Portugal is so warm in November
Nov 24th, 2010, 08:58 AM
#1
Portugal is so warm in November
Ecovia Litoral
This web site http://www.ecoviasalgarve.org/ describes a bike route across the Algarve which is the county on the South of Portugal an area famous for its golf courses. The route does not really exist in full but the map shows the sort of direction one can go and the road is marked a number of ways, a blue line, small bike symbols, 1 metre posts yellow on grey and finally small man sized pillars with full maps. Unfortunately at every turn there is not always a clue or there is no clue for miles or indeed the route has moved and no one has marked the path. You can hire guides to make the route go easily, you can use GPS or you can just do your best. Portuguese maps are not very good.
Bikes; well we used to fly our bikes around Europe but now that the price of a bike flight is £30 it works out easier to hire good bikes locally. We used www.Rentabike.pt part of www.Megabike.pt. They did just as we asked and delivered the bikes to Faro airport at the time requested and they picked up at Loule railway station. The bad parts were, 1) the web site did not work very well, 2) hence we had to do email transactions and cash transfers.
We booked some hotels to ensure we got certain ones and then made it up as we went along. Access to a Blackberry meant that we could look at and book hotels the night before. We found www.booking.com was very good while www.Tripadvisor.com was the best guidance on where to stay.
Day 1; Faro airport to Roja-Pe the Quinta do Mel. http://www.quintadofreixo.org. Euro90 B&B for 2 sharing while supper was Euro 33 including wine (Dao).
We flew www.Jet2.com into Faro and everything went perfectly except it was 2C and chucking down the rain as we left. We had 30 minutes to kill at Faro airport, our visit to Tourist Information was disappointing as the staff claimed the Ecovia is not complete. We picked up the bike from the van parked in drop off. Not bad but they insisted on giving us two bike repair kits (plus our own) makes a fair bit of weight. The guy delivering our bikes explained how to find the route.
We were off as were our bike panniers as they did not fit the frames on the bikes. This continued all day until we found a way to jamb the panniers on. We passed through Montenegro village until we fell over the route “blue-line, blue-line”. This then passed through a university campus and onto a sandy path. Note that the main roads are very quiet in the autumn, passing golf courses that stretch as far as the eye can see we sped on. Bilbo decided to change his trousers in the middle of the path (well it was quiet). A good easy ride and as light began to fail we spotted the sign for Quinta do Mel. A lovely place to rest, tea and biscuits in the bed room and some lovely lounging areas. The holiday had started.
This web site http://www.ecoviasalgarve.org/ describes a bike route across the Algarve which is the county on the South of Portugal an area famous for its golf courses. The route does not really exist in full but the map shows the sort of direction one can go and the road is marked a number of ways, a blue line, small bike symbols, 1 metre posts yellow on grey and finally small man sized pillars with full maps. Unfortunately at every turn there is not always a clue or there is no clue for miles or indeed the route has moved and no one has marked the path. You can hire guides to make the route go easily, you can use GPS or you can just do your best. Portuguese maps are not very good.
Bikes; well we used to fly our bikes around Europe but now that the price of a bike flight is £30 it works out easier to hire good bikes locally. We used www.Rentabike.pt part of www.Megabike.pt. They did just as we asked and delivered the bikes to Faro airport at the time requested and they picked up at Loule railway station. The bad parts were, 1) the web site did not work very well, 2) hence we had to do email transactions and cash transfers.
We booked some hotels to ensure we got certain ones and then made it up as we went along. Access to a Blackberry meant that we could look at and book hotels the night before. We found www.booking.com was very good while www.Tripadvisor.com was the best guidance on where to stay.
Day 1; Faro airport to Roja-Pe the Quinta do Mel. http://www.quintadofreixo.org. Euro90 B&B for 2 sharing while supper was Euro 33 including wine (Dao).
We flew www.Jet2.com into Faro and everything went perfectly except it was 2C and chucking down the rain as we left. We had 30 minutes to kill at Faro airport, our visit to Tourist Information was disappointing as the staff claimed the Ecovia is not complete. We picked up the bike from the van parked in drop off. Not bad but they insisted on giving us two bike repair kits (plus our own) makes a fair bit of weight. The guy delivering our bikes explained how to find the route.
We were off as were our bike panniers as they did not fit the frames on the bikes. This continued all day until we found a way to jamb the panniers on. We passed through Montenegro village until we fell over the route “blue-line, blue-line”. This then passed through a university campus and onto a sandy path. Note that the main roads are very quiet in the autumn, passing golf courses that stretch as far as the eye can see we sped on. Bilbo decided to change his trousers in the middle of the path (well it was quiet). A good easy ride and as light began to fail we spotted the sign for Quinta do Mel. A lovely place to rest, tea and biscuits in the bed room and some lovely lounging areas. The holiday had started.
Nov 24th, 2010, 12:34 PM
#2
hi bilbo,
what a lovely idea for a trip, and a trip report.
this is just the sort of thing that DH and i kid ourselves we'll do one day but never actually work up the energy for [my fault, I'm sure].
looking forward to more!
what a lovely idea for a trip, and a trip report.
this is just the sort of thing that DH and i kid ourselves we'll do one day but never actually work up the energy for [my fault, I'm sure].
looking forward to more!
Nov 26th, 2010, 08:43 AM
#4
The Ecovia has been funded as part of the European bike routes “EuroVelo” http://www.ecf.com/3188_1. While very good in principle the practicality on the street is poorer with only a very small part of the route actually a path while the rest is road (or just stops). In the summer this would be a bit scary as the tourist coaches rush around and cars whiz. In November the Algarve is empty and major roads are empty of traffic. This only dawned on us we travelled further. Each day virtually no cars and, despite their reputation, they drove well.
Day 2; Roja-Pe to Portimao the Hotel Globo. http://www.hotelglobo-portimao.com/ Euro 40 B&B for 2 sharing while supper was at the Unicorn for Euro 31 including wine (Alentejo).
Another glorious blue sky morning with breakfast served on the deck with a fine mixture of dried ham, yoghurt and honey, fresh OJ and fine tea. Roughing it can be tough.
It's going to be a long day as we want to get to Portimao for the St Martin’s festival. The journey was going well until the path just petered out. I still have no idea where it should have gone but we spent an hour touring a large piece of waste land trying to find the way out. No luck. We hacked our way out and found the path now continued on the pavement (unusual for most Brits) (thank god for GPS). Lunch was pizza in a simple café (just fantastic when you are hungry). We met up with some mature (65+) English riders who chatted away as we rode through towns.
Tempers became frayed as we began to weaken and the distance began to appear just too much for our winter weakened bodies and the time wasted getting lost. A struggle between Mr and Mrs developed between “we must stay on the path or it will take longer” and “we must go on the main road or it will take for ever”. The route before Lagoa is off the main road on gravel and Mrs gets frustrated. Years of experience stepped in to help me and I gave in; so we headed up to the N125. To my surprise while it is a large road it also has very wide side lanes, there is very little traffic so off we go getting some serious black top under our wheels.
At Lagoa the route differs from the map route and heads for the hills. Despite this on the main road we pass to the final roundabout to the East of town and find a back road to Ferraguodo. It is the correct route AND it's black top. Weeee. Unfortunately at this point my enthusiasm takes my mind off the road and I hit a sleeping policeman breaking two spokes (first ever spokes I’ve broken). We reload three bags on Mrs Bilbo’s bike and just one on mine. We continue down to Ferraguodo and then along the river front to the bridge (cross the bridge on the sea side pavement of the bridge).
Getting off the bridge was a bit slow but finally we rode into Portimao and in amongst the old town we found our large international hotel which proved very good. Have i mentioned 7 stories and a bright green light on the top? They stored our bikes in the luggage store (we had mentioned this in our booking) and then told us where we could get our bike fixed in the morning.
After the usual massive wash up and general get clean we walked over to the St Martin festival. This is supposed to be the vestige of a medieval festival where the young fizzy wine is drunk with walnuts and pork, now it's dodgems, waffles and beer (a complete waste of time). We walked back into town through the trendy shops eating supper at the Unicorn (normally vegetarian) and the very chatty front of house.
And so to bed
Day 2; Roja-Pe to Portimao the Hotel Globo. http://www.hotelglobo-portimao.com/ Euro 40 B&B for 2 sharing while supper was at the Unicorn for Euro 31 including wine (Alentejo).
Another glorious blue sky morning with breakfast served on the deck with a fine mixture of dried ham, yoghurt and honey, fresh OJ and fine tea. Roughing it can be tough.
It's going to be a long day as we want to get to Portimao for the St Martin’s festival. The journey was going well until the path just petered out. I still have no idea where it should have gone but we spent an hour touring a large piece of waste land trying to find the way out. No luck. We hacked our way out and found the path now continued on the pavement (unusual for most Brits) (thank god for GPS). Lunch was pizza in a simple café (just fantastic when you are hungry). We met up with some mature (65+) English riders who chatted away as we rode through towns.
Tempers became frayed as we began to weaken and the distance began to appear just too much for our winter weakened bodies and the time wasted getting lost. A struggle between Mr and Mrs developed between “we must stay on the path or it will take longer” and “we must go on the main road or it will take for ever”. The route before Lagoa is off the main road on gravel and Mrs gets frustrated. Years of experience stepped in to help me and I gave in; so we headed up to the N125. To my surprise while it is a large road it also has very wide side lanes, there is very little traffic so off we go getting some serious black top under our wheels.
At Lagoa the route differs from the map route and heads for the hills. Despite this on the main road we pass to the final roundabout to the East of town and find a back road to Ferraguodo. It is the correct route AND it's black top. Weeee. Unfortunately at this point my enthusiasm takes my mind off the road and I hit a sleeping policeman breaking two spokes (first ever spokes I’ve broken). We reload three bags on Mrs Bilbo’s bike and just one on mine. We continue down to Ferraguodo and then along the river front to the bridge (cross the bridge on the sea side pavement of the bridge).
Getting off the bridge was a bit slow but finally we rode into Portimao and in amongst the old town we found our large international hotel which proved very good. Have i mentioned 7 stories and a bright green light on the top? They stored our bikes in the luggage store (we had mentioned this in our booking) and then told us where we could get our bike fixed in the morning.
After the usual massive wash up and general get clean we walked over to the St Martin festival. This is supposed to be the vestige of a medieval festival where the young fizzy wine is drunk with walnuts and pork, now it's dodgems, waffles and beer (a complete waste of time). We walked back into town through the trendy shops eating supper at the Unicorn (normally vegetarian) and the very chatty front of house.
And so to bed
Nov 27th, 2010, 01:43 AM
#5
The day started and finished with blue skies at 20C once the morning chill had passed. The restaurant on the Globo is on the 5th floor and we ate looking out on the river as swallows buzzed the building. Mrs Bilbo dashed up to floor 7 to take photos of the river delta while I took the bike to http://www.torradobikes.com/ who changed two spokes for Euro 5. Very fast service and a great looking bike shop.
Day 3; Portimao to Pousada Sagres http://www.pousadas.pt/historic-hote...ages/home.aspx. Euro 75 B&B for 2 sharing while supper was at the Atlantique in Sacema Euro 28 but a tip of 4 to look after the bikes. Taxi to Sagres was sub Euro 30
The journey started well as the Ecovia passed through the harbour and its importance was such that a racing car show was parked on the Ecovia! We carried on through the harbour and finally reached the sea/surfing centre. A wooden walkway with large ”no biking” signs were on the main Ecovia route……. We walked this for 3 or 4 km and then climbed the cliffs up a very steep slope onto the cliff. The path took us then through the lovely town of Alvor. Very pretty and probably worth a stay/meal.
We then came to the path passing through a nature reserve. We did initially miss the turning (no signs) and had to back track down black top, then gravel, then sand, then a lock gate and then a dam top. I guess at this point we should have realised that bikes with bags were not going to enjoy passing over the tops of plant ridden dykes. The area was wonderful, lots of wild birds, a few men trying to fish/shell fish etc but the next 2 hours had us climbing over gorse type plants until we finally reached a railway bridge, we had to pass over the bridge and then back up yet more dyke and then more sand. Horrible. Mrs Bilbo fell off twice and once couldn’t get up with the bike on top of her. We ended up at a railway station and considered if we should take the train into Lagos. Foolishly we turned this down and set of along the main road West.
After fighting past Lagos we went back into more nature park and lots of climbing and whizzing down. We lost the route and found it in Luz (and a meal down by the beach). Burgau passed in a blur of exhaustion. Burgau to Salema was very steep and a sunset watching point just between which we saw (and ignored). Leading up the hill to the descent to Sagema was a 20% slope and finally darkness at 6:30 in Salema. We tried the obvious central café and staff shooed us away. So we ended up in the Atlantique who served us a great meal, kept our bikes and ordered us a taxi.
The Pousada had been booked for some weeks. Very few customers so they “upgraded” us from a room at the back to the sea-side. It all looked very nice but tonight we had no time to explore. The big thing was a clean bath and hotel supplied fluffy robes. It is amazing how big fluffy robes make you feel better.
And so to bed.
Day 3; Portimao to Pousada Sagres http://www.pousadas.pt/historic-hote...ages/home.aspx. Euro 75 B&B for 2 sharing while supper was at the Atlantique in Sacema Euro 28 but a tip of 4 to look after the bikes. Taxi to Sagres was sub Euro 30
The journey started well as the Ecovia passed through the harbour and its importance was such that a racing car show was parked on the Ecovia! We carried on through the harbour and finally reached the sea/surfing centre. A wooden walkway with large ”no biking” signs were on the main Ecovia route……. We walked this for 3 or 4 km and then climbed the cliffs up a very steep slope onto the cliff. The path took us then through the lovely town of Alvor. Very pretty and probably worth a stay/meal.
We then came to the path passing through a nature reserve. We did initially miss the turning (no signs) and had to back track down black top, then gravel, then sand, then a lock gate and then a dam top. I guess at this point we should have realised that bikes with bags were not going to enjoy passing over the tops of plant ridden dykes. The area was wonderful, lots of wild birds, a few men trying to fish/shell fish etc but the next 2 hours had us climbing over gorse type plants until we finally reached a railway bridge, we had to pass over the bridge and then back up yet more dyke and then more sand. Horrible. Mrs Bilbo fell off twice and once couldn’t get up with the bike on top of her. We ended up at a railway station and considered if we should take the train into Lagos. Foolishly we turned this down and set of along the main road West.
After fighting past Lagos we went back into more nature park and lots of climbing and whizzing down. We lost the route and found it in Luz (and a meal down by the beach). Burgau passed in a blur of exhaustion. Burgau to Salema was very steep and a sunset watching point just between which we saw (and ignored). Leading up the hill to the descent to Sagema was a 20% slope and finally darkness at 6:30 in Salema. We tried the obvious central café and staff shooed us away. So we ended up in the Atlantique who served us a great meal, kept our bikes and ordered us a taxi.
The Pousada had been booked for some weeks. Very few customers so they “upgraded” us from a room at the back to the sea-side. It all looked very nice but tonight we had no time to explore. The big thing was a clean bath and hotel supplied fluffy robes. It is amazing how big fluffy robes make you feel better.
And so to bed.
Nov 27th, 2010, 07:03 AM
#6
Blue sky, strong sun 22C. We will meet the Via Algarviana today a walking route that heads further North than the Ecovia and is designed for walkers.
Day 4; Sagres and environs. Supper in the Pousada a staggering Euro 65, not sure this was worth the bill though the staff were attentive the lack of fires were disappointing.
Today was supposed to be a day off but of course we had left our bikes back up the route. We caught a bus 14 from just outside the Pousada to the Salema cross road and a 10 minute walk down into the village. A large amount of cake to set us up for the day and then we headed back up the hill on black top. The Ecovia takes you on back roads to Bispo. Very pleasant.
Mrs Bilbo decides that we should go to see the light house at the end of the world and rather than going on black top its off on gravel following the Via Algarviana, sheep and with danger of dog attack. Mrs. Bilbo arms herself with a 4 foot stick after one nasty incident. The route joins the main road between Sagres and the Capo do St Vincent. In strong winds and bright sunshine we pop down to the cape and have a good cakes stop inside the old building. Great position high on a cliff but not a place to linger. We drop into the Sagres Henry the Navigator centre (again high on a cliff) and since it is getting chilly don’t stay long.
Day 4; Sagres and environs. Supper in the Pousada a staggering Euro 65, not sure this was worth the bill though the staff were attentive the lack of fires were disappointing.
Today was supposed to be a day off but of course we had left our bikes back up the route. We caught a bus 14 from just outside the Pousada to the Salema cross road and a 10 minute walk down into the village. A large amount of cake to set us up for the day and then we headed back up the hill on black top. The Ecovia takes you on back roads to Bispo. Very pleasant.
Mrs Bilbo decides that we should go to see the light house at the end of the world and rather than going on black top its off on gravel following the Via Algarviana, sheep and with danger of dog attack. Mrs. Bilbo arms herself with a 4 foot stick after one nasty incident. The route joins the main road between Sagres and the Capo do St Vincent. In strong winds and bright sunshine we pop down to the cape and have a good cakes stop inside the old building. Great position high on a cliff but not a place to linger. We drop into the Sagres Henry the Navigator centre (again high on a cliff) and since it is getting chilly don’t stay long.
Nov 27th, 2010, 11:57 AM
#7
Mrs Bilbo fell off twice and once couldn’t get up with the bike on top of her. >>
shame you haven't recorded what she said at this point, bilbo!Now I know why we haven't done any of these sorts of trips, recently - but I'm enjoying yours vicariously!
shame you haven't recorded what she said at this point, bilbo!Now I know why we haven't done any of these sorts of trips, recently - but I'm enjoying yours vicariously!
Nov 28th, 2010, 04:25 AM
#8
I think the embarrassement was made worse as a man, she had not seen, rose from the mud and laughed at her. This part of the route is not easy.
The day starts sunny, the sky is blue and today we aim to head north towards Lisbon. As we only have a limited time left we plan to take it much easier and plan various escape routes to the railway system if the weather goes bad on us. The various TVs and Internet sites tell us rain is coming but not for a few more days. Far worse is Obama is coming to Lisbon and a national strike is being advertised for 4 days time or next week ( it might be one or the other) either way Lisbon is to be avoided for the next two weeks or so.
Day 5; Sagres to Carrapateira, http://www.casafajara.com/ Probably the best boutique hotel, pool, tennis court down a dirt road and large rooms with massive wood fires in the public rooms which were all ours for the night. The staff were attentive, Johnny was great and he advised we ate at the Cabrito towards the coast which worked out well. Euro 85 and Euro 46 at the Cabrito.
We head back up to Bispo on the old road beside the main road. In Bispo we find a lovely new “interpretation centre” paid for by the EU with internet access and loads of photos of old fishermen (these old photos are younger than me!). We continue north following the cliff/valley bottoms of the east/west rivers, it is gentle work and few cars or wagons. Mrs Bilbo (an enviromental engineer) spends a good time in a wind farm taking photos. The tourist town environment of the Algarve seems to fall away as we go just a little north and we grab a late lunch in a bar in Carrapatiera, “my god it's so small they had shot the horse”. Mrs Bilbo decides to give up on Portuguese and just tries Spanish with more “sssh” at the end of words, it seems to work.
After this long lunch we whizz down with the massive sound of the sea crashing in our ears and note the hotel is off to the right up a twisting gravel path. Off we go and find a glorious building hidden in a North facing fold in the land. Stabling for bikes is good but in the open but our first gentle day is over.
The day starts sunny, the sky is blue and today we aim to head north towards Lisbon. As we only have a limited time left we plan to take it much easier and plan various escape routes to the railway system if the weather goes bad on us. The various TVs and Internet sites tell us rain is coming but not for a few more days. Far worse is Obama is coming to Lisbon and a national strike is being advertised for 4 days time or next week ( it might be one or the other) either way Lisbon is to be avoided for the next two weeks or so.
Day 5; Sagres to Carrapateira, http://www.casafajara.com/ Probably the best boutique hotel, pool, tennis court down a dirt road and large rooms with massive wood fires in the public rooms which were all ours for the night. The staff were attentive, Johnny was great and he advised we ate at the Cabrito towards the coast which worked out well. Euro 85 and Euro 46 at the Cabrito.
We head back up to Bispo on the old road beside the main road. In Bispo we find a lovely new “interpretation centre” paid for by the EU with internet access and loads of photos of old fishermen (these old photos are younger than me!). We continue north following the cliff/valley bottoms of the east/west rivers, it is gentle work and few cars or wagons. Mrs Bilbo (an enviromental engineer) spends a good time in a wind farm taking photos. The tourist town environment of the Algarve seems to fall away as we go just a little north and we grab a late lunch in a bar in Carrapatiera, “my god it's so small they had shot the horse”. Mrs Bilbo decides to give up on Portuguese and just tries Spanish with more “sssh” at the end of words, it seems to work.
After this long lunch we whizz down with the massive sound of the sea crashing in our ears and note the hotel is off to the right up a twisting gravel path. Off we go and find a glorious building hidden in a North facing fold in the land. Stabling for bikes is good but in the open but our first gentle day is over.
Nov 28th, 2010, 12:44 PM
#12
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So far, a great report. I want to go back to that part of Portugal, in fact, to all of Portugal. But not by bike. Rather read about your adventures, and go by auto. Thanks for doing all the hard work!!
Nov 28th, 2010, 11:28 PM
#13
50km is too much so we tend to reduce the distance a few days in to 35km, this allows for a couple of visits.
The benefit of the bike ride is no matter what you can eat and drink whatyou like, a bottle of wine at night and 1/2 a litre at lunch has very little affect while the pasta adds not a pound to the waist.
The benefit of the bike ride is no matter what you can eat and drink whatyou like, a bottle of wine at night and 1/2 a litre at lunch has very little affect while the pasta adds not a pound to the waist.
Nov 30th, 2010, 12:55 AM
#14
Blue sky, 20C blah blah you get the picture
We have heard about there being a castle in Carrapateira, if there is we didn't find it. The road is blocked by police. “it's a road block” no idea why so we peddle past. A lovely road with a gentle climb, we join in and pass local bikers all of whom wave or say hi. Mrs Bilbo follows a shepherd (lambs in November?) into a field of cows and Egrets for a series of photos of same. He must of thought she is mad.
Day 6; Carrapateira to Odeceixe, “pssst to you want a rooom” Euro 25 in a tiny room with night time rain in a traditional Portuguese holiday lodging house. Luckily there was a restaurant in town but no idea what it was called. Euro 26.
We join the N120 thinking it might be busy. No problems it is quiet as the grave. At Aljazur we had a “meal of the day” at a workman's cafe for Euro 7, jug of red wine, chicken and chips (with salad) and cake. Well decribed by Johnny at Casafajara. Just after all the Banks on the RHS. Very good. We pushed on past the dead tourist information kiosk. Had cakes in Rogil opposite a live TI who advised us not to stay in Rogil as it was so expensive (TI; don't you just love them) and finally down the steep road into Odeceixe as rain started. It is a dump in November and the various hotels are not inspiring so we gave into the blandishments of a shadowy woman and stayed with her. Supper and breakfast in a pretty tidy cake shop.
Fed but a bit cold in a clean but down-at-heel place we watched the riots in Lisbon continue.
We have heard about there being a castle in Carrapateira, if there is we didn't find it. The road is blocked by police. “it's a road block” no idea why so we peddle past. A lovely road with a gentle climb, we join in and pass local bikers all of whom wave or say hi. Mrs Bilbo follows a shepherd (lambs in November?) into a field of cows and Egrets for a series of photos of same. He must of thought she is mad.
Day 6; Carrapateira to Odeceixe, “pssst to you want a rooom” Euro 25 in a tiny room with night time rain in a traditional Portuguese holiday lodging house. Luckily there was a restaurant in town but no idea what it was called. Euro 26.
We join the N120 thinking it might be busy. No problems it is quiet as the grave. At Aljazur we had a “meal of the day” at a workman's cafe for Euro 7, jug of red wine, chicken and chips (with salad) and cake. Well decribed by Johnny at Casafajara. Just after all the Banks on the RHS. Very good. We pushed on past the dead tourist information kiosk. Had cakes in Rogil opposite a live TI who advised us not to stay in Rogil as it was so expensive (TI; don't you just love them) and finally down the steep road into Odeceixe as rain started. It is a dump in November and the various hotels are not inspiring so we gave into the blandishments of a shadowy woman and stayed with her. Supper and breakfast in a pretty tidy cake shop.
Fed but a bit cold in a clean but down-at-heel place we watched the riots in Lisbon continue.
Nov 30th, 2010, 10:44 AM
#15
so we gave into the blandishments of a shadowy woman and stayed with her.>>
"the balndishments of a shadowy woman"!
I'm willing to be that those words have never before been written on fodors - I think we should know more!
"the balndishments of a shadowy woman"!
I'm willing to be that those words have never before been written on fodors - I think we should know more!
Dec 1st, 2010, 11:53 PM
#18
Up early in the rain for breakfast, by 10 the rain had gone and sun was back. A good days ride if a little busy on the roads. We detour for lunch to Sao Teotonio and a cafe from the 1920s (loos to match for the boys) and finally into Odemira. Tourist informaiton is good, open and thinks we should stay in town. Being portugal they cannot book anything for us but direct us to the library and the EU paid for free internet.
What a great library, cake, coffe and yesterday's UK papers for Euro 1.80 for 2 and an hours surfing. Library has best position in town looking down from a crag.
Day 7; Odeceixe to Odemira; http://www.quintadochocalhinho.com/. Another boutique hotel reached in the dark so we only saw the inside of the public rooms and the glorious wood fires. Much entertained as we arrived in the dark with all lights off. Mrs Bilbo rang the owner and bollocked her for not letting us in but actually rang the hotel for tomorrow night. Hahah. Euro 75 B&B, free cake and tea at night with a good breakfast to come.
Darkness caught us on the way here, we bought some beer and sandwiches in a supemarket and then rode down (thank god) into the quinta. Once in we had a large public room to ourselves, many jazz CDs, roaring log fire and yet more internet.
Day 8; Odemira to Santa-Clara-a-Velha. A wonderful ride with blue sky and slow climb up to the ridge road. Little traffic and a wonderful day. Late afternoon it began to cloud over and it is obvious that Santa Clara is a bit of a dump. Still for Euro 50 works out well at the Herdade do Azinhal www.azinhalturismorural.com. Supper at Restaurant Pepe Euro 30 was pretty good given the first view.
What a great library, cake, coffe and yesterday's UK papers for Euro 1.80 for 2 and an hours surfing. Library has best position in town looking down from a crag.
Day 7; Odeceixe to Odemira; http://www.quintadochocalhinho.com/. Another boutique hotel reached in the dark so we only saw the inside of the public rooms and the glorious wood fires. Much entertained as we arrived in the dark with all lights off. Mrs Bilbo rang the owner and bollocked her for not letting us in but actually rang the hotel for tomorrow night. Hahah. Euro 75 B&B, free cake and tea at night with a good breakfast to come.
Darkness caught us on the way here, we bought some beer and sandwiches in a supemarket and then rode down (thank god) into the quinta. Once in we had a large public room to ourselves, many jazz CDs, roaring log fire and yet more internet.
Day 8; Odemira to Santa-Clara-a-Velha. A wonderful ride with blue sky and slow climb up to the ridge road. Little traffic and a wonderful day. Late afternoon it began to cloud over and it is obvious that Santa Clara is a bit of a dump. Still for Euro 50 works out well at the Herdade do Azinhal www.azinhalturismorural.com. Supper at Restaurant Pepe Euro 30 was pretty good given the first view.
Dec 2nd, 2010, 12:37 AM
#19
Dropped a few photos onto flikr for you
http://www.flickr.com/photos/4615385...7625386997411/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/4615385...7625386997411/
