Back to Évora - AGAIN!!

Yes, again! By bus to collect our luggage and make our way to Spain.

Up early - got a glimpse of the sunrise from our hotel balcony.

And had a lovely walk through the centro histórico - without people. Bliss. Walked about 4.5 kms.

Lovely breakfast outside on the terrace, then packed and a short walk to the bus stop. Two buses: first to Lisbon (almost 4 hours) then onto Évora (another 1.5 hrs after a 1 hr transfer).

Lots of storks nesting in the transmission towers as we came into Lisbon; and we crossed the massive Vasco da Gama Bridge (12.345 kms over the Tagus River - that’s a LONG bridge!).

Well - as things turned out, the bus from Lagos arrived into Lisbon at 3 pm about 20 mins late which left us scampering across the bus station tarmac - gripping heavy paniers in each hand - to the loos and to grab a cup of coffee and gobble down our ham and cheese rolls we had packed, and back across the tarmac for the next bus. Phew!

It rained on the way but we were in luck when we arrived into Évora and managed to arrive at the hotel with no rain - stopping every 200m to rest our hands (those paniers are horrible things to carry) and are reunited with our suitcases!

Had a wonderful meal out: one of those tiny out-of-the-way places below street level off a narrow alley (O Templo); Vasco the owner is a real ‘card’ and by the time the night is over, everyone (there are only about 7 tables) is saying goodbye to each other like they are lifelong friends. 

Food is authentic traditional cuisine - and was deee-lish (!). I had ‘grandmother’s rabbit stew’ beautifully cooked in olive oil (fabulous!) and the wonderful layered almond dessert with the almond liqueur - just yum!

It is so picturesque here at night.

Sagres to Lagos

Last day of riding …

…we just have to get to Lagos.

Firstly another lovely sunrise, an early walk along the headland and a nice breakfast outside.

We departed via the busy N125 but we found the rural road we had taken to the lighthouse at São Vicente yesterday (minus the gravel section …) which made good riding until Vila do Bispo; and then a short time further along on the N125, we got another detour through lovely rural countryside but boy (!) those climbs were tough (and the brakes got well tested on the descents).

More riding on the M125 - but it had big verges which was good - and then another service road took us into Lagos. Entered via a lovely long avenue of umbrella pines; and past acres and acres of solar panels! And loved this:

Henry the Navigator (15th century) lived in Lagos and because of its superb natural harbour, Lagos became famous for its seafaring tradition and explorations.

Found the town somewhat overwhelming but that might be more a reflection of my physical tiredness (definitely pleased this is the last day on the bike!); there is a lot going on here and there is a lot of people (tourists).

We enjoyed our picnic lunch in the shade of a park and then explored but it was difficult to cycle as there were so many people, riverside stalls and one-way streets - so we resorted to pushing bikes and walking.

It is very Moorish/Mediterranean: palms, beaches and waterways busy with tourist rentals and cruises (Lagos lies at the mouth of Bensafrim River as it enters the Atlantic Ocean), riverside stalls selling all manner of nik-naks.

The jacarandahs are in bloom. It is hot but with a nice sea breeze.

The centro is within old city walls and lovely.

But awash with tourists. Crazy busy. The city has a population of 31,000 - which almost doubles in summer with the influx of tourists.

We pushed our bikes back to our accommodation to check in via the usual assortment of narrow cobbled streets. Our accommodation is a RESORT - it is immense; I think I may have trouble finding my way around! View from our balcony: 

Next job was to pack up the bikes: removed pedals, packed up pumps, saddle bags, etc., (and took photos) ready for the courier to collect.

POSTSCRIPT: Somewhat belatedly, I must give a 'shout-out' to Cycling Rentals (and our contact Deirdre Knowlton) who did an outstanding job with the bike rental - delivery and pickup. All worked like a charm and the bikes were excellent.

Drinks by the pool; a swim for MF!

Went to a restaurant just down the road for dinner. 

What a scream. It was like being on holiday in another country - the place was full of Brits! Great musos though: singer and guitarist. Fantastic night listening, singing along, watching the goings on (especially the waiter with his poker face as he weaved between tables, chairs and people whilst carrying food and glasses - hilarious!). A GREAT NIGHT! (Happy birthday to me!).

Cycled 37 kms; climbed 412 m (oh my aching legs!). 

This stuff really ‘saved my bacon’! 

To the Cabo de São Vicente!!

Woke to ‘a cracker’ of a morning! Weather has cleared. 

We have a big day ahead.

Left our lovely rural accommodation and after a short-lived navigational error trying to avoid the main road we in fact ended up riding it for a short time and it was reasonably quiet.

Into Aljezur close to 10 am after a big descent. Already very hot. Pretty town. Water in the river here too! 

Then a big ascent back out. Some big ups (!); we toiled and sweated away but were rewarded with several buzzy descents too. MF tells me we climbed 165 m twice.

We are not far from the coast and can at times see huge sand dunes bathed in sunlight as we veer closer. We stop briefly at a small surfers’ town and decline to have coffee here as it seems pretty ordinary and then put the ‘after-burners’ on to leave a ‘pack’ that came up behind us, leaving them ‘in the dust’ as we climbed - and climbed - and climbed; and of course, because we had committed to setting the pace, we had to keep at it lest the pack behind us catch us and overtake us.

Lots of campervans passed us.

Finally we gave way to the pack and stopped at a pine forest alongside the road that had tables and chairs - perfect for our picnic lunch. 16 kms to go!

We pressed on, the day getting very hot (the temperature varied a lot today from 21 to 35 deg C); water at Lidl on the way through Vila do Bispo.

Then a nice rural road through desolate country (not a tree in sight) - until we hit gravel road again (argh). 

Then thankfully paved road again all the way to the lighthouse (passing the Fortaleza do Beliche - built in 1632 and perched precariously on unstable ground which has eroded right up to the walls of the fort on one side - hence the fort is now closed).

Cabo de São Vicente, the southwesternmost point of Portugal and of mainland Europe. The lighthouse here:

Yay!! We made it.

We celebrated with a sangria for me and a mojito for MF; then ‘cycled’ the almost 7 kms into Sagres where we are staying the night - exquisite spot!!

Stopped first for a delicious icecream and coffee which I suspect also mitigated the earlier alcohol somewhat (and which cost a small fortune; we are in tourism-central here).

Great accommodation with views out over the water. 

Pizza for dinner. And a lovely walk along the cliff area overlooking the beach.

Cycled 66 kms; climbed 514 m.  

Into the Algarve: Vicentina Natural Park

The day was overcast to start and somewhat cool and misty. I even had to ‘fish out’ a long-sleeve top for the first time since we’ve been here.

We made good time out of town across a long bridge that took us across the Mira River.

Our first stop was a detour to the farol (lighthouse) at Cabo Sardâo - 21 kms.

Amazing: sensational views and gorgeous flowers! 

And the storks have built precariously positioned nests on the top of the cliffs on rocky outcrops. Talk about a room with a view!

Can you see the stork in its nest?

Passed some large covered market gardens and protea farms.

Coming across a number of hikers now doing the Rota Vicentina (the long-distance walk along the coast). At one point we cycled out on one of the timber walkways - the path was closed at the end due to unstable cliffs!

Yep, I climbed up into bird hide for that shot!

After 16 kms more, we arrive into Zambujeira do Mar, a pretty, whitewashed village perched at the top of a giant cliff overlooking a wide, sandy bay - coffee and cake here.

We continued on - via three praias (beaches) in total up and down - argh. Oh, these were real ‘heart-break hills’ of the worst possible kind with an open hexagonal ‘cobbled’ concrete surface - appalling for bike riding. 

We descended (which was very nice but muted by the knowledge this would inevitably mean another uphill which involved walking up - I counted over 300 steps - pushing the bikes); and we had to do this THREE times! Of course, the mist had burned off by now and we were now in the midday sun (although not as bad as in Central Portugal) as we are picking up sea breezes down the coast, thank goodness.

Another ‘bash’ at the N120 into Odeceixe after nice quiet back roads; it wasn’t too bad with traffic and we had a nice downhill run in.

Odeceixe is perched on a hill, overlooking the estuary of the River Seixe that straddles the borders between the Alentejo and the Algarve. 

We have noticed how every creek and river we cross is dry - and then today going into Odeceixe, the river Seixe actually DOES have water!

This really is a hikers’ town.

Had a most excellent lunch here and got food to take on to our accommodation (thoughtfully packed for us by the people at the restaurant: vegetable risotto and a salad with goats cheese).

A very big climb out of Odeceixe then a bit of riding on the busy N120 and then onto a rural road to our accommodation (a restored farmhouse - with a pool!) what they call a ‘Turismo Rural’: out in the middle of nowhere - actually: João Roupeiro (so no castles to visit!) - but what an oasis. A lovely young couple run it and he is from Mornington!

Glad to be in though, as a big thunderstorm storm appeared out of nowhere about 5 pm and it poured rain!

Cycled 55.4 kms; climbed 380 m.

Vila Nova do Milfontes

Our first stop was to be the Ruinas Romana at Miróbriga which seems to have been an important Roman town - at 2 kms.

But it wasn’t open and looked very 'ordinary' from what we could see looking over the fence. And it took a lot of messing about looking for it.

Next we had a buzzy cycle downhill past eucalypt plantations being harvested only to find we had a taken a wrong turn at the top. So all the way up we had to go again - probably an extra 10 kms we didn’t need ...

Once back in the town of Santiago do Cacém where we had started, we had another long climb on a different road (the N261) which became a glorious ride through probably some of the nicest countryside we have cycled this trip: through sleepy villages that are surrounded by undulating countryside and forests of cork oak. 

Despite the earlier mis-steps, this was a most enjoyable ride; cycling as if in a reverie with the kilometers disappearing beneath our pedals and not even a thought to take a photo …  

It was 27 kms to Cercal (the last 7 kms along the not-so-pleasant N120 with a big climb) - and it turned out to be a very pretty town with the usual network of narrow streets and alleys. There was a funeral taking place at the church where we turned off the main road into the town - bells chiming a farewell. We had coffee and cake at the cafe opposite.

More good riding to Vila Nova do Milfontes (a further 14 kms on the N390) and on the outskirts (which were pretty grotty) I saw the sign ‘praias’ so we turned off and followed these to the beach.

What a glorious sight! Beautiful coloured water as far as the eye could see; lovely beaches; and huge sand dunes covered in pink, purple and yellow flowers.

We found a spot for our picnic lunch and enjoyed the views.

Vila Nova do Milfontes sits at the mouth of the Mira River on the Alentejo coastline and is a popular holiday spot. It’s easy to see why!

Interesting fishing shacks:

We checked in fractionally early at our accommodation - an absolutely lovely spot with a most helpful young man.

We have been very lucky: the weather forecast was for rain about lunchtime. It did not eventuate although cloud did build up. Whilst we rested after checking in, the sky became quite black and there was thunder and by 5 pm some steady rain.

THEN, on checking why an accommodation booking in a few days’ time had not been able to be transacted on my Visa card, we found that there were 2 fraudulent online transactions (in Australia a few days ago) so I suspect the bank was waiting for us to respond to these before allowing any more transactions … so a call to NAB (1 am back home) and the card is now blocked and a fraud investigation initiated.

We had a rest while it rained which fortunately stopped and so we set off to walk to dinner at A Fateixa down on the river booked by the nice young man at our accommodation. We had a lovely walk there going along a board walk near the castle straddling the water (btw - first castle we haven’t had to climb up to - because it’s at water-level!; it was built in the 16th century to protect the coastline from marauding Algerian pirates). 

The restaurant did a roaring trade all night. Simple, straightforward food. We shared the Arroz de Tamboril (monkfish with rice). Delicious.

Steady rain until about 9 pm meant having dessert so we could wait it out. Fortuitously this meant I could try Toucinho do céu (which I had tried to find back in Portalegre!); this is one of many Portuguese sweets that were initially prepared at convents. In its simplest form, this traditional cake combines sugary syrup, lard, ground almonds, and a hefty amount of egg yolks - delicious!

We chatted to a German couple at the neighbouring table; like us they were ‘stringing it out’ waiting for the rain to stop. And then about 9 pm it did! Off we trouped back to our accommodation.

Cycled a total of 60 kms (incl. the error at the start) and climbed 560 m.