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42 Days On The Iberian Peninsula

A picture a day from our 2021 self-guided tour of the Iberian Peninsula. The image featured above was our planned route (overnight stops identified with a red circle). Our plan had us flying into Barcelona, and week later flying to Granada. At Granada we rented a car and followed the course we made in our mind (and on paper). We accomplished most of what we set out to do with the exception of a day-trip to Tangier, Morocco. The passenger ferry to Morocco was not operating due to COVID-19, so it turned into a day trip to Gibraltar.

We took more than 5,000 photographs on this trip. Thankfully, film and film processing is fast and inexpensive these days. We can’t imagine the cost, size, weight (and wait) of taking and having 5,000 Kodachrome photographs using days-of-old technology. Selecting a single photo to represent the day is not an easy task, but here is our attempt…

Day 1: Barcelona, Spain — La Rambla and Mercado de La Boqueria
Day 2: Barcelona, Spain — Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia
Day 3: Barcelona, Spain — Park Güell, a 45-acre UNESCO World Heritage Site, designed by Gaudi
Day 4: Montserrat, Spain — Abbey and Monastery of Montserrat in the mountains northwest of Barcelona
Clouds of Montserrat
Day 5: Barcelona, Spain — The Cathedral of Barcelona
Day 6: The Mediterranean Sea — Sailing on the Maggie May off the coast of Barcelona
Maggie May of Barcelona
Day 7: Granada, Spain — View of Alhambra from San Nicolás Viewpoint
Day 8: Granada, Spain — Blazing sunset from our room overlooking the city
Day 9: Nerja, Spain — eastward view from “The Balcony of Europe”
Day 10: Ronda, Spain — View of Puente Nuevo (the new bridge) from our apartment
Puente Nuevo Shines At Night
Day 11: Setenil de las Bodegas, Spain — a town built into cliffs and caves
Day 12: Ronda, Spain — Alameda del Tajo, a park with balconies suspended over the cliffs of Ronda
Day 13: Gibraltar (UK) — One of the locals sunning himself near the top of The Rock
Day 14: Seville, Spain — Flamenco show in a private residence
Day 15: Seville, Spain — Cathedral of Seville as viewed from our apartment
Seville Paseo
Day 16: Carvoeiro, Algarve, Portugal — View from our room at O Castelo Guest House
Day 17: Benagil Cave, Algarve Coast, Portugal
Day 18: Lagos, Algarve, Portugal — near Perttu’s Cove
Day 19: Lisbon, Portugal — Fonte Luminosa, near our apartment at Alameda Station
Day 20: Lisbon, Portugal — Praça do Comércio
Day 21: Lisbon, Portugal — Santuário de Cristo Rei (Sanctuary of Christ the King)
Day 22: Belem, Lisbon, Portugal — Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries)
Day 23: Sintra, Portugal — Pena Palace
Day 24: Nazaré, Portugal — Praia do Norte (home of the 100-foot waves)
The Surf of Praia do Norte, Nazaré
Day 25: Óbidos, Portugal — Castelo de Óbidos (9th century)
Day 26: Coimbra, Portugal — Joanina Library at the University of Coimbra
Day 27: Porto, Portugal — View from our apartment on the Vila Nova de Gaia side of the Duoro River
Day 28: Porto, Portugal — View of the Vila Nova de Gaia side of the Duoro River
Day 29: Pinhão, Portugal — View of Duoro Valley from our lunch table at Casal de Loivos
Day 30: Off the grid near Castelo Melhor, Portugal — Pool Day with the Duoro River below
Day 31: Salamanca, Spain — Plaza Mayor
Day 32: Toledo, Spain — Santa Iglesia Catedral Primada de Toledo
Day 33: Consuegra, La Mancha, Spain — Don Quixote’s Windmills
Day 34: Madrid, Spain — The Bear and Strawberry Tree on Puerta del Sol
Day 35: Toledo, Spain — Sunset from the Parador de Toledo
Day 36: Segovia, Spain — Alcázar (Palace) de Segovia
Day 37: Burgos, Spain — Burgos Cathedral (13th century), along the El Camino de Santiago
Day 38: Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France — Basque commune founded in the 12th century
Day 39: Somewhere in the French Pyrenees near Ossès, France
Day 40: Bilbao, Spain — The Guggenheim Museum
Day 41: Castro Urdiales, Spain — Church of Santa María de la Asunción and Santa Ana Castle
Day 42: View from Cannon Etxea Restaurant overlooking Bermeo, Spain

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Image Credits: All images by Patti Rowland and Ron Rowland, September and October, 2021

12 thoughts on “42 Days On The Iberian Peninsula”

  2. Ingrid

    Ah, this brings back memories! My favourite of all is the sunset over Granada: unforgettable! Also the Ronda pictures really capture the atmosphere of the place.

    Reply
    1. Ron Rowland

      There will be more photos of the Granada sunset forthcoming. I stood on the balcony a full 45 minutes taking pictures of this event. This was one of the first taken that evening.

      Reply
  5. Anonymous

    Incredible photography both in beauty and composition… what a magnificent trip and I thank you for sharing…

    Reply

  6. Pingback: Driving the Duoro Valley - Navigating This Thing We Call Life

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