Day 2 Fornalha to Beja

Day 2. Tuesday, April 27. Fornalha to Beja. 83.84kms. 5.21 hours cycling. Max speed 42.63 km/h. Average speed 15.63 km/h. Weather sunny and very hot. Camped at Municipal camp ground at Beja.



It would be interesting to see the official statistics, but I don’t think there would be too many Portuguese that suffer from stress.
In virtually every town you go through in every café and on many street corners there are groups of mainly men either just sitting, playing cards or talking.
Time is obviously not a consideration, with everyone on cruise mode.
On my way through the pretty village of Castro Verde I thought I would see if I could track down an internet connection. As luck would have it I turned on the computer in the town square and bingo free internet connection.
With a number of things to do I made the most of the connection and was probably there for two-plus hours. During that time the square was full of groups of men of all ages (doesn’t anyone work?) all in animated conversation as is the case everywhere.
After finishing in Castro Verde I hit the road for what turned out to be more than five hours of tough cycling.
I don’t know how it works, but why is there always more cycling to be done uphill than downhill? This thought occupied me for a good many hours as hill after hill appeared around every bend in the road.
While the terrain changed from the barren land of day one to more fertile land dominated by olive groves, wineries and cork trees, one thing remained constant – the constant slog uphill.
After enjoying a much needed main meal and wine at Albernoa, the remainder of the ride to Beja was seriously uphill, so I was more than pleased to finally arrive.
After finally tracking down the camp group in Beja, my lack of Portuguese language got me into more trouble than I needed. In most countries you pay for your tent site and that is that. But not here. After much angst from the lady behind the counter because I had no idea what she was saying I finally realised that she wanted my passport.
No way was I going to let her near that, so I produced my Queensland drivers licence only for her to take it and refuse to give it back.
After much heated discussion with neither of us understanding a word spoken, I took back the licence and said I was going to put up my tent.
About one hour later after enjoying a much needed shower, a guy in a very official uniform showed up and from what I could understand wanted to throw me out.
Thankfully another lady who spoke English joined in the conversation and placated him, but I still had to hand over either my passport or licence.
From what I can gather that is usual practice, but it was a fuss that I didn’t need after a long day.
Time will tell if I get it back ok in the morning.