Urbasa to Landa (07/09)
A thick fog settled in overnight and it was quite cool in the morning as I packed my gear up. It was only another 60km to Arrasate and I was well ahead of schedule so there was no rush at all. As I´d climbed up to Urbasa the prior evening I got to free wheel all the way down, nice way to start the day. It was very foggy up to the pass but as I descended I came out of the cloud and the view opened up nicely.
The landscape continued to take my breath away, with Urbasa on my left and cliffs on my right, vultures soaring and pretty little villages every few kilometers.
From the road I saw a huge cave so I rode up the road towards it and after a small hike found the cave from which a small river flowed. Had lunch there and a little siesta before jumping back on the bike.
It was quite early when I got to Landa, so I parked the bike, had a walk about and a swim in the lake and chilled under the massive oak tree´s. Cooked dinner on the park benches and set up camp for the last time, doing everything slowly and methodically.
Landa to Arrasate (08/08)
And so it was, my last morning on tour for a while, I woke up to a very misty scene, the lake completely covered by mist, the water smooth as a mirror. Again, slowly and methodically I set about my morning routine of packing and having a bite to eat as the mist slowly burnt away. Water birds came to life too and soon it was filled with their chattering.
I had a gentle climb up to a pass before a long descent past these majestic mountains which looked so huge to me then with which I was soon to become very familiar with – Aitzorrotz, Aitzkorri, Udalaitz, Anboto…I was blown away freewheeling down that hill, past towns I would soon learn how to pronounce their names – Eskoriatza, Aretxabaleta!
And what a few months it was to be…
