Chapter 12: Bikepacking the Altravesur-Abdalajis to Villanueve de Cauche

26th-27th April 2019

You can see my YouTube on this ride here

I’d spent a whole week at the Refugio de Alamut and in that time I made some new friends. Timo and Dar, the couple that had just started running the hotel when I arrived, had been very kind and helpful to me. Arriving late on a very rainy Thursday evening, they welcomed me and Bay and helped me get cleaned up; me, my clothes, my gear and Bay.

Refugio de Alamut is owned by a lady named Marie-Carmen, when I arrived, she had left the hotel in the hands of Timo and Dar, who were going through the legalities of buying it. It wasn’t until the Wednesday after my arrival on the Thursday, that I met Marie-Carmen. And an un-nerving turn of events occurred! Unknown to me, Timo and Dar had decided that running the hotel wasn’t for them and that they wanted to return to Finland to think about what they will do next. Personally, although disappointing for Marie-Carmen, they made the right decision. Timo and Dar want to travel, they are looking for adventure, in my opinion. They both have touring a motorbike and Timo has a very nice off-road motorbike too.

I had no idea this was going on, and that they had made this decision. It was un-nerving as I’d already paid most of my bill and didn’t want to end up being charged twice! Why I was worried this would happen is that the cancellation of the sale was kept very hush hush, and I only heard through gossip.

Anyway, it all turned out fine, Marie-Carmen and her husband Gabriel returned, Timo and Dah left on their motorbikes. The status quo was resumed. I wish Timo and Dah well, and hope they get in touch sometime!

Marie-Carmen is a very calm and thoughtful lady, she has travelled the world, built Refugio de Alamut and run it for twenty years and now wants to retire. I hope she finds a buyer and gets her wish for a quieter life! If you are interested in buying Refugio de Alamut contact Marie-Carmen directly!