Author Archives: JT Hine

Unknown's avatar

About JT Hine

A writer and translator who carries his office and his world in the panniers of his bicycle.

Andalusia and the Pueblos Blancos

Posted on by
Reply

2016-ayamonte-ferryWednesday, 12 October 2016. The dark clouds that had been gathering all morning turned to rain as we left the ferry landing in Ayamonte, Spain. We rode to the bus station, where we hoped to make up lost time by taking the bus at least to Huelva, the next big town. Lucky for us, it turned out that it was a national holiday in Spain, so there were few passengers, no competing luggage, and light traffic. The DAMAS driver let us put our bikes in the bus and took us all the way to Seville. We also outran the rain.
Continue reading →

El Camino Portugués: Obidos to the Algarve.

Posted on by
Reply

dscn2188On Monday, 3 October 2016, we rolled out of the medieval city of Obidos in the predawn darkness. After some dead ends and backtracking, we located the empty, unmanned station. Watching a brilliant dawn, we waited for the 0710 train to Aqualva-Caçem. It never appeared. Continue reading →

El Camino Portugués: Porto to Obidos

Posted on by
2

dscn1982Wednesday, 28 September. A memorably great day, and the first seriously warm day since we left San Sebastian. We got separated at first, so that we crossed the Douro River on different spans of the Luis I Bridge. Using our phones to effect a rendezvous outside the port wine tasting rooms on the Gaia waterfront, we made our way to the Atlantic on the south bank of the river. Continue reading →

El Camino Portugués: Santiago to Porto

Posted on by
2

dscn184322/9/2016, Thursday. Back in 2013, Cheryl rode the Camino Francesa and the Via de la Plata, the latter stretching from Santiago to Seville. Remembering the ugly suburbs and industrial zones south of Santiago, and the heavily travelled N-550, she suggested taking the train to Vilagarcia de Arousa. After Vilagarcia, we biked the Michelin three-star roads of the Rias Bajas peninsulas. Continue reading →

El Camino Inglés: El Ferrol to Santiago de Compostela.

Posted on by
1

dscn1748Friday, 16 September.  We awoke to threatening skies. With dawn at 0730, once again we did not get up early enough. We struck out from Ribadeo past the beautiful beaches west of town. Light rain followed us all day. However, the only two times that it poured heavily, we managed to be under cover, including lunch in Foz. Continue reading →

El Camino del Norte: Deba to Ribadeo

Posted on by
Reply

dscn1575Monday, 5 September. Dawn came late as is usual in these parts. If it weren’t for the hikers setting their alarms, we would have slept until the sun came up after 0830. Spain occupies the same longitudes as England, but keeps Western European (Continental) time. During Daylight Saving Time, that makes the sun some up (and go down) two hours later than solar time. We never got used to that. Continue reading →

El Camino del Norte: San Sebastian to Deba.

Posted on by
1

dscn1620This is the beginning of a very special journey. The Way of Saint James (El Camino de Santiago in Spanish) was inaugurated in 831 AD. For almost 1300 years, pilgrims have walked (and now biked) to the Cathedral in Western Spain where the Biblical apostle James is buried. There are several different routes that the pilgrims can walk, marked by distinctive blue and yellow signs. The Northern Way (Camino del Norte) runs from France along the coast of the Bay of Biscay through the Basque Country, Cantabria and Asturia, to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.

Continue reading →

Vancouver, BC and Redmond, WA: living with nature

Posted on by
Reply

DSCN1472From Saturday, 6 August until the middle of the month, I concentrated on completing the book translation. The client’s offices were closed until 22 August for the traditional Italian Ferragosto holiday, so this job did not have deadline pressure. However, I needed time to prepare for our coming bicycle tour. Continue reading →

Tofino: trekking with amenities

Posted on by
Reply

DSCN1371In the last trip update, I mentioned our long weekend in Tofino on Vancouver Island. Once the western end of the TransCanada Highway, this fishing village just north of the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve is a jewel that attracts thousands of visitors every year. In very few places on the planet can you enjoy so much unspoiled nature, but still find a good meal and a comfortable bed at night.  Continue reading →

Issues living and working abroad: taxes

Posted on by
Reply

 

DSCN1451Trip update: We spent last weekend in Tofino, which was so special, that I have decided to devote next week’s post to the visit. The rest of the week, I have been working on the book translation and taking daily rides around Vancouver. Spanish Banks is a favourite destination, where we lean against a log in the sand and read, or just watch the traffic in the roadstead and the people on the beach. The sea birds provide a fairly entertaining show, too.  Continue reading →