Wish You Were Here: Cycling through Portugal and Spain

Vacations and explorations have taken Bay Area News Group readers around the world — and they’ve shared their adventures along the way. They’ve gone bear watching in Alaska, explored temples in Thailand, and road-tripped through Tuscany.

Now a Sunnyvale couple is sharing tales from a recent cycling trip through Spain and Portugal. Read on for details, then find more travel inspiration at www.mercurynews.com/tag/wish-you-were-here/.

Wish You Were Here

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL: Intrepid travelers Sue and Ted Larson of Sunnyvale recently spent a month visiting Spain and Portugal that included a week of cycling in each country for a total of nearly 250 miles. “Biking through wind, rain, hail and beautiful blue skies in Spain, we explored the Costa Brava region near the Mediterranean Sea and five medieval towns including the enchanting village of Monells,” Sue says. “In beautiful Portugal, for the first time ever, we enjoyed riding electric-assist bikes which really came in handy for some of the extensive climbs in the Évora region.

“Although the big cities — Barcelona, Madrid and Lisbon — were wonderful to visit, it’s the small villages and authentic interactions with local people that especially speak to our hearts. The bike trips provided all that and so much more.”

TRAVEL TIPS: “PortugalBestCycling.com did a fabulous job of organizing our ‘Castles and Wines’ bike trip. They supplied the bikes, prepared delicious outdoor picnic lunches with wine, booked the hotels and restaurants and moved our luggage. And, if you’re fortunate enough to have Manuel as your guide, you will have abundant and golden memories that last a lifetime!”

Join the fun! Send a photo of yourself on your latest adventures — local, domestic or international — to jburrell@bayareanewsgroup.com. Tell us where you are, who everyone is and where they’re from, and share a travel tip or two to help fellow readers go there, too.