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Cycle Tour 2025 - Western Europe and East/Southern Africa

Home Page > Bicycle Touring > Cycle Tour 2025: Western Europe and East/Southern Africa > Part 3




Part 3 - South-West Spain and Portugal

It was a great experence staying in Marrakech. Our riad was in the medina and we took a walk according to the route our host suggested, through the souk, to the Koutoubia (Mosque) via Jemaa el-Fnaa, the famous market area with snake charmers and monkeys that do tricks. The snakes were freaky, there were a few snake charmers and they had all varieties, from adders to cobras, weaving about in the air with their hoods open. We returned to the riad following the old wall. We weren't sure that we were up to the walk based on what I had read about the area, many people complain about being harrassed by over-zealous sales-people and also query the authenticity of the Jemaa. We went as the sun was setting and it was a great experience. We were not approached by anyone. The wares being sold in the souk were amazing, a much bigger variety than we saw in Fes. We enjoyed walking the city streets and we did feel a little sorry for the monkeys.

We had a long wait at the airport as we went through in the early afternoon via taxi with our bike boxes and bags from Atlas Sports. Our flight was scheduled for 22:00 but it ended up being delayed and we took off around 23:00. Marrakech airport was a nice place to be, we sat behind a large planter which many people emptied the last of their water bottles into. So much so that the water drips out the bottom. It did not smell good at all when this happened. There was a young cat roaming about and also two large scruffy cats, one of which climbed into said planter and had a sniff around. Many tourists love the cats and all want to pet the little one. Later we saw the little one jump into another planter, dig a hole and do it's business. Explains the smell if the strays of Marrakesh are roaming in and out of the airport treating it as their toilet!

We arrived in Seville just before 02:00. We were pretty annoyed at having to share our row of three with a woman who coughed and coughed and blew her nose throughout the flight. I wrapped my whole head in a scarf. We hope for the best on that score. If you are ill and need to get on a plane, wearing a mask just seems the sensible thing to do. Just saying. We flew Ryanair and definitely would choose them again, we liked that there were clear rules regarding luggage allowance and everyone has to follow them. We were in the back row on the plane and by the time we had cleared customs we were the last people in the airport. The entrance hall remains open and Mike inflated our mattresses and we slept there until 05:45. Then we got up, I helped Mike put the bikes together and we were on our way just after 07:00. Seville has decent cycleways and we followed one from just after the airport to the town centre. We had a couple of coffees each while waiting for Lidl to open, stocked up for the next few days (Easter weekend coming up) and headed for the nearest park to have cornflakes for brekky. The rest of the day was pretty easy, we left Seville on roads that were easy to navigate. It was a beautiful sunny day. It does feel like spring at last! Mike stopped at an Amazon locker at the petrol station (also got petrol for the stove) and then again at a parcel locker in a supermarket at Gelves. We had ordered a few things; various charging cables, new brake pads, new elasticised nets for the rear of the bikes (they are handy to hold shopping, wet weather gear, items drying in the sun etc and ours did not have small enough openings.) The most exciting ittem was a new saddle for me! I have been riding a Rido saddle for over 15 years (not the exact same one, I have had a few), and knew that the one I brought on tour would need to be replaced whilst on tour. Mike has ridden many Brooks saddles over 20 years, first the traditional leather in many incarnations and now the cambium rubber, much less maintenance! So I have decided to get the same type as Mike, just wider. It's a bit nervous getting used to a new saddle while on tour but at least it should happen quickly. I waited in the park and playground in Gelves and Mike went in search of the parcel locker which was inside a supermarket and very small. It was a new approach as he had to use bluetooth to access the locker. When he came back he fitted the new saddle and we had lunch.

We were heading to camp in an area of forest and were soon in countryside. It is pretty flat around here! Very rural, we felt we could have been in Australia or the prairies in Canada. It is a strange thing to be in an environment so different from Morroco so quickly! That's air travel. We are heading for Portugal, two days to go.


We had a great day's riding today, stopped often in towns to buy drinks, food and snacks and made good progress. It felt good, like cycle touring used to, easy to accomplish, nothing too taxing. We rode all day, from 08:00 to 18:00 and it didn't feel difficult. It was a breeze! The challenging stuff is good too,, and the rewards are huge but it is also nice to have days like this; fast, flat, good roads and a bit relaxing.

It was Maudy Thursday today and a public holiday, so it felt like a holiday atmosphere in the towns we rode through. Remembering that our prior Spanish experience was almost all Catalan, this feels like a different country. The towns look more affluent. We had a bit of rain after our first break, but otherwise the weather was good, sunny with some cloud and humid too. We were pretty sweaty a lot of the time. We rode through farmland and forest today and were often on main arterial roads connecting towns. We often had a cycleway which was good. Most of the time we could choose to bypass or go through a town. Now that we are back in Lidl land we can buy iced coffee often. Today we stopped for iced coffee, later for Coke, later for a litre of iced coffee! The roads were pretty quiet as it seems many people have the Easter break off.

At Huelva we went to the local Decathlon. It was in a weird spot before the town proper, sort of an industrial area of warehouses. Mike went in as he wanted to have a look at some pedals. My One Ups seem to have redeemed themselves after Mike serviced them, but you never forget whan pedals unscrew themselves and fall off your cranks (which these pedals did in California) so we decided I should have a spare set in case. Decathlon had the pedals Mike uses, Shimano clipless, on a pretty good special. So he went in and I sat and relaxed on a bench outside. He came out with two sets of pedals, mosquito repellent (we had mozzies for the fiirst time last night), and some other bike maintenance stuff. Decathlon is a pretty good store and most of their stuff is good quality. We stopped again in a park in Huevla town centre and had ice coffee. It is a really nice town. On the outskirts we filled up with water. We were now almost on the sea and also on a lovely cycleway which crossed the water and went through nature reserves along the estuary. It continued along the freeway and there were benches and picnic tables. After 100 km we were able to walk off the bike path into the forest to camp. Tomorrow, Portugal!


We continued on our cycleway for a few km's and then it was onto a road and then a railtrail. We were happy to find that Aldi was open this morning, even though most places are closed being Good Friday. We stopped off for yoghurt and iced coffee. The railtrail started off okay with a roughish gravel surface but eventually became a pain in the arse. It was too slow and the adjacent main road too attractive so we got on that for the last 15 km to our ferry to Portugal, across the river at Ayamonte. The ferry took 10 minutes and at 8 EUR 20 for two people and two bikes seemed really reasonable, particularly when the alternative was a 50 km trip to get to the next ferry. There was a bridge but bicycles couldn't use it. Over in Portugal the weather was better! Sun was out! We stopped to pick up water and make tea along the promenade. Many towns and villages that we have ridden through since Seville have sections of bricks instead of bitumen, but roughly cut like cobbles which is quite a bumpy ride! We joined the EV 1 route and it was really good. Using farm roads which were usually unsealed, it zipped along between various towns and the estuary. We had glimpses of the ocean. Once again a pretty flat day, but slower due to the unsealed roads and the headwind. There were many cyclists out, some lightly packed tourists too. Many people having a minibreak on the Easter weekend. It definitely feels like spring, with the occasional light shower and the orange trees heavy with blossom. Smells lovely! We picked up some additional water by means of a water pump with a big handwheel which Mike rotated and the water came out a tap! We found a good area to camp in amongst some pine trees alongside the estuary.


We were on the EV 1 today, we will follow it for most of our time in Portugal. It is the Atlantic Coast Route. This morning, following it around the estuary brought back memories of the first cycle tours we did in Europe, where we would follow these routes wherever they took us. There is a comfort factor in it, looking out for the next sign to tell you to turn or go straight ahead. However, they will also keep you on quiet roads at all costs, which is not always the best option. Thinking back over the day we seemed just to go from road to road, cutting across areas using rough gravel tracks. We saw many villages and towns, including more touristy areas which are full of these rough brick roads and a nightmare to ride. It is the Easter weekend so pretty busy. The weather was good, only a couple of showers. At a point where the cycleroute disappeared into a chasm above the beach we met a pair of Swiss cycle tourists who have been on the road for 9 months, starting in Turkey. The were also mystified by the disappearing cycleroute. We all had to backtrack and find another way through the town.

It is excellent having Lidl and Aldi repeat themselves all day. We stopped for iced coffee, yoghurt, tart de nantes (our Portuguese treat) etc. We like this! We called it a day as we found good camping in a bushy area near an estuary where could just walk in off the road.


This morning we decided to forgo brekky and ride instead to the nearest Aldi (15 km away) for our standard iced coffees, straticella yoghurt and tarte de nante. The tart is the best part! We decided today to mix it up a bit and spend more time on the main roads. It is Easter Sunday and we saw many road cyclists out for their weekend ride. These guys certainly do not go on the EV 1 with it's crazy little roads, they sit on the shoulder of the dual carriageway and so we did too from time to time. It drizzled off and on this morning and we took shelter at one point in a Macca's where we could bump up our electronics and have a couple of coffees and some fries and soup.

We had some sea views today, and not as many golf courses as yesterday. The highlight was to be the ride out to Sagres, the small town perched on the cliff edge which has the same pulling power as Lands End, the Cliffs of Moher or Eshaness. Many tourists come here. We had a lovely cycleway all the way from the closest town Vila do Bispo and it was quite breezy. The weather was really good by the time we got there, sunny and bright. There was a good supermarket, open on Easter Sunday afternoon and we got some Cokes. The views of the cliffs and ocean were beautiful and we were able to camp nearby. We relaxed in the sun and had a little snooze. It is a lovely spot to be.


The first part of the day back through Vila do Bispo and then onto the very scenic road to Praia do Amado was brilliant. We got to Aldi, Vila do Bispo before opening and waited about 20 min to buy breakfast. There were many hikers also getting into the store early. We saw many hikers all day. There is a long distance trail here called the Fisherman's Way, it is 226 km long and clearly very popular. When you add up all the walking trails from Lagos round the south west tip and up the coast it equals 750 km. The trail network is called Rota Vicentina. We rested awhile at Praia do Amado at a picnic table. There were many campervans parked and many surfers. There were no facilities, like water and toilets. There are many beaches along the coast and many surfers.

The EV1 route followed the cliff edge and then returned to the main road. When the EV1 turned off the road again, we decided not to follow it, returning to it a bit later. It wound through the countryside and was slow going along a rough track. Back on the main road we descended into Aljezur where we had lunch. We decided to stay on the main road to Odeceixe. After Odeceixe there would be a lovely descent however the road was closed with a detour in place. We ended up descending on very steep narrow rough brick roads through the town, hanging onto our brakes. Thank goodness we weren't going the other direction. The road followed down along a river and then our route took off up a super steep rough track onto a plateau where there was a lot of berry farming. We walked a bit as the track was steep and often sandy. Once on top we had a good road which we turned off down a sandy track to camp in a lovely spot under some pines.


Good day's riding through rural areas and seaside villages. We enjoyed the route which was on good roads and no crazy detours to get to the coast. We had a surprise in the first few km's when we passed a free range zoo. There were bison, zebra, llama, bighorn sheep and buffalo, all grazing right near the fence. We stopped and watched, the buffalo stood knocking their horns together. We then had two crazy steep descents followed by two crazy steep climbs. Both times the descent was down to the sea. At the top of the second climb was a small village where we waited for the bakery to open and were pleased we did. It was tiny, you had to stand on the step and ask the lady behind the counter for what you wanted. We got bread ( still warm), Berliner, tarte de nantes and croissants. We ate at a park bench, making our own coffee and tea.

The weather was geat again, blue skies and beautiful light. No rain all day! We did have a strong headwind the second half of the day. We spent a couple of hours around lunchtime at Vila Nova de Milfontes where there was a laundry near a supermarket. We did the laundry and had lunch, then around rhe corner we filled up with water and could have a shower which was brilliant.We set off again and rested in a park in Porto Covo, drinking Coke. Sines is a large industrial port town and the cycleway took us around the coastline. We stopped to take in the view at Vasco da Game Beach. Just leaving Sines we stopped at Intermarche Supermarket to pick up some food and drinks and extra water. We headed off and soon turned onto a service road where we could access a beautiful pine forest. We have been planning on a rest day but the weather is going to be good so might not. We got to our campsite at 18:30 so a long day, but very constructive!


We enjoyed a relaxing rest day in the pretty pine forest. We read and Mike did bike maintenance. We were not disturbed by anyone. We have been very lucky with wild camping in Portugal, but that comes with experience too, knowing what to look for. Also, we are prepared to carry water and find that 9l between us by the end of the day is the perfect amount for our needs, including a shower.

Today's ride included a ferry trip from Troia to Setubal. This was around the 60 km mark for us. It was a beautiful day, perfect really, Blue skies, no wind and warm. By the end of the day it was even hot. Felt like summer! The ride to Troia was pretty cruisy. We stopped at the first town after 8 km to have brekky and also took a couple of coffees to go. The riding was pretty rural and also through pine forest, it was lovely. Waiting for the ferry, the sea was so clear you could see schools of fish swimming around alongside the jetty. We chatted to a German cycle tourist doing big loop around Madrid. Concidentally he had also met the young German bloke who we met on our second day cycling out of Tetuoan in Morroco, who had cycled to Cape Town and back over two years!

Disembarking in Sebutal it was suddenly hot! The kind of day for doing nothing. It was a bustling place, felt like a different country! We ate lunch in a park and had 15 km to ride to where we thought we could camp. We left around 14:30 and we knew that the majority of the climbing for the day was left to do. The EV 1 takes the coastal route and it is beautiful, bright turquoise Atlantic Ocean. The road was narrow and pretty busy, due in part to the hot weather and also Portugal has a public holiday tomorrow, Freedom Day. We passed a few beaches and they looked pretty tempting. Suddenly there were concrete barriers closing the road at a short tunnel. Signs indicated the road was closed. It was unclear what the reason was. We had pretty much decided to take a chance and unpack the bikes to get over the barrier when two people came walking by and assured us that we could ride through. The closed section was a couple of k's long and there was absolutely nothing wrong with the road. No idea why it was closed! At the other end there was a gap in the blocks and with Mike lifting the back of each bike we could get them through. We met another German cycle tourist who asked to borrow a pump as his back tyre was going flat, but he had a Dunlop valve and our pumps don't fit that type of valve. There were still beaches and people driving to and from. Suddenly we had 5 km to go and still a lot of climbing. The road got steeper and steeper and the sun baked. I had to get off and push as I just could not ride any longer, it felt too steep but I didn't know until Mike told me it had got to 13% gradient which is definitely too steep. Mike could ride it though. After this the last half a k was still 10% gradient so I ended up walking almost all the way. Mike waited at the top for me and standing in the sun had started feeling ill, but it passed. Too hot, too quick! At the top of the climb we went along for a k or 2 checking our a few camping spots. Mike walked up a gravel track and found a flat section under two big pine trees. There was a bit of shade too lie down in. We managed to drink a bit and eat but by nightfall I had a really bad headache and we were asleep by 21:30. We are sleeping with the tent flysheet open these days as the weather is so good.


We had a misty start to the day after yesterday's heat. We find it quite humid here along the coast. We had some sea views as we set off for Lighthouse Cabo Espichel whch lay to the west. First stop Aldi for coffees and baked goods. The lighthouse and surrounding buildings were quite atmospheric. Very quiet on this Freedom Day morning. Freedom Day commemorates the Carnation Revolution in Portugal of 1974. We had pleasant riding until we joined one of the main roads to Almada. The road passed through pretty forest but was busy and narrow. The road quality in Portugal is generally bad. Roads have potholes and often very bad damage on the edges. For a European country the roads are actually pretty crap. It is very hard to ride when there is no shoulder and you can have metres of severely damaged road with resulting holes. Also there are often storm water drainage grates and manhole covers deeply recessed into the bitumen that you don't want to hit at speed and also impede uphill progress. This EV 1 route needs to be reconsidered in places as it is unacceptable to have roads closed for no reason (like yesterday) without any detour advised and also where it places cyclists on busy roads of such poor quality. The roads grew crazy busy as we approached Almada, at one stage traffic was bumper to bumper going south for kilometres. By the time we got to the ferry crossing from Casilhas to Lisbon we were pretty fed up with it all.

We were unsure about where we would overnight and had looked at some hotel options, but were reluctant to make a decision. There is a campground in Lisbon but the thought of cycling through the city, especially on this public holiday Friday was just not something we wanted to do. In the end at the ferry we booked into a hotel 20 km west of Lisbon along the coast. The ferry trip was very short and then we were on a cycleway of sorts. It went through the busy promenade area which was packed with sightseers. The area along the river to the sea is lovely with sailing boats and impressive monuments, but the cycleway is unclear at times and more suited to a relaxed ramble. We abandoned it when it became too pokey and got onto the road which was steeper and had no shoulder, but plenty of obstacles with the uneven manhole covers. It was simple to get from it to our little hotel though, where we received a lovely welcome and even a room upgrade due to us being allowed to keep our bikes inside with us! The room and bathroom are huge and we have had a relaxing afternoon and evening.


The hotel stay was one of our best ever. We were so impressed with the service we received from the lovely hosts. It was very relaxing and we had a great breakfast this morning. The wind was predicted to be strong northerly, galeforce at times and that was true. We left the hotel at 10:00, with a 70 km day planned with a bit of climbing. We started out along the coast as we followed a zigzag route through the town and then hit the pretty promenade busy with people. The surf was up! After the promenade there was a good cycleway along the beach road and it was very windy, becoming more and more so as we rounded the point. We were blasted by sand which also lay in drifts across the cycleway. Two cycle tourists coming towards in more favourable conditions commiserated, saying, "You poor people!" There were many road cyclists riding the coast road too. As we started the climb away from the coast it felt protected from the wind, but after a while the wind became a factor and riding was very difficuult and did not feel safe with almost no shoulder, albeit a better condition road surface than most. The wind was a real struggle, horrible conditions and we pulled over for a rest. There was forest behind us and we knew the best choice was to call it and camp in there somewhere. As we sat quite a few road cyclists passed us going down the hill and a couple up the hill. Loaded bikes are a different thing altogether. We walked off into the forest where there were many gravel tracks but it took well over and hour to find a place to camp due to the thick undergrowth. We found a good spot off the track and spent the afternoon hunkering down. It was a pretty sheltered spot but the wind was very high all day and Mike put the guy ropes up. Tomorrow winds are forecast to be negligible and then we have a couple of days of southerly winds so we should be back on track! It was one of those days when we could have decided to stay another night in the hotel based on the weather forecast, so we feel pleased that we got some riding done and especially that we are out of the town which is always slow going and stop start.


The wind raged all night but when we got up before 06:00 it was much lighter and by the time we left our campsite at 06:30 it was not an issue st all. Cycling out we saw another cycle tourist, well a cycle tourist's bicycle next to a one person tent set up right by the track, so at least one other person escaped the wind here. We had a climb and picked up water a couple of k's from our campsite. The road was quiet and when we reached the coast before 08:00 we decided to stop for breakfast at a picnic area with beach parking. We sat and watched the waves and were impressed by their massive force. The wild west coast. Quite a few men arrived while we were there and got into wetsuits, setting off along the path down to the rocks below with rope bags on their backs and metal hoops on sticks or sharp shovel type tools. We could watch them getting stuff off the rocks. They were in a hurry to get down there, must be the tide.

We really liked sitting where we had breakfast, watching the sea mist and the fishermen. Afterwards the road got busier and so it was all along the coastal route, busy narrow roads and built up. The coast is beautiful but we couldn't enjoy it while riding and the whole day was just steep climbs and steep descents, which us common for coast riding.

After about 60 km of this, Mike replanned the route so we were more inland on quiet roads and overall cut some distance off the route. For a part of the day the roads were better quality, but by the end of the day they were really bad again. We ended up reaching a forest of eucalypt trees and had a bit of a hunt for a good place to camp. We got set up well after 19:00. It was a pretty exhausting day and neither of us enjoyed it much. One highlight was a man who stood at his front gate with two little kids while we waited at a traffic light. He invited us in for coffee and offered us water. We declined as we needed to get the day done and were about 10 km from the end, but it was very kind of him! Also we can see fireflies in the bush all around our tent, flashing on and off.


Today Mike made some route changes on the fly that worked brilliantly, saving us distance and unecessary climbs into and out of villages. We had lovely stretches along forest roads and through rural areas. The twin towns of Salir do Porto and Sao Martinho do Porto were a highlight, sitting at two ends of a lovely, protected bay. We stopped for something to eat in a park at the first. There was a crazy steep climb out of Sao Martinho do Porto which took us to the clifftop with beautiful coastal views. It was another warm and sunny day. We enjoyed the riding.

There was a wild descent into Nazare and we stopped at the beachfront to go to a supermarket. The supermarket was "temporarily" closed, as advised by a handwritten note on the front door and a harrassed looking lady sweeping inside who yelled at me "Closed!". It seemed weird and we walked up through the town to another supermarket which had a crowd of people standing outside on the street, weirder still. We were aiming for the famous surf spot at Nazare, which meant a steep climb up and then a descent down to where the lighthouse was. We had to walk the bikes to start due to so many one-way streets. Riding up was very steep and I got off and walked a few times. Up at the top we picked up water and went to the small supermarket which was open. We had figured out by now that there was a powerfailure in the town. Everytime we walked passed a self-service laundry, all the machines inside were beeping. The bloke running the supermarket was doing a roaring trade with his calculator and manual scale. Cash only. I asked him if there was a power failure in the town. "Not just THIS town!" he yelled, " All of Portugal, all of Spain, even France!" A woman further back in the queue responded, "Not France!". Other people in the queue just looked at me blankly. "It's provocation," the lady continued. "From Russia over the Ukraine. They are trying to make all the old ladies panic and rush out to buy three days worth of food." Sounded serious. Better buy some more food, which we did, but there was not much variety in this tiny store.

Mike took a walk down to the lighthouse and I sat with the bikes at the top. He said it was not as impressive as he had thought it would be. Added to this there were no waves at all. Cycling out of Nazare there was a terrific cycleway which we got onto and rode until just before 17:00 where we could walk into a pine forest and camp. It is amazing how loud the sea sounds at night. The beaches and coastline are beautiful.


Wow - what a ride today! We jumped back onto the cycleway and rode it to it's end, over 40 km. It was just so amazing to have a high quality, seperate cycleway for 60 km all the way from Nazare. Of course, the road itself was quiet and easily rideable. We rode through more pine forest and then dune with scrub. It was lovely. We stopped to make breakfast at some benches looking out over a wild beach. Just after the cycleway ended we headed through a small village and took a break at a brand new park. The sun was out and the wind mainly to our favour.

Pretty soon we were on the main road to Cabedelo and Figueira da Foz. There is an impresive bridge which connects them over the Mondego River outlet, but cyclists may not use it, nor would they want to. The EV 1 takes a large detour east and crosses the river, then heads west, adding on much distance. Lucky for us, there is a free electric ferry which runs between Cabedelo and Figueira da Foz. It runs every 45 min with a break between 10:45 and 12:45. We got the 12:45 ferry and the bikes went on easily, with the crew securing them between some railings. It is a busy ferry and was full when we left. The operators were friendly and even waited to take on board late comers who raced up (a life saver on a quad bike) or ran up (4 blokes trying to make the ferry).

Once over the river we headed up to the nearest laundry to wash our very grubby cycling clothes etc and Mike took a walk to the nearest hardware store to buy benzine, which you can get in Portugal, to use in our stove. Unfortunately I had lost one of my cycling gloves before the ferry, so will need to get a new pair. The laundries in Portugal are very, very good. Particularly the driers, this one cost 1 EUR for 10 min and on the hot cycle it dried everything, towels, socks, all of it.

Setting back towards the route we were to take out of town, we picked up water. Our plan was to ride another 20 km and camp for two nights in some forest out of town. We are due a rest day an tomorrow it is going to be raining. We stopped along the promenade as I needed to change back into my cycling clothes in the public toilets. It took ages as you first had to go to a cafe to get the key and then go downstairs, unlocking two sets of doors an then return the key. Sittiing idle on the promenade wall, Mike looked at the fancy-looking hotel opposite him. He checked out the price on booking.com, more to have a laugh at how expensive it would be, so imagine his surprise when it was pretty cheap? We decide to check-in for two nights, feeling ever so grateful there was no power failure! They happily stored our bikes downstairs and we have this huge room on the 10th floor, complete with sea views and a long balcony, bedroom and seperate eating and lounge area! It is amazing. We had a relaxing rest day and watched the rain.


We woke to a perfect day, the cold front that passed through has really driven the temperatures down and that made riding a pleasure. We left our hotel at 10:00 and had a lovely ride along the promenade over a steepish hill and then another, steeper and very narrow hill, before we turned east and left the coast behind us until... Namibia? It was a public holiday in Portugal today but we did not have that mass of cars that we did a few days ago riding from Lisbon. Seems much more relaxed around here. The rest of the day was really easy riding, one stretch along a special road/cycleway where bikes seemed to take precedence as there were bike lanes on either side of the road and really only a single lane for vehicles. We saw many cyclists along this stretch and also some hikers. It is almost completely flat and we had a tailwind, happy days!

The villages here are a little different than those we saw in southern Portugal. There they were mainly small cottages, painted white and pale blue or other pastel shades. Now many houses have their exteriors completely tiled in beautifully detailed ceramic tiles. They are often blue too, but also brown, green and pink. It's pretty over the top but I guess you never have to paint. Actually I read somewhere that many years ago a ruling was made in Porto that if you didn't tile your housewalls on the outside you had to paint them every 5 years, so maybe this is a cultural thing. It is not happening on the newly-built houses, so those tiles sure were made to last! A lot of houses also have large paintings made out of tiles to create a picture on the front of the house somewhere, usually in the space below the roof pitch. They vary from scenes of local rural life to religious themes. One had a very particular fishing boat depicted and another had a painting of the actual exact house it was stuck to. We love cycling through towns and villages as we gain an insight into everyday life.

We continued along a road through beautiful pine forest. Generally the road surfaces today were excellent which we appreciated a lot. The roads went seriously badly towards the end of the day, we went through a town where there were detours due to roadworks all the time and the detours were over the worst surfaces you could imagine. You have to see these roads to believe them. Every town has new housing developments and the building standards are impressive, all the houses look well built and well-finished. If only the roads were too! We stopped at a supermarket in the afternoon and a Decathlon for more isotonic drink. Nothing beats it in the heat! We have camped in a small forest on the edge of town. We had perfect weather today but rain is predicted overnight.


We spent most of the day on the Rio Vouga rail trail. This is a great route running along where the old Vouga railway used to run, from 1913 until about 1990. Some of it is sealed but most is high quality fine gravel. We had a strange start to the day with both of us sleeping through our alarms set for 05:45 and woke up at 06:30 thinking it seemed quite light! We were on the road by 07:15. Before hitting the rail trail, here called "ecopisto", we rode through a few villages. It feels nice to be moving away from the coast. There is a huge variety of flowering plants everywhere and the scent of blossoms. It is beautiful.

The trail had good info boards for the first 11 km. We passed a couple of train stations which were preserved and used as tearooms. At our lunch stop near an intersection with a national road, many traffic police drove by sounding their sirens. Eventually Mike remembered there was a sign further back which suggested a cycling event. Sure enough, it was a road race! We got to the road as the peloton came whizzing by. Many team cars followed. Local people came out to watch, even a man on a tractor. A highlight is the wonderful bakeries we find now that make delicious tarte de nante and also lightweight small bread rolls dusted in flour. Growing up in Cape Town, where there were bakeries run by Portuguese migrants, we called these rolls "Portuguese rolls". Now we only have a few days left in Portugal and it's the first time we have found then!

It was really interesting riding this little route. There were lovely old churches, beautiful rose gardens and everything was really green. It was a cool day and the predicted rain never really got going until the end of the day. The rail trail was almost all uphill which made for a tiring day, but it was enjoyable. We decided to camp in an old oak forest just after Sao Pedro do Sul. Just after starting to pitch the tent, the rain began in ernest. The local church bells play a tune when they sound.


We had rain overnight and woke to it this morning, so we decided to have brekky in the tent. We put on wet weather gear and got out to a day that was actually improving weatherwise. By 07:30 the sun was peaking out. So we took off our wet weather gear before setting off. The oak forest we had camped in was so beautiful, the trees covered in lichen and reindeer moss. It was so totally green, like a green cathedral of light. It felt magical being in the forest. We had about 18 km along the rail trail before we turned off before it's terminus at Viseu. We enjoyed the riding, climbing consistently, but it was pretty slow going. I like to see the variety of flowering plants in gardens here away from the coast and at higher elevation; roses, camelia, rhodedendron, fuschia, azalea. The colours are so varied and vivid. Somehow the coast is all of the the same palette and texture which is probably what gives it that soothing feeling. But when you are riding along it for hours it can be quite samey. Here the colours, shapes and textures are interesting as they change all the time. We were pleased with the campsite we picked as not much else came up for the rest of the ride. We stopped at a bakery which was crazy busy to pick up some snacks and treats for the day and stopped to eat some a little further on.

We were pretty pleased so far with the weather, no rain yet and a strong southerly wind which heped us out all day. We had quite a lot of climbing to do today, ending up climbing 1 500m, the first 400 on the rail trail and the rest on the N2. This is a national road which runs from Chaves in the north to Faro in the south of Portugal, around 750 km. It is sort of a tourist route now, promoted as Portugal's answer to Route 66. As we have ridden part of Route 66 we think that Portugal should just claim the N2 in it's own right and not pretend to emulate anything American. Many people cycle the N2 as a way to cross Portugal. We joined it around Campo and immediately liked it a lot. Great condition, wide road so even when the shoulder was narrow it did not matter, light traffic and even friendly people who cheered when we rode passed! The climbing was fair and we had that feeling of heading into the mountains that we like. The climbing steepened up immediately into and after Castro Daire. We shopped at Intermarche here and sat undercover afterwards to eat and drink which was great as it rained quite a bit then. We put on the rain gear again when we set off, but it cleared up immediately! Luck was really on our side today! We stopped to take it all off. There was a brand new cycleway going out of town and we did well to bypass what looked like the stiffest climb betwen two roundabouts by taking an alternate road around. The cycleway actually started up again a bit later and it was nice to use as it was on the uphill. We were able to fill up with water about 7 km after the town so that meant we did not have to carry that extra weight up the steepest parts. This was our first infinity fountain we have seen in Portugal! This is what we call those water fountains in mountain areas where the water just pours out in a constant stream. Beautiful mountain water. After this the climbing got easier and easier and the views of the surrounding hills were lovely. Some drops of rain now and then but that was it. With all the climbing we had done we were quite sweaty, but the humidity dropped off as we climbed. We wanted to camp before the very top of the climb, which was for us at about 970 moh. We stopped a few times to investigate possible options, and found a good spot. Just in time to, quick shower, tent up and the rain started, raining quite heavily. It is much cooler up here too.


We broke camp at 10:00 as it rained a lot overnight and this morning. We almost didn't leave at all, wondering if we should just spend the day in the tent. We were really looking forward to the 30 km descent though, all the way down to the Douro River, that is the reward for all the hard work climbing up the hill. The N2 did not disappoint, serving up amazing scenery all day, starting with hills covered by old forest, festooned by lichen and Old Man's Beard. The descent was a blast until the 15 km mark when my rear tyre blew. No pun intended. Mike and I could both hear something hitting against the wheel as it rotated, it felt to me as if something metal had broken off my bike and was stuck in the wheel, but it must have been something my tyre picked up which then tore through the wall and suddenly the explosion as the tube burst. Luck was on our side as the road was quite and I could pull over right away to a covered busstop where we set about investigating what we were dealing with. At first it seemed it might have been just a puncture, but only when Mike had the wheel off, tyre off, tube out and could see where the tube had ripped and then looked at the tyre there, we saw about a 4 cm tear through the wall. This is always one of Mike's biggest worries on tour, and the reason why he has carried spare tyres across continents. It's a show stopper unless you are lucky enough to be near a place which sells bike tyres. He carried a spare tyre into northern Sweden when we were on very remote gravel roads, and two spares across Australia when we were riding the Oodnadatta and the Great Central Road. Both trips to North America he carried one as we were riding remote roads far from help if a tyre blows. In all this time we have never had a tyre blow even though those trips included notorious tyre shredding roads, even for motor vehicles. Now here we were on the best road we have ridden in Portugal, and it happens! As we sat at the busstop, rain pouring, a caring local man came along, interested and trying to help, only spoke Portuguese. There was a bike shop 2 km from where we were in Lamego, but it was Sunday and closed. There was a Decathlon in Vila Real, 45 km away. We could camp in Lamego and then go to the bike shop tomorrow, but it was a really small store and we were worried they might not even carry 26 inch tyres in the width we can use. Seemed a waste of time. Thing is, the tyre was not really ridable. We knew that you can "boot" a tyre, that is, put some heavy fabric like denim inside where the tear is to support the tube and keep it inside. Mike decided we should give it a go. The torn tyre would need to go on the front wheel, swapping that tyre to the rear. This is not actually the safest option, but due to the weight of the load on the rear it's the only thing to do. Then he gallantly offered to swap front wheels with me so that I did not have to ride with the torn front tyre. We used a cloth shopping bag from Lidl and cut two panels out of it to line the torn tyre wall and Mike pumped the tube to a very low pressure, 1.5 bar (normally it would be 4). So this meant he had to take it very easy on downhills and turning as the steering is not so good, but on climbs it was pretty much business as usual. Heading down to Lamego we went very gingerly. Lamego is a big town and very pretty. We went to the supermarket to get something for lunch as it was already 12:30, but it was closed for renovation. Very Portuguese! The other day we went to a Lidl which was not even there, just a Lidl sign and piles of sand and gravel and not much else. We had two small breadrolls left over so ate these with jam and cheese. More downhilll to come and with it the most amazing views of the vineyards of Portugal, terracing you have to see to believe. We haven't seen valleys as steeply terraced to maximise the hillsides as the Duoro Valley. It is magnificent. Everyone else thinks so too and Regua, the town overlooking the river was full of them. Tourists. Luckily they come in and out on buses via the motorway which connects here and do not sit on the N2. After this the climbing started. Mike's front wheel was doing fine and the tyre repair was holding.

The weather had improved but there was still rain about, so we kept our wet weather gear on, however after a kilometer of climbing we took it all off. The rest of the climb we were sometimes wet as there were showers of rain, but it was so warm and we didn't mind. The views were simply some of the best we have seen on this trip and certainly better than anything we saw from the EV 1 of the coast of Portugal. The N2 is a really good condition road (by Portuguese standards) and the motorists were really good with passing. The road was anyway pretty quiet. Quite a few cyclists coming towards us throughout the day, mostly on a supported N2 tour north-south we thought. We stopped at a small village near the top of the climb where a lady was selling homebakes, bought a bag of biscuits and ate them sitting by a fountain.

Finally we reached Vila Real, all we could think about today was getting to Decathlon to get a tyre, it was our only aim! We had to climb up into the town and of course then there were road closures due to a huge street festival full of trucks carrying University students partying. Somehow we managed to walk/ride through and get out the other side. People were lining the streets the students were drinking beer, it was mayhem. Luckily the weather was good and did not rain again. We got to Decathlon just before 17:00 and Mike went in and came out with a BTwin 2 inch wide tyre (we ride 1.75) which we were happy with. Actually there was not much of a choice but it only cost 15 EUR. I went across to Intermarche to buy lunch (!) and supper and when I got back Mike had it all done and dusted. He had his front wheel back and my new tyre on my front wheel (needed to adjust my front mudguard to get it to work). We picked up water at Decathlon and got onto the Rio Corgo Ecopista (rail trail) and rode 5 km to a point where we could happily camp in a little pine forest. It was 19:00 by then. What a day! In the end we are happy we had the learning experience. Being stuck on the road is never a good feeling, but we had the tools at our disposal to work a plan that we felt comfortable with.


We spent much of the day on the N2, but joined the ecopista (rail trail) at Vila Pouca de Aguiar for a bit and then went back onto the N2. The riding was very good and the weather was excellent today. The N2 ends at Chaves, where we picked up water and joined an ecovia, the Rio Tamega Ecovia. This is a lovely river route in the European tradition. Spring has definitely arrived, grass as high as you like, butterflies and flowers and that white fluffy stuff that blows from trees and cover the ground like snow. It sort of sticks to you, your face, clothing, everywhere. It just makes you feel like taking an anti-histamine. Poor eyes start to itch. But it heralds the coming of summer! It's cottonwood or poplar seeds. The river route was sealed for the first 6 km and then good dirt. We crossed the border to Spain over a tiny wooden pedestrian bridge across a stream. Pretty different to the ferry we took over the river to get to Portugal just over two weeks ago. We rested at a petrol station and had a drink then stuck to the road for a bit. There was a headwind but the road was flat.

We then got back onto the river route to look for a campsite. We lost an hour coming here from Portugal, so sunset is now 21:30! It was quite difficult finding a place to camp as it was just a small track surrounded by trees and grass and lots of greenery, but Mike took a walk down another track which led to a lovely open, flat area free of grass and shrubs, so we could sit in the sun and charge things with Solly.

Last thoughts on Portugal: Having cycled through the country we found it tricky to get a handle on the culture. The people do not engage at all. It has only been in the last three days that people have been at all open and cordial. Up 'til then most people did not even respond when greeted. The culture of the country seems a bit vague. Having spent just over two weeks cycling from the south to the north, if you asked us what Portugal was like, we do not have an opinion. Sure we enjoyed being here, but a lot of it felt like parts of other places coastal or forested. It did not really have it's own identity. Our route took in a lot of diverse areas. We are not naturally drawn to the coast and our experience of the coast was not all that great, so it would be easy not to recommmend the EV 1, however we recognise that when you travel a country you should experience as many parts of it as possible and seeing Portugal without the coastline would not be right. We loved the small part of the N2 that we rode and would recommend the whole N2 route instead of the EV1. We found wild camping surprisingly easier than we had thought. The towns and villages are very neat and well maintained. The roads are not.