Aguilas

We rode 37 kilometers through a mountain range. It was so hot out that we rode in shorts and tee shirts and gulped our water down. We also hit our  rode1000 kilometres on Seth's bike computer. That was a great victory for the Spidergoats. We cruzed going 60 kilometres down the mountain. Seth was worried he was going to get a speeding ticket. We rode into Augulas. After treating ourselves to a cervasa, cafe con leche, and a coke, we looked for a camp spot. We came across a abandoned house overlooking the sea up top on a small hill right outside the town. There are 2 guys living here, one German and one Spanish.The place has a huge terraced yard and we asked if it would be cool to pitch our tents. They said no problem so we set up camp. We were awoken by huge gusts of wind. We packed up and went into town and ended up at the house again. This time we cleaned up a room and put our tents inside. Perfect shelter from the wind. We've been here 5 days now and made friends with the guy's next door. One walked here and the other one bicycled. They said this is paradise to them. It sure is. A free house to live in on the beach, they work in town, have fresh collected rainwater to do laundry in, wake up to the sunrise and see the sunset. We definitely see so much potential for this property. We've been cleaning it out and picking up all the garbage around. Also while basking in the sun, playing guitar, Seth kicking his soccer ball, and making crafts. So nice to chill for awhile.

Cartagena

We loved Torrevieja so much that we decided to stay another day. We found the all time spot on the beach to sleep. Joe and Seth set up their hammocks between two palm trees and slept with a tarp over them to keep warm. I slept in the tent for it was far too cold for me. I'm not as brave as those two. We awoke to a drizzle of rain and overcast day so instead of basking in the sun, we rode on. Later we realized that it must have poured rain everywhere else since before we knew it our bikes were coated with mud. So much mud that our tires on our bikes wouldn't move anymore. We had to set up camp since the sun was setting fast. We found a spot right outside a military air force base in a semi dry field. We slept through the night with creepy noises all around us. Sketchy spot. The next day was a flat ride into Cartagena. Cartagena was full of fancy dressed people, tourists, and lots of expensive shops. We tried to find a hostel but realized there are none there. We ended up in a Arab neighborhood in a cheap hotel with no hot water. We stayed in Cartagena another day to check out a old Roman theater, Roman bull fighting ring, and their still uncovering old Roman ruins to this day. So neat to see. Fancy town on the ocean with lots of Roman history. This blog didn't send earlier but it's before La Azohia.

La Azohia

We headed out of Cartagena and into the mountains. We rode a hard 27 kilometers with the wind against us and a slow gradual hill with two major hills to top it off. The view around us and the fun downward incline made us feel like a motorcycle for a brief moment as we arrived in La Azohia. We got hooked up with a help ex that let us stay at her place for free. No help intended. We're so grateful for Laia to trust us and give our family the most serene place to cozy into. She has a beautiful house a block away from the beach to view the ocean. This is just what our family needed. We got to catch up on laundry, sew some items that needed to be fixed, bask in the sun, and watch some t.v. Just relax basically. We got to stay for 3 days and headed into the huge mountain range tomorrow. Mountains from here on out.

Torrevieja

We cycled onto Elche not too far out of Alicante. Stopped to enjoy the peace and quite of being out of the city life. Next we had a grueling hill along the freeway in which I walked up and Joe and Seth cycled up. Now I have no shame in walking. I did at first. I would brake down and cry that I couldn't make it. My packs on my bike out way my weight so it's hard on my knees. If I walk all us good. I take in the scenery around me and try not to think of the hill I'm going up. Everyone has a breaking point. Hills are mine. The thing is I made it in the end and then I feel a great accomplishment. We made it to Torrevieja and Seth had a flat tire from popping up so many curbs with so much weight on his bike. He's kid. Still likes going off curbs and trying to pop wheelies. The problem is we have 4 inner tubes with patches already in them. We fixed 2 of them and tried them out but in the end they were still no good. Very frustrating since the sun was going down and we had no idea where we were going to set up camp. We went on with Seth's semi flat tire and rode onto find a spot for the night. As we rode we realized how big Torrevieja is. We usually ride to the end of town and camp but there was no end to this town for it was already dark. These are worst case conditions because it's extremely hard to find a good spot in the dark. We were all tired and frustrated trying to find a spot. We were in the city housing with no open spaces. As we rode on into the night we finally found a camping spot in between two neighborhoods with a open field. We set up by a tree and called it a night. Woke up early so no one would know we were there. We went into town and got ham n cheese croissants and cafe con leches on the beach. Now we are relaxing on the beach and sunbathing while Seth is fishing for our dinner.

Alicante

We spent New Years in Alicante at a hostel. Alicante is a big city with a 2000 year old city on top of a hillside built into the rocks. It has a marina with really fancy yachts to old ships. There's rock n roll bars with live music and a punk scene here so we fit right in. Alicante also has cool record shops where we even saw Joe's record here for sale. Too cool. Most people speak English and there's such a nice relaxed feeling all around town. We saw live music outside the central market and a huge firework show during the day to celebrate New Years. Seth and I went ice skating in a homemade rink in a square. We had a blast for it's been too many years since we've done that. Later on at our hostel, a huge family party was going on in which they invited all of us to join in. We feasted on traditional dishes of food, desserts, live music with dancing, and great conversations. The best New Years yet.