Joe Sarrionandia runs The Strathmore, a hotel in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales, which, before we continue, we have to say is a point on the Welsh coast that has always fascinated us and which is on a long list of places we hope to travel to.
Despite the fact that this 55-year-old studied at Greenhill School, which lays bare his lifelong Welsh roots, his surname clearly indicates his family’s origins. We wonder if he might not be the child of one of the Basque war children who were taken in in Wales and then stayed after the Francoists won. After all, Caerleon, the location of Cambria House, which took in a group of those children, is just two hours away by car.
The story of this trip from Tenby to Plymouth, and from there to Santander by ferry, and from there to San Sebastian, again on a scooter, is a huge human interest story. Indeed, in the video they’ve shared, you can see they even got to Hondarribia, and climbed up Jaizkibel.
Joe Sarrionandia, a lifelong motorcycle lover, got some tough news in 2021, at the end of the pandemic: he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. It turns out that Parkinson’s is more prevalent among the Basque population.
After dealing with the initial blow, he decided to face up to the problems, becoming part of the solution and not allowing himself to be crushed by his condition. So, with a group of biker friends, they started traveling on their scooters to raise awareness of Parkinson’s and the importance of early diagnosis, as well as keeping their hobby alive.
Now with this trip complete, they’ve raised £2,000 for Parkinson’s UK Cymru.
His story, a great one, is told to us by journalist Paul Evans in The Temby Observer.
Just another article in the long list of ones we have on Wales.
Tenby Today – 9/1/2023 – Wales
Adventurous hotelier and friends raise £2,000 for Parkinson’s on epic charity scooter ride from Tenby to San Sebastian
An adventurous hotelier with Parkinson’s has completed an epic charity scooter ride from Tenby to San Sebastian. Joe Sarrionandia, who runs the Strathmore hotel in the seaside town, and was diagnosed with the condition in June of 2021, has raised over £2,000 for Parkinson’s UK Cymru.
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Last Updated on Jan 12, 2023 by About Basque Country