I'm off on a bike ride in southern Spain and Portugal. I'm flying into Malaga, in the Costa del Sol region of Spain, and flying home nearly 2 months later from Porto, Portugal. In case there is any confusion, this has nothing to do with the Camino de Santiago.

The logic behind this trip is a bit sketchy. In all honesty, my first plan was to visit South Korea and Japan, but I got scared off by the proximity to North Korea and the current politics surrounding that region. Perhaps that was an over-reaction, but I don't want to spend the trip worrying about it. I was looking for a tour in a place where the weather wouldn't have turned to winter, and where costs could be controlled with some camping instead of hotel stays. I like camping, especially away from the noise of nearby campers. I've learned that wild camping is not legal in Spain. That reflects on the planning that went into this trip.

I picked out southern Europe, and then started looking for air fares. I wanted to avoid flying into or out of exceptionally busy cities, like the European capitals. The fares on the major airlines to the smaller cities were really high. One way fares were three times the round trip fares and kept going up. Then I found that Norwegian Airlines is starting flights from Denver and had reasonable fares to Malaga, Spain. I bought a ticket, and added a package that included a pre-assigned seat, a meal, and one checked bag. I also added my bicycle. The weight limit for a checked bag is 20 kilos, and for the bicycle is 25 kilos. Despite the S&S couplers, I'm checking my bike as a bike to get the higher weight limit, and will benefit from the easier re-assembly after the flight. The cost would have been comparable. So I'm flying out of Denver into Malaga. I'm still not sure how I'll get myself and my bike to Denver. For my return trip, I'm scraping the bottom of my frequent flyer miles and flying home to Colorado Springs from Porto, on United Airlines. I've scheduled the flight home to allow me one week at home to enroll in health insurance (a.k.a. Obamacare) before open enrollment for 2018 ends.

That's how I ended up with a tour that will go from south to north as winter moves into the northern hemisphere. Hopefully the coastal weather in Portugal will be comfortable as the Spanish mountains get colder. Furthermore, I'll publicly acknowledge that this trip would have been simpler if I had just flown into Lisbon or perhaps Madrid and planned a loop tour. Maybe next time.

Having said that I'll be camping, I booked three nights in a guest house in Malaga for my arrival. No promises on camping, although I'll be carrying full camping gear. I'll see what's available as I go.