Greece to Italy,Monaco,France,Andorra,Spain,GBZ,Marocco and San marino...

Italia....



Monaco....


France...


Andorra...


Espana...


Giblartar...



Marocco...


San Marino...

The route Polygyros to Ioannina.


Hello!!This is me(zandesiro) and my Varadero...
First stop to have a coffe in Egnatia motorway parking in Greece...


View some nice scenery of village near by the motorway...
Metsovo village in the background...


And finally arrive in Ioannina city to stay for the night and have some drinks bierwith my friend George, also a Varadero owner, and previous owner of my Varadero....

Suddenly my phone rings...

I was the ticket agendy and informs me that the ship to Italy has a delay...
From 08.30 is going to depart in 13.30...."ok i said no problem with that"...

The route Ioannina to Igoumenitsa port.

And get onboard to the ferry to Italy and the port of Venice...
Waiting to get on board to the ferry....

The ferry getting away from the port...









Make some new friends and have some relaxing beers....









The night comes and we go to sleep with the help of a set earplugs because the noise in the cabin was very loud....

The route Venice to San Bartolomeo Al Mare.

As always the Venice is beautiful....

Romantic...

San Marco square full of tourist....

As i write above the delay of the ferry took me out of schedule and in first i had to be in Venice port in 09.30 and now i was 14.30...

My plan was to stay somewere in France but the sun was to go down about 20.00 and i don't like to ride at night...So i have to make as more kms as i can with the daylight and find a camping to stay for the night...

I say goodbye my friend after a 150km ride together...

I help another Greek guy,looking for directions...


Some hours later i find a camping in a small village called San Bartolomeo Al Mare.I make a shower and have some beers and pizza..



Then i took some night photos!






After those photos, back to my tent for a sleep....

The route San Bartolomeo Al Mare(IT) to Perols (FR)

Wake up in the morning!

Take a breakfast and ready to Monaco and Cannes...

The camping was very nice...

Hit the road...

Enter to France!

And after awhile in Monaco....

Zandesiro with Monte Carlo background...






Souvenir photo in front of the casino before the drivers of the rich guys cars send me away....Im a poor motorcyclist i dont belong here...!(thank god).

A lot of rich cars around there...
Then i notice this....

??

Then this....
I was lucky In 4 days in this roads that i was riding,starts the Formula 1 championship....:

Cameras one meter above my head...

In the piste..



Good all this but, because of the F1 i have a traffic jam about 2,5 hours in the Monte Carlo....

Time goes by so i deside to see the city of Nice and ride my Varadero for the rest of the day....




If you have a ferrari this is a way to see the traffic lights....Another one in one meter from the ground...



Seaside road...

Big hotels...
In those 2 cities i see the the most Ferrari (with blondes codrivers) and other supercars in my life....
I spell inside my helmet "zandesiro this is no place for you" ......Supercars,yachts,casinos expensive hotels and other....
But i was rich too....Turn the throttle of the Varadero and the motor running to continue my trip...!:mchappy:
Riding for some hours and the sun starts falling...
Time to find a camping...
Yes, but my gps doesnt have the camping list of France...So i turn to the best informers that you can find on every trip...The gas stations....
I ask for camping and send me to a nice quite camping near Montpellier....




Tent-shower and visit the port for something to eat and some internet to chat with my family...
This is the end of day 4.

The route Perols(FR) to Andorra la Vella.
24 of May and today is my birthday....
I always want to visit the small coutry of Andorra, i was 1 day before the Varadero International Meeting so i said to stay one night in the Pyrenees mountain country of Andorra...





Getting close....




Small villages...






Castles...




Valleys....




The previus photo was from down there...




Forests...




Bridges...




Beautiful ladies...






Col de Puymorens 1915m.








Up we go...





Then....





Port d'Envalira 2408m.





Snow on May...






Downhill...




Hotels everywere...




Cheap fuel for the Europoean Stantarts...






Andorra la Vella.A lot of shops,thanks for the very low taxes that Andorra has...!
Shopping some gifts for the family.....And because it was my birthday my gift was a night staying in a hotel, in the right of the hotel was a nice pizzeria and after a pizza and some beers bier i was getting some rest...
Sleeping in a bed.....Yeah...

The route Andorra la Vella to Tamarit (SP).
Take a breakfast in the Hotel and start searching a post office to send my gifts-souvenirs back to my country...
I made it finally and i go back to hotel to start my trip to the camping of the Varadero international meeting (about 250 km)...
After a long search in the costums for alcochol and smokes i was in the country of Spain..







First images of Spain...










Yellow fields in spring colors...







Arriving in the Varadero Interntional meeting and get some rest for the afternoon barbeque to know each other...





Make some very good friends...





Eat some of the Catalonian traditional food....





And we have a short briefing about the program of the meeting...

The night comes and i have practice a lot my english:smartass: so i go back to my tent for sleep with a lot of Dutch tents around me...

The route Tamarit (0 kms)
The Saturday i was a lazy guy and i do not do anything just talking with my Dutch friends....




After a walk to the beach we admire the Castle of Tamarit...!

For the football (soccer) fans, Andre Iniesta was married here!!



I jealous this guy...



We have a dinner in a restaurant near the castle.



With the night lights the castle was very beautiful....


Saturday, and the people of Barcelona Full the camping.

In the whole camping we have our tent near to the most noised and loud family....

4 youngs dont stop running up and down until 02.30 and their parents didn't say anything to be quiet....



Here is the troublemakers

....Once again the yellow magic earplugs do their work and i sleep like a baby...

The route Tamarit to Tamarit.
We have our breakfast in the morning and today lets go to see the city of Taragonna
See below!



Impressive!!??



There was an ancient Roman theatre.....




End of May and people take a swim in the sea...



Full of people....Sunday non working day...




Buy some cheap fuel.....



This little trees back there was my camping in Tamarit...



In 16.00 there was a visit to the Poplet monastery which is an world heritage list monument of UNESCO...


























Awesome place founded in 1151!!



Some Vardero owners...(don't forget is a Varadero International meeting...)
Truly worth to pay a visit...



The way back through Catalonian small villages...



The road quality was very good...



Catalonian view.


This, in a short way, was the Varadero meeting in Targonna....Tomorrow start searching for new destination.
And i don't know where to go.....

The route Tamarit to Puerto de Mazarron.
Monday morning i was in a dilemma....!


What route to take??


2 choices.


First choice, go to Barcelona(80 km) for one day,and the next ferry to Italy....

Second choice route of 1000 km until Giblartar take a ferry to Marocco (tanger) stay 4 days and then ferry to Italy(Genova)...


For the second choice start counting my money....
3 ferrys Tarifa-Tanger(to Marocco),TangerMED-Genova(to Italy),and Ancona-Igoumenitsa(to Greece)...My money was in the limit for doing this....


But in the back of my head the choice to step on Africa was something amazing!


For the choice one to Barcelona have no problem.




Start packing...



Say goodbye to my good friend from Portugal...


Until the crossroad i don't know where to go....
Left for Barcelona...
Right for Giblartar...
After one minute of thinking i was turn right to Giblartar and Marocco.
"Its now or (maybe) never".....


So i start ride my Varadero to the south Spain...





Get through the orange fields of Valencia...

For the next 150 km i see only orange trees....



After 500km i find a camping in Puerto de Marazzon...


Nice seaside village...!



Pitch my tent have a beer and something to eat and after a chat on internet with my family i was going to sleep..

The route Puerto de Mazarron to La Alcaidesa.
Today Full program, i am visiting the "Desiertos de Tabernas"....Is an area that in the 60s-70s filming western movies and some others like Intiana Jones...





In the road again...






Spain motorway..


Secondary road...



In those 2 photos you see the only trees i see in my ride the landscape was only rocks and desert...



Rocks...



Some castles...



There is the cirquit of Almeria.



I think i am close to the studios.



There was a gravel road about 2km....




And i meet this cowboy..!
16 EUROS TICKET include a carriage with horses tour....
















I feel that i was in another time...!!



Be careful or........



On the carriege....






Have a drink in the Saloon...



The fort...

Now i don't miss a chance and i have a ride with my ironhorse Varadero in the studios...



To the Chapel.



To the Bank.










Mexican village.


I left the studios full of images in my mind....



Took a souvenir pic...By police officers...




And hit the road again...



Clever sign...



The landscape starts to get more green...



Suddenly i realize that i was in an area much,much better...



Expensive houses...




..........






Golf clubs must be over 50!!!




And in the horizon i see this.....











Lets get closed to the "rock".



Awesome....



Giblartar is a UK country...And there is an airfield and a road run through it with traffic lights!!!
One side...



And the other....






Yeah.....



I was a little bit tired to get out of Giblartar after fill up my Varadero a lot of people with bicycles and motos wait for the costum control...





After all this i found a cool hippie camping and stay for the night...

Tomorrow Marocco and first step on Africa...

The route La Alcaidesa to Tanger MED.
I make my coffe and enjoy the nature around me....Say goodbye to the hippie oldtimer owner (i think) of the camping and hit the road once again,big day today "Africa"...






The road was full of big trees....


Wind generators beside the road....True there was a lot of winds on the road to Tarifa.


This is what i mean about the strong winds.I was in Tarifa to get the ferry to Tanger.













Take my tickets and i have 2 hours until the ferry departs so i make a tour in the most southern point of Spain...


A photo and lets get to the costums ready to get on the ferry...




We get on board and in the lobby there was passport control and some paperwork for the visa of Marocco.


We leaving Tarifa.










Tanger port...After the fast paperwork in the costums i was in Marocco...
I talk with a couple of germans that we was together in the ferry earlier and they told me that there was a ferry to Italy today...
I ask them from where an they told me from the new port the Tanger MED.






We start to ride together for 50km to find out if there was a ferry today...








We get to the Tanger MED and in the ticket office they told me that there was a ferry to Genova(IT) that day at 23.00.
The ticket office will be open at 16.00,there was enough time to get back to Tanger and later i will deside if i'm going to stay or leave Marocco...


I was in Tanger and there was a small sandstorm brings all the sand inside my helmet...




Photo infront of the Tanger port.


Stop!!


This is the signs that lead you to the Tanger MED port.Hard to find but...




Buy some souvenirs and i left Tanger...Stop to a fuel station and fill up with cheap fuel my Varadero and take a map of Marocco...In my GPS i don't have a map of Marocco because when i plan my trip i wasn't thinking to make it so far that i was....


And HERE was the place that i have to take a decision (again).
Left the way to Rabat and 4-5 days in Marocco until the next ferry....
Right port MED and today ferry to Genova (IT).
Start counting my money....
In the limit my money if i was going back....300 euros above my budget if i was staying in Marocco the next 4-5 days...
I deside to go to the port to leave to Italy tonight.
But i made a promise that some day i will come back Marocco...


Have my ticket for the 2 days and 2 nights ferry to Italy...




Waiting to departure with other bikers.




We look the Italian enployees searching for illegal immigrants on the trucks..


And then, this bikers come...There was a couple.
I ask them on the ferry and told that there was for 3 weeks in the mountains of Marocco....I envy them so much...


The time to get onboard come...
And the ferry get sail for Genova (IT).

The route Tanger MED to Genova.
After a not to good sleep in the cabin because of the 3 other Maroccean guys that snoring and argue between them (yes my yellow earplugs do their job once again) the ship was closed to Barcelona port around 07.00 in the morning...






The question and the problem was that the ferry from 07.00 departure in 14.30 why so much hours of delay?
Because the internet was very expensive in the ferry i send a message to home to my wife to tell me what time departs the next ferry that im gona take....Italy to Greece....From Ancona to Igoumenitsa....The answer was "2 depatures one in 13.30 and one in 16.00".....Nice!!(get in your mind those 2 deparures for the next post:)...
The ferry get to genova in 09.00 so the 16.00 departure to Greece fit better to me after 500+ km that i'm go to do tomorrow...
I was boring all this hours on the ferry so i go to my cabin!
I have a book with me so the time run quickly...
The night comes i drink my 2 beers and prepare my earplugs for another night with my Maroccean friends!!

The route Genova to San Marino.
The ferry get to Genova at 09.00 and with my Varadero start to ride in the Italian highway "autostrada"....




The kilometers was boring,traffic jams almost outside of all the major cities on my way to Ancona...


I saw the San Marino sign....From last year in my trip to Alps i try to visit this small country but also this year i couldnt visit again because my GPS informs me that i gonna get to my destination in 15.30 and the ferry departs in 16.00....Maybe next year....
So i was in Ancona port and infront of the ticket office of Superfast ferries...
"Hello, A ticket to Greece,one person in a cabin and a bike for igoumenitsa port please...!".
"For tomorrow?The today ferry has depart in 13.30...."
"But isn't a depart in 16.00??".
"No!The 16.00 depart is only for the high season in the summer."
I was talkless for 10 sec I said "thank you" and i leave...(Never left a woman to do your job!!).
To stay for a night in Ancona there wasn't a problem but.....Then in my mind comes an idea....SAN MARINO here i come!!!
I turn back for a 100km and....





Welcome to San Marino!
There is no camping in San Marino i book a hotel make a shower and hurry to see the beautiful old city...






I see a middle age dance and acting truly amazing...!








The old city is awesome...!




The city hall....


Thats me....




After all this the same pizza.beer,internet and beautysleep....
Tomorrow ferry to Greece!!(Home).

The route San Marino to Ancona port.


Breakfast at the hotel and get out for some more photos...


The view from my room....
120km was quick and i make it to Ancona port....




Have my ticket at last!!I find some guys take place in a classic rally with cars and motorcycles and wait the ferry to depart to Greece..
The superfast ferry departs and my trip almost ends....

The route Igoumenitsa port to Polygyros.

The known route, for the Greek people, Igoumenitsa to Polygyros...




I made a stop in the Metsovo village (you see some photos in the first post of the trip) to buy some good traditional cheeses....
And with the speed of 100km/h continue my trip.....Is like i don't want to go back home....




In finally i like the solo trip....There is something mysterious, and crossing a lot, through your mind when you are alone...
Start searching for the next trip hope to be more adventurus....
Sorry for my mistakes in english language....
Thank you all for reading my ride report....
Zandesiro…

Zandesiro, Thanks for the excellent report, it was a good trip with good photos. Your english was perfectly clear, no problems for anyone to understand, you should be very proud. For most of us Americans, our only Greek word is gyro! (except for Astoria/Queens in New York, where everyone is Greek)

Fantastic ride, report and awesome pics. Thanks for sharing your adventures

Bravo re, it was a fantastic journey. Thanks for sharing,

Thank you all!!