ANDALUCÍA – Solo Bikepacking the World #12

From May 2022 until June 2024, I went on a 41,500km solo bicycle journey around the world, that took me through 26 countries.

This is the second episode from Europe, as I travel through the Southernmost autonomous community of Spain: Andalucia. This region was incredibly beautiful, full of spectacular mountains, peaceful forests, dry deserts, and ancient towns.

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Route Map:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52219336

Gear List:

0:00 Intro
0:17 Paths and highways into Spain
1:17 Road to Seville
2:29 Pastoral hills to Puerto Serrano
4:08 Via verde de la Sierra
6:06 White towns route
7:16 Ronda New Years
8:07 Spectacular day in the mountains
12:18 El Chorro to Rio Frio
14:05 Olive grove hills forever to Granada
15:39 Granada to Guadix on GR-3201
18:09 La Calahorra
19:52 Tabernas Desert
22:53 Cabo de Gata
26:17 Full moon hippie temple

Andalucia, a cycling journey that 
took me through wild mountains, whispering forests, sunbaked desert, along 
the glistening Mediterranean coast, through endless olive groves stretching to the horizon, 
incredible landscapes that felt out of paintings, and magnificent towns carved from history. 
Leaving Portugal, I boarded a ferry across the Guadiana River and began the journey 
through Spain from the town of Ayamonte. Immediately I found myself in the Via Verde de 
Littoral, one of Spain’s remarkable greenway rail trail routes, watching wildlife and wonder 
amongst the coastal marshes. For a brief stretch, I lost myself in the quiet joys of nature 
and peaceful pedalling. But the trail quickly became an impassible path of mud and 
puddles, and I returned back to the highway. [Music] To my delight, the road riding in Spain 
was the best I found anywhere in the world. By law, motorists must slow 20 km an hour below the 
speed limit and give 1.5 m of space to pass. This law is strictly enforced and as such, sharing the 
road here was an easy and pleasant experience. I spent the night in the town of Gibraleon, 
waking to quiet streets and fresh air. then rode out through quiet town 
roads and peaceful rural paths. [Music] Passing through the town of Niebla, I 
cycled below the walls of its medieval castle and crossed the Rio Tinto. Its waters stained blood 
red from centuries of mining upstream. [Music] By afternoon, the road unrolled into 
long stretches of quiet highway. [Music] And finally, the city of Seville lay 
before me from a viewpoint on a hilltop. To my surprise and delight, I stumbled right into the middle of a parade of the show 
of the giraffes, an animal operetta. I watched this surreal experience for a while, 
then booked into a hostel for the night. [Music] Only spending one night, I took an 
early morning bike exploration of the city, passing the Seville Cathedral, and iconic 
Plaza de Espana, before turning to ride south. The bike paths through the city were lined with 
Seville orange trees, branches heavy with fruit, and I rode quiet roads out of the 
suburbs as the fog began to clear. [Music] The afternoon was all spent on the Autovia 
375, riding through endless rolling hills of farmland and pasture until I reached the 
town of Puerto Serrano at dusk. [Music] Here began another incredible greenway, 
the Via Verde de la Sierra. I rode for a while into the night before finding 
a peaceful camping spot by the trail. Away from the sounds of the city, roads, and ocean, I slept serenely to a sound that I 
hadn’t heard in a long while. Total silence. Although this rail line was 
never completed and operational, this route has now found its true life 
as an incredible multi-use pathway. Over viaducts and through tunnels, I 
rode in peaceful bliss into the hills. [Music] At the heart of the route, I discovered 
the incredible Penon de Zafremegon, a jagged peak which is home to the 
largest colony of griffin vultures in Andalucia. And I watched in wonder as 
they soared high in the thermals above. [Music] As I slowly rode out of 
the hills, the landscape continued to impress with peaceful green hills and 
olive groves stretching out to the horizon. [Music] The brief but beautiful 36 km ride on the 
Via Verde came to an end in the town of Olvera. One of Andalucia Pueblos Blanos, or 
white towns, built largely on a hill with its skyline dominated by the parish of our lady of the 
incarnation and the 13th century Olvera Castle. [Music] [Music] Through hills and canyons, I continued following 
the white town’s route, arriving quickly at Setenil de los Bodegas, which in contrast to 
Olvera is largely built inside a river gorge, with some houses even built under the 
natural overhangs of the gorge itself. [Music] Into the fading light, I rode on to finally 
arrive in Ronda at dusk. It was December 30th and I decided to spend an extra day here to ring 
in the new year. The city is built on a towering cliff overlooking the Andalucian countryside. 
At a viewpoint looking back to the city and the iconic Puente Nuevo bridge linking two parts of 
the town, I watched the final sunlight of 2022 fade from these rocks. In Spain, New Year’s Eve 
is largely a family event, and the streets which have been packed mere hours earlier grew quiet as 
the new year rang in. [Music] As the clock struck midnight, I joined in Spanish tradition and ate my 
12 grapes for good luck in the coming year. Then, after some small fireworks, rested 
myself, eager for the new year ahead. Riding out of the city on 
deserted roads in the morning, I began a stunning climb into the 
Sierra de las Nieves Mountains. [Music] Oh, what a wonderful feeling it was to 
be riding on mountain roads again. And my excitement drove me eagerly up to the first 
pass of the day, the Puerto del Viento. [Music] Happy new year 2023. What a ride. [Music] A long, thrilling descent through twisting 
roads brought me down the mountains, through evergreen forests, out to sweeping views of the 
valley, and through the small town of El Burgo. Then, just as quickly, I was 
back into the hills again. [Music] [Music] [Music] This day was one of the true highlights. 
of my time in Andalucia. Silent roads, smooth tarmac, and landscapes unrolling 
in slow spectacular theatre. [Music] [Music] All around me, I found epic rock 
formations. Massive cliffs and spires towered above the hills with the beauty of 
nature expanding out in every direction. [Music] [Music] Oh my god. To cap off this incredible day, I 
found myself riding down through a canyon at dusk under overhanging 
rock walls to the town of El Chorro. I set up camp for the night in a free 
parking area by the local reservoir. Around me was a small city of camper vans with 
some people having stayed to celebrate the new year and many others readying themselves 
for the famous local tourist attraction. The Caminito del Ray here is an iconic via 
ferrata hiking route that traverses steep cliffside into a sheer gorge. Because of its 
insane popularity and nowhere safe to leave the bike, I didn’t venture onto it and instead 
began the day with another climb out of town. Overcast skies brought cool and clean 
air. It was an idyllic ride on quiet roads winding gently through the hills. Every turn 
unveiling the beauty of more stone and scrub. [Music] By mid-afternoon, I reached the city 
of Antequera, the affectionate heart of Andalucia, with the skyline crowned 
by the towering Alcazaba of Antequera, a 14th century Moorish fortress. [Music] As I rode out of the hills, I entered 
a world of endless olive groves once and and they led me into the town 
of Rio Frio to spend the night. Every place in Andalucia seemed framed 
by its own spectacular setting. The city of Loja was no exception. a skyline of 
church towers and the Alcazaba de loa, a 9th century fortress standing like 
a sentinel over the heart of the city. [Music] Onwards into the Granada Basin, my route 
led through rolling hills blanketed an expanse of olive groves. This region 
is part of Spain’s sea of olives. In this area, over 180 million olive trees 
dot the landscape as far as the eye can see. For good reason, this is the world’s 
largest olive oil producing region. And the roads that traverse the plantations 
are also fantastic for gravel riding. Aqueduct. Look at that. Cool. By late afternoon, 
the soaring snowcapped peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains appeared on the horizon, including 
the highest point of continental Spain, Mulhacen, at 3479 m. Entering Granada, I 
cycled up to the Mirador de San Nicolas. Looking out over the UNESCO World Heritage 
site, Alhambra Palace, an Islamic fortress built in the 13th and 14th centuries, 
and watched the light fade from the sky. I stopped for only one night in the city to rest in a hostel. Then it was 
back out towards the mountains. [Music] The GR-3201 road here was a stunning cycling 
route winding its way up through the hills and to the pass of Puerto de los 
Blancares at nearly 1300 m high. The weather was perfect with the air 
crisp and fresh. And on deserted road, I began my descent back down. I rode through serene forests and wound my way 
into the steep walls of an incredible canyon. [Music] The landscape was truly a marvel to ride through 
and as I got to the bottom of the descent opened up into a dry valley with colourful eroded rock 
formations towering above. The Hoya of Guadix, which I was now passing through, is a bad land 
formed from the persistent erosive powers of the local rivers over the course of millions of years, 
leaving a surreal environment of sculpted rock. As day turned into peaceful evening, I pushed on riding through the 
plain to the town of La Callahora. After a meal of tapas at a local restaurant, 
I rode up to a spectacular camp spot at an overlook above the town. Rolling fog 
curled behind the Castillo de la Callahora, an Italian Renaissance castle constructed in the 
early 16th century, perched majestically on top of a hill in the town. And I drifted 
off to sleep as stars twinkled above. Watching the sunrise over the castle in town with 
a plane stretching into the distant beyond was truly spectacular. It felt as if time had slowed 
down to let me linger there. A morning seared into my memory as the golden sunlight slowly 
kissed the walls of the castle and town. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] With the sun now beating down intensely above, 
it was off again through the plain. [Music] The morning ride brought me along 
service roads and quiet forgotten highways paralleling the rush 
of the new super auto route. [Music] [Music] As I turned south towards the coast, I entered 
the Tabernas Desert. [Music] Often considered the only true desert in Europe, its 
wild landscape has been transformed through millions of years of erosion 
of what used to be an ancient seabed. [Music] Because of its unique geography, the Tabernas Desert has also been the filming 
location of many spaghetti westerns. Its barren beauty a perfect stand-in for the 
nostalgic feeling of the American West. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. As the sun faded 
from view, I continued downhill towards the city of Almeria. This day was January 5th, 
Epiphany Eve, and a huge celebration in Spain. I rode into the city as the cavalcade of magi, 
or three kings parade, was just wrapping up. After dodging the crowds and a quick dinner, I 
rode out to the coast. I had finally made it to the shores of the Mediterranean. And in the quiet 
evening air, a triumphant serenity washed over me. Sunrise illuminated the beautiful waters of the 
Mediterranean, but also cast light on seemingly endless trash on the beach. Much of it from the 
nearby Poniente Almeriense, known as the Sea of Plastic, a sprawling expanse of green houses, 
one of the most important fruit and vegetable producing regions of Spain, but also a significant 
source of plastic pollution into the sea. The day was warm and beautiful as I set off on 
gravel path into the Cabo De Gata Natural Park. [Music] The ancient volcanic rock peaks of 
the Sierra del Cabo De Gata rose in the distance, and I soon found myself 
climbing scenic roads into the hills. [Music] It was a delight to constantly have my gaze 
drawn to the clear waters of the marine park on the coast. As I wound up these peaceful 
roads, the air scented by salt and scrub. [Music] Rounding the cape on the saddle, I began the 
descent on the Vela blanca gravel path. This was such a magical place to ride with the azure 
waters of the Mediterranean stretching out to the horizon and the hilly landscapes of desert scrub 
brush expanding out in the distance to my left. [Music] The afternoon unfolded like a farewell 
gift from Andalucia as I made my way onto smooth pavement following twisting roads 
jumping between bays along the coast. Every day is another day in paradise. [Music] As the afternoon light turned golden, I took 
a shortcut along a light gravel path over some small hills with incredible views over scrubland 
and the sparkling sea in the distance. [Music] I chased my shadow back down towards the 
coast through some small towns. And in the distance in front of me, the full moon 
began to rise in the shadow of the earth. Dusk brought me into the town of Carboneras with its serene beaches in full splendour 
under the light of the full moon. After dinner, I rode out of town to 
my final camping spot in Andalucia, and this was by far the most magical. 
A local had built a small temple out of beach stones. Under the beautiful light of the 
full moon, the sea breathing softly close by, I soaked in the serenity and reflected 
on my time in Andalucia. [Music] The mountains, forests, deserts, towns, 
and peaceful roads I traveled had become a part of me. And I felt a complete sense 
of peace as I drifted off to sleep to the sound of gentle waves and the presence of the 
magical energy of this incredible location.