in the middle of the park was an ice skate rental joint and concession stand.  You know what happened next....skates on.....and off we went.   Tisha learned to skate that day.  Can't imagine a better way to learn to ice skate than on the meandering walking er skating paths of Gorky Park in the dead of Winter in the middle of Moscow.  A few falls did occur...come on now.....there aren't any walls to grab onto in the middle of Gorky Park. Everyone looked as if they were out for a nice walk in the park except that there was a smooth, grace to their movements.

We had the best time ever.  Talk about a cheap day out.  Skate rentals and a hot chocolate after.  This simple, accidental experience is still one of the most memorable of my travel life.  

Travel Tunes \ Music inspired by, about, and related to Travel! (from Road Trip Junkie)

(photo: Graceland)
Songs About Destinations
Allentown (Billy Joel)
Amarillo (Neil Sedaka)
America (Neil Diamond)
American Pie (Don McLean)
Back in the USSR (Beatles)
Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)
Born on the Bayou (CCR)
By the Time I get to Arizona (Public Enemy)
Caribbean Queen (Billy Ocean)
Caribbean Wind (Bob Dylan)
Carolina in My Mind (James Taylor)
Chapel Hill (Sonic Youth)
China Girl (David Bowie)
Copacabana (Barry Manilow)
Detroit Rock City (Kiss)
Don't Cry for Me Argentina (Tim Rice & Andrew Lloyd Webber)
Down Under (Men at Work)
Free Man in Paris (Joni Mitchell)
Georgia on My Mind (Ray Charles made famous)
Goin' to Acapulco (Bob Dylan)
Graceland (Paul Simon)
Guns of Brixton (The Clash)
Holiday in Cambodia (Dead Kennedys)
I Think I'm Turning Japanese (The Vapors)
Istanbul (not Constantinople) (They Might Be Giants)
Kansas City\Hey Hey Hey Hey (Beatles)
Kentucky Rain (Elvis Presley)
Key Largo (Bertie Higgins)
Kids In America (Kim Wilde)
Kokomo (Beach Boys)
Leaving Las Vegas (Sheryl Crow)
Margaritaville (Jimmy Buffet)
Mexico (James Taylor)
Miami Vice Theme Music
Midnight Train to Georgia (Gladys Knight)
Mississippi Queen (Mountain)
My Head in Mississippi (ZZ Top)
Ohio (Crosby, Steels and Nash)
One Night in Bangkok (Murray Head)
One Way Ticket to Memphis (Bobby King)
Philadelphia (Bruce Springsteen)
Philadelphia Freedom (Elton John)
Planet Earth (Duran Duran)
Please Come to Boston (Dave Loggins)
Proud Mary (Ike & Tina Turner)
Rocky Mountain High (John Denver)
Surf City (Jan & Dean)
Surfin' USA (The Beach Boys)
Sweet Home Alabama (Lynyrd Skynard)
Sweet Home Chicago (Robert Johnson)
Take it Easy (The Eagles) 'standin' on a corer in Winslow, AZ'
Tennessee (Arrested Development)
Tennessee River Run (Darryl Worley)
The Devil Went Down to Georgia (Charlie Daniels)
The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (Vicki Lawrence)
This is England (The Clash)
Up on Cripple Creek (The Band)
Viva Las Vegas (Elvis)
Walking in Memphis (Marc Cohn)

Road Trippin' \ Vacation Tunes
Alphabet Street (Prince)
Blue Highway (Billy Idol)
Born to be Wild (Steppenwolf)
Born to Run (Bruce Springsteen)
Cars (Gary Numan)
Cool Rider (from Grease 2)
Free Ride (Jefferson Airplane)
Highway to Hell (AC\DC)
Hit the Road Jack (Ray Charles)
Holiday Road (Lindsay Buckingham)
Go West (Village People)
Greyhound Bus (Mick Abrahams)
I Can't Drive 55 (Sammy Hagar)
King of the Road (Roger Miller)
Life is a Highway (Rascal Flats)
Long Lonesome Highway (Michael Parks)
Long and Winding Road (The Beatles)
Magic Bus (The Who)
Midnight Rider (Allman Brothers)
Movin' Right Along from the Muppet Movie (Kermit the Frog)
No Particular Place to Go (Chuck Berry)
On the Road Again (Willie Nelson)
Open Road (Bryan Adams)
Rambling Man (Allman Brothers)
Roam (B52'S)
Route 66 (Bing Crosby)
Shakedown Street (Greatful Dead)
Slow Ride (Foghat)
Sweet Hitchhiker (CCR)
Take it Easy (The Eagles)
Take Me Home Country Road (John Denver)
The Gambler (Kenny Rogers)
The Wanderer (Dion DiMucci, 1962)
Traveling Band (CCR)
Truckin' (Greatful Dead)
Vacation (The Go Gos)
Ventura Highway (America)

Tunes about California
A Long December (Counting Crows)
All the Gold in California (Gatlin Brothers)
Beverly Hills (Weezer)
Born in East LA (Cheech & Chong)
California Dreamin' (The Mamas & The Papas)
California Girls (The Beach Boys)
California Paradise (The Runaways)
Californication (The Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Come Monday (Jimmy Buffet)
Do You Know the Way to San Jose (Dionne Warwick)
Free Fallin' (Tom Petty)
Going Back to Cali (LL Cool J)
Hotel California (The Eagles)
I Left My Heart in San Francisco (Tony Bennett)
It Never Rains in Southern California (Albert Hammond)
LA Woman (The Doors)
Little Old Lady From Pasadena (The Beach Boys)
Mendocino (The Sir Douglas Quintet)
Route 66 (Nat 'King' Cole)
San Francisco (Scott McKenzie)
Ventura Highway (America)

Tunes about New York
Angel of Harlem (U2)
Arthur's Theme (Christopher Cross)
Big Apple (Kajagoogoo)
Boy from New York City (made famous by Manhattan Transfer)
Cabbie on Crack (Ramones)
Lullaby of Broadway (from musical 42nd St)
No Sleet till Brooklyn (Beastie Boys)
New York, New York (Liza Minelli)
New York State of Mind (Billy Joel)
On Broadway (The Drifters)
Rockaway Beach (The Romones)
Subway Train (New York Dolls)
Walk on the Wild Side (Lou Reed)

Bands\Musicians with Travelie Names
Alabama
America
Asia
Atlanta Rhythm Section
Bauhaus
Bay City Rollers
Beach Boys
Berlin
Big Country
Blues Traveler
Boston
Box Car Willie
Buena Vista Social Club
Buffalo Springfield
Chicago
Europe
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
John Denver
Jefferson Airplane\Starship
Jets
Kansas
LA Guns
Linkin Park
Manhattan Transfer
Miami Sound Machine
New York Dolls
The Cars
Traveling Willburys
When In Rome

Great Drives (can't miss drives in the US)

Ready to take a drive? Check out the list below for fantastic drives just waiting for you. Please submit your favorite drives so this list can grow. Roll down the windows and enjoy.

ALABAMA
Natchez Trace Parkway (Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee)
scenictrance.com
Selma to Montgomery March Byway (Selma to Montgomery, Alabama)
Talladega Scenic Drive (Alabama)

ALASKA
Alaska Marine Highway
Glenn Highway (Anchorage to Glennallen)
Steward Highway (Anchorage to Steward)

ARIZONA
Highway 93 (Jasper National Park, Alberta Canada to Nogales AZ)
Kaibab Plateau-North Rim Parkway
Red Rock Scenic Byway
Route 66 (Chicago to LA)
Sky Island Scenic Byway

ARKANSAS
Crowley's Ridge Parkway (Missouri, Arkansas)
Great River Road (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Arkansas)
Highway 7
Talimena Scenic Drive (Oklahoma, Arkansas)

CALIFORNIA
Arroyo Seco Historic Parkway/Route 110 (LA to Pasadena)
Death Valley Scenic Byway
Lincoln Highway (New York to California)
Route 1, Pacific Coast Highway (San Juan Capistrano to El Rio, CA)
aka 'PCH'
Route 66 (Chicago to LA)
aka 'The Mother Road'\'The Main Road of America'\'Will Rogers Highway'
Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway (California to Oregon)
volcaniclegacybyway.org

COLORADO
Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway (Colorado & Utah)
dinosaurdiamond.org
Grand Mesa Scenic Byway
grandmesabyway.com
Mount Evans Scenic Byway (Idaho Springs to Summit of Mount Evans)
San Juan Skyway
Top of the Rockies Byway
topoftherockiesbyway.org
Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain National Park-Mark

CONNECTICUT
Merritt Parkway
merrittparkway.org
Route 169 (Norwich to Lisbon, Connecticut)

DELAWARE
Brandywine Valley Scenic Byway
thebrandywine.com

Florida
A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway (Volusia\Flagler County Line to Beverly Beach)
scenica1a.org
Tamiami Trail Highway (Tamiami Canal through Big Cypress National Preserve)

GEORGIA
Russell-Brasstown National Scenic Byway (Chattahoochee National Forest in NE Georgia)

IDAHO
International Selkirk Loop (British Columbia\Idaho\Washington)
selkirkloop.org
Northwest Passage Scenic Byway (traces historic route of Lewis & Clark)

*Click here for a fantastic list of Idaho drives

ILLINOIS
Great River Road (Wisconsin, Mississippi, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Arkansas)
Historic National Road (Maryland to Illinois)
Lincoln Highway (New York to California)
www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org
Ohio River Scenic Byway (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois)
Route 66 (Chicago to LA)

INDIANA
Historic National Road (Maryland to Illinois)
Lincoln Highway (New York to California)
Ohio River Scenic Byway (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois)

IOWA
Great River Road (Wisconsin to Arkansas)

KANSAS
Flint Hills Scenic Byway (Council Grove to Cassoday)

KENTUCKY
Country Music Highway (US 23)
Red River Gorge Loop (Nada Tunnel to Zachariah)

LOUISIANA
Creole Nature Trail (check out the website for details)
*www.creolenaturetrail.org
Longleaf Trail
Old Spanish Trail

MAINE
Acadia Loop Scenic Drive (Acadia National Park)

MARYLAND
Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway (Stevensville to Chesapeake City)
Historic National Road (Maryland to Illinois)

MICHIGAN
River Road Scenic Byway
Woodward Avenue (M-1)

MINNESOTA
Edge of the Wilderness Scenic Byway
Great River Road (Wisconsin to Arkansas)
North Shore Drive (Highway 61)
Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway

MISSISSIPPI
Great River Road (Wisconsin to Arkansas)
Natchez Trace Parkway (Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama)

MISSOURI
Crowley's Ridge Parkway (Missouri, Arkansas)
Little Dixie Highway of the Great River Road

MONTANA
Beartooth Highway (Wyoming, Montana)
Going to the Sun Road
Montana Scenic Loop

NEBRASKA
Bridges to Buttes Scenic Byway
Gold Rush Scenic Byway
Lewis & Clark Scenic Byway
Lincoln Highway Scenic Drive
Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway (Grand Island to Alliance)
* www.visitnebraska.org

NEVADA
Extraterrestrial Highway (Rachel only town in area of drive)
Lake Tahoe-Eastshore Drive
Las Vegas Strip

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Connecticut River Byway (Vermont, New Hampshire)
Kancamagus Scenic Byway

NEW MEXICO
El Camino Real (Santa Fe to Anthony)
Geronimo Trail Scenic Byway
Route 66 (Chicago to LA)
Santa Fe Trail National Scenic Byway (New Mexico, Colorado)
Turquoise Trail (Albuquerque to Santa Fe)

NEW YORK
Lakes to Locks Passage
*www.lakestolocks.com
Mohawk Towpath Byway
*www.mohawktowpath.com
New York State Route 73 Scenic Byway (Adirondack Mountains near Lake Placid)
Seaway Trail (Massena, NY to Seaway Trail, PA link on Lake Erie and on to Ohio line)
*www.seawaytrail.com

NORTH CAROLINA
Blue Ridge Parkway (Virginia, North Carolina)
Cherohala Skyway (Tennessee, North Carolina)

NORTH DAKOTA
Native American Scenic Byway (North Dakota, South Dakota)

OHIO
Amish Country Byway
Historic National Road (Maryland to Illinois)
Ohio River Scenic Byway (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois)

OKLAHOMA
Talimena Scenic Drive (Oklahoma, Arkansas)
Route 66 (Chicago to LA)

OREGON
Blue Mountain Scenic Byway
Cascade Lakes Highway
Coast Highway
Hells Canyon Scenic Byway
Lewis & Clark Trail
Oregon Trail

PENNSYLVANIA
Historic National Road (Maryland to Illinois)
Seaward Trail (Pennsylvania, New York)

SOUTH CAROLINA
Ashley River Road
Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway
State Highway 107

SOUTH DAKOTA
Custer Scenic Byway
Native America Scenic Byway (North Dakota and South Dakota)

TENNESSEE
Great River Road (Wisconsin, Missouri, Mississippi, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas)
Natchez Trace Parkway (Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama)

TEXAS
Road to Nowhere

UTAH
Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway (Utah, Colorado)
Trail of the Ancients (Utah, Colorado)
Zion National Park Scenic Byway

VERMONT
Connecticut River Byway (Vermont, Hew Hampshire)
Vermont Route 100 (Stanford to Newport, VT)

VIRGINIA
Blue Ridge Parkway (Virginia, North Carolina)
George Washington Memorial Parkway
Skyline Drive

WASHINGTON
International Selkirk Loop (Washington, Idaho)

WEST VIRGINIA
Highland Scenic Highway
Historic National Road (Maryland to Illinois)
Washington Heritage Trail

WISCONSIN
Great River Road (Wisconsin, Missouri, Mississippi, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Arkansas)

WYOMING
Beartooth Highway (Wyoming, Montana)
Big Spring Scenic Byway
Snowy Range Road