I turned Spain’s desert into a Spaghetti Western on two wheels – Our bikepacking adventure through the Spanish Lapland

Hello my name is Nico, some might recognize me from ‘The Balkans Mirage: A Journey on Wheels’ I made two years ago.

This time, my girlfriend and I explored a gravel itinerary in the middle of Spain called “Montanas Vacias”. All the info are available online, thanks to the creator of this route Ernesto : [https://montanasvacias.com/](https://montanasvacias.com/)

“There is a place in Spain with an area twice the size of Belgium, with a population density similar to Lapland or the Scottish Highland. It is the Spanish Lapland.”

This drove our curiosity! You are travelling trough villages considered some of the most beautiful ones in the country, you will cross desert lands, huge forest, multiple national parks, 2000m passes, many refuges and a lot of jàmon.

About the short film. We set out with the idea of documenting our journey as a contemplative video. I didn’t want to put pressure on myself regarding which shots to capture or following a strict script like I did with ‘The Balkans Mirage’. In the end, I think it was only after a week of being immersed in this arid landscape that we came up with the idea of blending Western and bikepacking. This improvised decision also explains why the short film is divided into two distinct sections.

Photos by @amandine

A Fistful of Water : [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9blLqjoyC_E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9blLqjoyC_E)

Awesome colour grading!