1 May 2001 - English Channel

I'm going to barf! For the last thirty hours the ferry has battled through Gale Force 9 and Storm Force 10 winds and high seas. I'm normally okay on boats, but the novelty of being on a constant rollercoaster has begun to wear off. I've found that by lying down I don't feel so bad, so I've spent a lot of time in bed and sleeping.

I did venture up to the observation deck once, which was an education. The observation deck is on the 8th Deck, and therefore approximately 5 or 6 stories above the sea, and the spray and waves breaking over the bow were regularly covering the windows. It was very similar to being inside a car during a car wash, on heavy duty. And during all this a little rotund woman was systematically working her way through some cross-stich and a pint of lager. I couldn't stand up without holding onto something solid.

The current weather is an extension of what I experienced in Bilbao for the last two days. When I left Gibraltar it was sunny with clear skies, but as I moved north it got chillier and clouds appeared. I stayed in a motorway hotel outside Burgos, en route to Bilbao. I don't expect much from motorway hotels, and this one delivered all my expectations. Stuck in a time-warp from the 1970's, it was entirely populated with middle aged truckers with poneytails. For me it was just a place to get some sleep before waking to a steady drizzle.

I arrived in Bilbao the next afternoon, and arranged to meet my friend Laura at a prominent bar on the main throughfare. I parked the bike outside a rather posh cafe, and had to double take to make sure I was in the right place. Inside it was all polished wood, shiney brass and crystal glassware. The clientelle was mainly older couples, well dressed and having a quiet Sunday afternoon drink and snack. To give them their due, no-one looked down their nose at the dirty leather-clad biker, and the bar owner even turned the tv over to the Formula 1 after a short game of charades. Laura arrived and we went over to the new youth hostel, a modern clean high rise that I can recomend to anyone wanting cheap clean accomodation.

Laura drove me out of Bilbao along the coast through Getxo, which looks like a pleasant little town that is certainly easy on the eyes. We stopped at a bar built on stilts and overlooking a sandy beach to meet some of Lauras friends. I imagine in the height of summer this place would be fantastic, but right now the weather was spitting rain and pounding waves, and everyone was crowded inside to keep warm. Groups of attractive young people drifted in for a chat, a beer, and to smoke several packets of cigarettes, then drift out again.

Bilbao seems to be a place that most people easily overlook, I certainly did when I arrived here a few weeks ago. I just saw the port, and the high rise apartments crowding around the knackered industry alongside the river. But there's really a lot more to it than this. The centre of town has wide boulevardes and parks, whilst the riverside area is being rejeuvenated with luxury apartments and offices. There are museums and art galleries. The town of Getxo, across the bay from the port, is very pretty with some nice architecture. But when you drive off of the ferry you only get to see the port, the motorway and the dross. Pity.