Lives of Hungry Pirates: October 2007

The Far West

From Santiago, we headed south and landed in the Portuguese city of Porto- from where many adventurers set off in centuries past to explore the world.

We were also taking stock of our own exploring - we were now on Europe's far western coast, about 10,000km from our starting point of Seoul. Thinking back to our departure from Korea, it was amazing to realise that we were still on the same piece of land, albeit the very opposite side from where we'd begun. It felt like we'd come a long way!

Porto wasn't exactly a polished European gem, but it's hard to imagine a city with more character

Bridges aplenty sprout from the steep banks of the Douro River. Apparently one of them is designed by Mr Eiffel of Eiffel Tower fame - not hard to tell which

These brightly tiled riverside dwellings have seen a lot of history

One of Porto's highlights - Portuguese chargrilled chicken with piri piri

Porto's most famous export

A boat trip up the river involved ascending in some sizable lochs

Terraced vineyards and old port houses line the route up the Douro Valley

Extravagant artwork adorns the buildings in Porto's old quarter

This poster seemed to sum up our cravings at the end of each day!

Northern Spain

From Barcelona, we worked our way across the north of Spain, from the dusty countryside of Catalunya to the Basque towns of Bilbao and San Sebastian, and on to the green hills of Galicia.

First stop was Bilbao, a wonderfully laid back town with the striking Guggenheim Museum as its main attraction.

The Guggenheim in Bilbao - a titanium-skinned modern architectural masterpiece

Lights, shadow and water create some fascinating shapes

Our room in Bilbao had a nice view towards the cathedral and square

Not far down the road was the coastal town of San Sebastian. Famed for its tapas (called pintxos in Basque Country), we devoted a solid afternoon to working our way around the offerings at the bar (an impossible task by the way).