October 12, 2021
Bilbao to Vizcaya Bridge and back to Bilbao
What are we going to do to celebrate our wedding anniversary on our last day in Bilbao?
Why not go to the romantic city of Salamanca? But first a ride through the city and out to see the Vizcaya Bridge, commonly called the Puente Colgante (the hanging bridge) at the mouth of the Bilbao Estuary. It was designed by the Basque, Alberto Paladin, one of Gustave Eiffel's apprentices and completed in 1893. It was the first bridge in the world to carry people and traffic on a high suspended gondola so it would let the tall masted ships through to the Port of Bilbao. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2006.
Riding around Bilbao takes time as we are constantly stopping to take in the views and photograph the beautiful buildings, old and new. The guidebooks say the city has been transformed in the last 20 years, which is evident in the downtown with is restored classics and avant garde new structures, as well as the declining industrial on the edges. From downtown, we headed out of the city on the south side of the estuary, mostly on amazing paved bike trails, first along the water and then inland from the port, past Bilbao's convention centre and the steel mills. Wide pedestrian/cycling trails have been built suspended beside highways curving around headlands before they took us high up above the town of Portugalete, then downhill to the centre of town and the bridge we came to see.
October 12 is Spain's national day so everyone was out, enjoying a day off playing in the parks with kids, riding bikes or hanging out at the busy cafe/bar patios. We had worked up an appetite, found an empty table in Portugalete and in no time we were sipping glasses of chilled white wine and tasting pixtos/tapas -squid and oven-roasted red pepper; olives and green pepper with anchovies; and potatoes brava/Basque fries. Ann says the fries were made exactly the way her mom used to made them as a treat sometimes, when they came home from school for lunch. Delicious and great memories!
Time was slipping by so we gathered our things and cycled to the waterfront to see the famous bridge. We hoped to be able to ride the gondola to the north side of the river and cycle the other side heading back. Amazingly, there was no line up and for 80 cents each we floated across the river. Lovely. Thinking of the 5:30 bus, we zipped back, passing through a long section of industrial portand that was devoid of trucks on the national holiday.
Packing the bikes is getting easier with practice, but took a bit longer than anticipated so we were the last ones on at 5:29! The bus is comfortable and it was a treat to climb out of the city with no effort and see the scenery change so quickly from the lush, coastal, forested hills to the wide open and much drier plateau. There is even a plug in for the iPad so we can catch up writing the blog as we speed through the night, wondering what this landscape and Salamanca will look like in the daylight.
We wanted to be in Salamanca for our anniversary and made it to the Plaza Major just before midnight!
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Today's ride: 40 km (25 miles)
Total: 1,450 km (900 miles)
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Super congratulations to you I believe it is your 50th this year! And still cycling!!
3 years ago
3 years ago