Bicycle the Costa Vicenta National Park - beaches, sand dunes, and surfers

Today we are in the Algarve district of Portugal. Our ride today is 77 km. As we cycle through the Costa Vicente National Park, the scenery keeps changing. There are more and more eucalyptus trees while pine and acorn trees lessen. We stop for lunch in Igreja Nova/Aljezur. Terrain today is rolling hills some of which are quite steep so once again I am glad to be on the e-bike. I could do these hills but appreciate arriving at our destination not totally wiped out. It is a long downhill ride to our hotel/village.

Our hotel for tonight is actually a village that was abandoned and turned into a hotel. Only seven residents still remain in the village. The Pedralva Village was a pile of ruins. It used to have up to 100 villagers. Someone bought the whole village with the idea of turning it into a hotel and spent two years tracking down 220 owners and their heirs who now lived in Portugal, Germany, England and France. It took two more years to rebuild the village, keeping the original design as much as possible. It opened in 2009. How interesting is this!? We each have a house completely equipped with a kitchen. The bedroom is upstairs. (See pictures.) The village is on the side of a mountain so the streets are narrow and winding and go up.

Our leader, Surfer Luis, leads a yoga session by the pool. The evening is lovely and we all appreciate doing some stretching. Surfer Luis, the nickname we have given him since two of our leaders are named Luis. Apparently, Luis is a very common Portuguese name. Surfer Luis is a lot of fun and has an infectious laugh. He was in the Seoul Olympics in surfing. He continues to be very fit and the women in our group are having their pictures taken with him. He tells us that yoga has been his salvation in dealing with various injuries. He isn't as intellectual or knowledgeable about history as the other Luis and Philipp, but he is a nice counterpoint to their more serious natures.

We have dinner at the hotel. I am thankful that most of our meals on this trip have been served family style so you can take just what you want. There is always too much food. We have chicken for the first time with Piti Piti sauce on the side. I try just a small amount and it is so spicy hot that my mouth explodes! No more of that for me. Glad they served it on the side. I enjoy a nice visit with Philipp at dinner. We talk about future ideas for trips among other things.

                                               Linda with Philipp

                                               Our yoga session with our leader Luis

                                The winding streets of Pedralva Village

Bicycle the coast of Portugal; in Costa National Park

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAI!!

The Southwest Alentejo and Vicente Coast National Park is the finest preserved stretch of European coastline, covering over 100 km, from Porto Covo in the Alentejo, to Burgau in the Algarve. The landscape is marked by steep cliffs. Many bird species live here including the white stork. This is the only place in Portugal, and one of the last places in Europe, where otters can be seen. The beaches, popular among surfers, are the finest in the country.

What a lovely day we have today. It continues to be warm and sunny though in the 80s not 90s. We have a relatively short day, 52 km, so there isn't a big rush to get going. We ride a kilometer or two inland from the ocean so don't actually see it until kilometer 20 when suddenly we come to the ocean in the city of Villanova de Milfontes. We enjoy the view and stop here for picnic supplies, then ride on to kilometer 35 where there is a very beautiful beach. We take our stuff down to the beach and have a grand picnic. I love these kinds of picnics. Everyone brings something and we eat a little of this and a little of that.

 

We take off shoes and socks and walk in the water which is quite cold. We write write Kai's name in the sand and make a little video to send to Kai for his birthday. We ride 15 more kilometers to our hotel. This part seems long. I am tired and ready to be done. Our hotel is a Rural Turisme hotel out in the country. It is absolutely gorgeous. There are little two room cases spread out over the property, a beautiful swimming pool area and a lanai to sit and enjoy a drink. 

We have a cooking lesson at 4:00 with a chef in the lanai area and make apple pie, coconut pie and chocolate mousse. We participate in making the desserts. What fun!! We have never had a cooking lesson on our bike trips. The chef doesn't speak English so Luis translates. 

We have our briefing in the lanai area and watch the beautiful sunset. Dinner is in the hotel in an intimate dining room. Food is delicious and we are served the three desserts we made in the afternoon. They are beautifully presented.

                              View of ocean in city of Vilanova Milfontes

                                        Our picnic on the beach 

   

                                             Our hotel casa

                                              Making desserts. Here is the apple tart

                                          Birthday message for Kai

                                                Hotel swimming pool

                                                  Beautiful sunset

                       Our three desserts

Cycle to Porto Covo, next to Sines, birthplace of Vasco Da Gama

Weather starts out cool and overcast this morning. I appreciate the cooler temperatures for riding. We get started about 9:00 for our 63 km ride to Porto Covo on the Atlantic coast. I am on the e-bike again and appreciate the boost up the hills in the early part of the ride. Eventually, we go downhill and that I can do on my own. I am feeling more comfortable on the e-bike and managing the handling of it a little better on land. It is still clumsy and awkward though. I am aware of the weight of it even when riding. I try to go up the hills as far as I can before turning on the motor but, because of the weight of the bike, I believe the boost is really necessary. Kathy said she agrees. It's just part of it. I get so I am not so reluctant to turn on the motor and use it when I need to to maintain a smooth cadence. 

The landscape has changed. We ride through forested land which is welcome after the arid terrain we have been riding the past few days. We stop for coffee but actually have two scoops of gelato. A delicious snack! We arrive in Porto Covo about 2:00 and immediately go to lunch. This is a small, quiet beach town off the tourist route. The buildings are mostly white with blue trim. After lunch we ride on a road along the ocean to take in the beautiful views. It reminds us of Monterey. Our room tonight is in a typical beach hotel. We actually have a small apartment and can see the ocean from our window. Dinner is on our own tonight.

We can see the harbor city of Sines in the near distance. It is the birthplace of Vasco da Gama who discovered a maritime route to India. Sines is now a big industrial city.

Our hotel tonight is not fancy but is a typical beach hotel. We actually have a little apartment with a living room, kitchenette and bedroom. Lots of space to spread our stuff out.

At our briefing tonight, the leaders surprise Sari with champagne and a chocolate cake for her birthday. We sit out by the pool on a very nice evening. Dinner is on our own tonight and we join up with Kathy, John, Trisha, Tall Luis and Philipp and go to a little local spot where most of us have fish for dinner. 

                                   Seaside town of  Porto Covo

                                                 The Atlantic Ocean

                                              The e-bike I have been sharing with Kathy

                                           Sunset on a lovely evening

                                                A champagne toast for Sari's birthday

Ride to coast and picnic lunch; 50th anniversary celebration

The day sheet for today is all wrong because everything is changed. We do an out and back ride to the beach at Carvalhal for a delicious picnic lunch organized by our leaders. We sample local cheeses and Tall Luis grills local sausages in a grappa grill. It is a small ceramic dish which is filled with grappa and lit to grill the sausages. (See picture.)  Isn't that a good use for grappa? It is a beautiful beach, almost empty today on a Monday. The water is cold. I do enjoy putting my feet in. Susan and Dave throw the football on the beach. 

I ride the e-bike all day. It's really great! It was very windy coming back and rained a little. It would have taken me much much longer to get back and I would have been exhausted. As it is, I get back with time to relax, shower and have a few minutes to myself. It only rained a few minutes but it felt great! The cloud cover made it a bit cooler which I appreciate. We ride a total.of 70km today.

What a magical special evening we have! We meet on the patio area outside of our rooms for a port wine tasting before dinner. Philipp talks about port and we sample a white port, a tawny port and a ruby port. He toasts to Dave and me for our 50th anniversary and I tell about how we met and pass around some pictures from our wedding album. Jim and Sari sing two songs for Dave and me with Jim on the ukulele of course. We have dinner at the hotel and the food is really good. We seem to have the whole place to ourselves which is nice. A selection of desserts is served buffet style. 

As we are finishing dinner, Philipp says they have a surprise for us and introduces two fado singers! The woman sings and the man plays the accordion. Tall Luis tells a little bit about fado singing. Explains that there are two types, Lisbon style and Corimbra style. These singers do the Lisbon style. What fun! Fado singing is traditionally sat yearning singing but as time has gone on there are happy songs too. This is "party" fado. At one point Small Luis gets up and does a duet with the woman. Then, Jeanne Evans does a dance with Small Luis. Finally, they play a slow song we can all dance to. I dance with Philipp as well as Dave. I had told Philipp I hadn't yet heard any fado singing and the leaders went to considerable lengths to arrange this! It was a wonderful, wonderful evening! 

Unfortunately, it was too dark to take pictures of the fado singers.

                                          Sausages on the grappa grill

                                                  The Atlantic Ocean

                                                 Our picnic lunch

                                                 Port wine tasting (and some other things, too!)

                                     Philipp telling us about port

Cycle from Èvora to Central Alentejo

Alentejo was a region of large estates. The living conditions of the seasonal,workers were extremely difficult. This sociology-economic situation agitated the peasant masses in the region starting in the 1940s. The conflicts escalated for the next two decades. A woman, Catarina Eufémia, became a martyr for the cause when she tried to negotiate a modest wage increase and was shot to death. 

I take one look at the day sheet for today's ride including the elevation profile and know I need to get as early a start as possible. It is going to be a 89 km day. Also, it is already hot when we leave and will only get hotter. There are more trees and green landscape than on previous days, a welcome change since I am a little tired of the dry, parched, brown land with occasional cork trees. This is a hilly ride with two short but monster hills. 

We stop at 25 k at a cafe where we had a delicious pastry, folhados, made by tall Luis'wife. Yum!  We ride through the village where Luis lives, Viana do Alentejo. A marathon is going on and the village streets are closed to through traffic. However, Luis talks to the police who agree to let us through. Kathy and I switch bikes at 45 k after the first big hill and downhill. The e-bike saved me a lot of time and energy today. It would have taken me much longer and I would have been really tired. The e-bike is quite amazing! You are still cycling and you can pedal as hard as you want to. There are plenty of gears to shift into. You have to pedal to turn the motor on.

Lunch was ready for us at 52 k point which was nice . We didn't have to wait to order and then have a long lunch. We are staying at a former farm out in the country now called Monte das Faias. We find there is no soap, no shampoo, and no hair dryers in our rooms. There is one for all of us. When someone asks about soap, they are told that there isn't any. Our room and bathroom pretty new and just fine but there is very little light. Kathy has moldy shower curtain. The manager is responsive to our complaints and the next day Kathy's shower curtain has been replaced and we have soap and shampoo in our rooms. The government apparently subsidizes turning former farms like this into hotels. We seem to have the place to ourselves. There is a swimming pool which I don't use but others do. Breakfast turns our to be surprisingly nice with a good variety of breakfast items. 

A shuttle takes us to dinner in nearby Grandola. Dinner is delicious but it is very warm in the restaurant and I am so tired I can hardly make it through dinner. This is last dinner for Joanne and Blunt who will be leaving in the morning. They have been a delightful couple to have on the trip, friends of Billy's.

I am in bed within 15 minutes of getting back home.

Rest day or optional ride in Èvora

Évora (EV-ora) is the largest city we will be in on this bike trip. We are in cork country evidenced by all the cork trees we have been seeing. Portugal produces about half the world's output of commercial cork, and its exports over recent years account for about 70% of world trade. Cork is Portugal's most important export. It takes about 20 years after planting a cork tree before it can begin to be harvested. Law prohibits stripping the trees more than once every nine years. A number is put on trees that have been stripped. Showing the last number of the year that tree was harvested. Cork harvesters are among the most highly paid jobs in Portugal because of its labor intensive nature and the skill needed to do it properly. You can ruin a tree if it isn't done properly. 

Today is a rest day or an optional loop ride day. I decide not to bike today. The van takes those of us not riding to a cork factory. When I saw how hot it was, I was so glad I didn't bike. It was just an out and back anyway. Joanne, Bob and Jeanne also rode the van. The cork factory was very interesting. Dave biked to the cork factory along with the others. Tall Luis gives us a talk about cork and its production. There is of course a store there where purchases of cork products can be made.

When we got back, went to lunch with Joanne, Bob and Jeanne and Kim whom we run into as we are leaving for lunch. We go to a little place right around the corner from the hotel, Bistro Barão. It is a small,intimate place. We get a selection of small plates recommended by our very nice waiter. They were delicious! The walls are made of tile and have writing all over them from customers around the world. Kim has found a place that makes delicious pastel de Natasha so we go there after lunch. They are fresh and delicious.

We meet at 3:30 for a walking tour of Évora with tall Luis. Èvora is Luis' home town. Afterwards we go into the cathedral and see the Roman temple and then to the bones chapel which is really weird. It is made of human skeletons, skulls and bones. 

We have dinner on our own tonight. Kathy, John, Susan, Dave and me go to to a place nearby recommended by the hotel. (name) It was fun and delicious-casual, simple, rustic - hams hanging from the ceiling, wine served out of a big barrel and a waiter Carlos described as a "hoot" in the hotel description. Menu was on a chalkboard on the wall. Carlos described choices in English but we didn't exactly understand him. He made a selection for us which we shared and thoroughly enjoyed. A lot of fun! 

This hotel is really nice. It sed to be a convent. The staff are very friendly, and helpful. The staff seems to be mostly young women who speak beautiful English. Breakfast is wonderful. You order from a menu. It was good to,have the choice of oatmeal for once.

           Cork tree last harvested in 2014

                                     Bone Chapel in Évora

                 Cathedral in Évora

                                            Luis giving a talk about Évora

                                    Roman temple of Diana in Évora

                                            Cork piled up

                                     Waiter at Bistro Barào

                                          Harvested cork

Cycling from Monsaraz to city of Èvora

The morning light was so nice on the Momsaraz landscape. Better for pictures than the intense bright light of daytime. Had a delicious breakfast before starting out on our 65km ride. It is overcast and a bit cool which Imappreciate for riding. We leave as early as we are allowed, 9:00ish, so as to take advantage of the cool weather. We make a brief stop at a pottery shop but otherwise keep going. When sun does come put, it quickly becomes warm. 

Today's ride is mostly flat but with plenty of rolling hills. We immediately notice a change in the landscape. There are more green plants and vineyards. We stop for lunch at a small town on the way. Most of our group stops here and we kind of overwhelm the place. 

After lunch I trade bikes with Kathy and use the e-bike the last 15 km. The e-bike is quite amazing. You are still biking but feel like you are getting a boost. There are four levels of boost. The only downside is that the bike is very heavy to,handle on land. 

Èvora is an interesting city, the largest one we will visit on this tour. It has been a cultural oasis for 2,000 years. We have about an hour to walk around and get the lay of the land before going to dinner with the group. The leaders are trying to work with the restaurants to shorten our meals a bit so we can get back to our rooms and to bed at a reasonable hour.

It has been an unusually hot and dry summer here. The heat continues.

 

Alqueva reservoir, castles and fortified town of Monsaraz

It's supposed to get in the 90s today so we leave as early as possible about 9:00 a.m. Dave and I leave before Kathy and John and Susan since I know I am the slowest of all of us. I am best in the morning and want to take advantage of whatever coolness there is to the day. I am feeling quite good. My leg is still sore but definitely better. As we get going, I am really enjoying getting into a rhythm and pedaling along. It is meditative. Once we are out of town, we are on excellent roads with no traffic to speak of. Dave stops for pictures but I keep going and enjoy the quiet time by myself. He eventually catches up and we stop at a very small little snack place. They don't have anything to eat at this time of day but we get cokes and eat our own snacks. 

The small villages we pass through seem deserted. No people in sight. They look different than other European villages we have seen on our trips. The buildings are a stark white with colored trim. There is a lot of blue. Looks almost like Greece. 

The route today is 55km mostly downhill though we have up hills at the beginning and at various other times so it's it's certainly not perfectly flat. We have a big hill at the very end which takes us up to Monsaraz and our hotel. We ride next to the Alqueva dam, the biggest dam in Europe. Luis tells us that it was a very controversial project which took 20 years of discussion and 5 years to build once the decision was made. It is only 20 years old. He says it is a necessary evil to bring water to this region. Terrain is much like yesterday, i.e. dry, rocky fields dotted by live oak trees and occasional olive groves. Looks a lot like,California. There aren't really places one wants to stop along here so it is easy to keep a good pace and keep riding. 

I am feeling good so I ride up the big hill at the end except when I get to the medieval cobblestones I walk. They are rough and uneven. The views get more and more incredible as I climb. Others hitch a ride to the top. Our hotel, Estalagem de Monsaraz, is at the top with magnificent views in every direction! Once Kathy, John, Dave and Susan are there, we immediately go for lunch in the little town. We find a place where we can sit outside and enjoy the incredible view. After lunch we go to the castle where you can go up on the ramparts and enjoy more amazing views. Back at the hotel, most go for a swim. I choose to take a nap, a wonderful shower and then try to catch up a little with this blog.

Thanks to its geographic position, Monsaraz has always occupied an important place in the history of this region. It is one of the oldest Portuguese settlements in southern Portugal, occupied since prehistory. Monsaraz was reorganized during the Roman occupation by the Visigoths, Arabs

Mozrabs, Jews, and Christians. The history of Monsaraz goes on and on. Today Monsaraz is a tiny, fairytale walled village that maintains a medieval,atmosphere. This region also,has plentiful Iron Age dolmens and menhirs, which were the sites of fertility rites.

What a wonderful dining experience we had tonight!! We went to a restaurant, Sabores de Monsaraz, near our hotel. It was a tiny place and the kitchen area small and open to,the dining room. Our group was seated at one long table which almost filled the restaurant. There were a couple of other tables at one end but that's it. The food was just fantastic, the best we have had in Portugal. It was like home cooked food all prepared by the woman in the picture below, a real Portuguese mama. She had prepared all this food in that small kitchen with just one helper. One man served all the food. The Portuguese mama was jolly and fun. She came over to the table at the end of the meal and we toasted her. She didn't know any Enflish but had this fun interaction with Dave. She kept passing him more dishes of food. When Dave indicated he didn't want anymore, she said something loudly and pointed to his stomach making a round shape meaning he needed to eat more. All in all, it was a memorable experience.

               Dave with the chief cook at the wonderful restaurant re went to tonight                    

                               Typical terrain of the Alentejo

                                Pretty little church along the way

                             A typical village in this area

                            View from our hotel window

                                 Medieval village of Monsaraz

                               Doesn't this look inviting? On the grounds of our hotel

                                               Our hotel

From Elvàs to Vila Viçosa

We start the day with a walking tour of Elvàs with our leader "big" Luis. (Since two of our leaders have the name Luis, we call the tall one " Big Luis" and the smaller one " Little Luis.") Luis obviously loves his country and wants to share it with us. He is from this region. We stop at various points and he tells us about Portuguese history. Our final stop is the castle where most walk on the ramparts but I stay below and take the opportuniypty to do a little sketching. 

We only have 30km to do today so we don't get started until 11:00. By now, it is getting warm and the route is hilly plus this is the first real day of cycling so it seems challenging. There are constant rolling hills. Philipp rides sweep today. The landscape is dry, rocky barren fields dotted by live oak trees and some olive trees. Philipp tells us that if you plant an olive tree with a pit, the tree doesn't make normal,olives. We see some of these trees along the way. You have to use a branch from the tree and plant it to get normal olives. We have lunch in Vila Viçosa near our hotel. Our hotel tonight is one of the Portuguese posadas run by the government. It used to be a convent for nuns. It is beautiful and spacious. 

We get in just in time to change our shoes and meet at 3:45 for a tour of a marble museum. We stand in the hot sun in the huge square in front of the hotel while Luis tells us about the area. It is a bit of a walk to,the museum. My leg is really hurting, I am hot and tired. I wish I had skipped the marble tour. The little tour is interesting though and we learn a lot about marble. This region of Portugal,has the largest deposit of marble in the world! Vila Viçosa, Borba, and Estremoz are internationally known for,it's fine to medium marble of several colors - cream, white, pink, grey, black and streaked with any combination of these colors. The pink marble (Rosa Aurora and Estremoz Pink) is especially valued. The mine near here is no longer operational. When we get back, I flop down for a nap while Dave goes to the pool which has very cold water.

Marble is used for everything around here, cobblestones, doorways, stairways, fences, walls, etc. Portuguese marble is harder than Italian marble so best for buildings whereas the softer Italian marble is best for sculpture. Portugal is the second largest exporter of marble, surpassed only by Italy (Carrara marble).

We have a delicious dinner in the dining room of our hotel. The room is elegant with a beautiful painted ceiling. The food is delicious. As usual, it is too much but at least it is served family style so we can take what we want.

                             Luis giving us a tour in Elvàs

                                          Building in Elvàs 

             Inside of church- lots of gold!

                                                  Very old stuff!

Shuttle bus to Elvàs for start of bike trip

Met in lobby of hotel at 9:30. Everyone is here! We load onto a big bus which is taking us o the city of Elvàs about 3 hours away. Philipp rides with us and does some commentary about what we are seeing and will be doing. He also does the safety talk during the bus ride. We stopped for a delicious lunch in Estramoz. We have a buffet of small plates. It is a beautiful weather day. We look at brightly colored pottery at a stand near the restaurant. We arrive at hotel, check in and get our bikes. Kathy has her e-bike which is pretty nifty. The placement of the water bottle though generates much laughter and jokes. (See picture.) We go out for a test ride of 20 km. It is so good to see everyone! We have dinner together in Élvas. 

                                                      Élvas

                             Élvas

                                       Bike fitting with Sylvester the Chicken hitching a ride

                                  The placement of this water bottle is questionable...