Day 7 Avis to Alpalhao

DAY 7 Avis to Alpalhao. 68.21 km cycled. 4.35 hours cycling. 45.18 max speed. 14.84 average speed. Weather sunny and mild – perfect for cycling. Wild camped just outside of Alpalhao in an old pine plantation.

Forewarned is forearmed as the saying goes, so it was good that I had previously been told to make sure to stock up on food on Saturday because nothing is open in Portugal on a Sunday.

  And how true it is!! With my 4 panniers brimming with food stocks purchased in Pavia the previous day I was more than adequately prepared for my first Sunday.

  But just as well, because other than few bars where you can only get beer and coffee, I did not see one food store open all day in 68km of cycling.

  It was my best day’s cycling yet, with next to no traffic on the roads on a perfect spring day. And to make things even better I seemed to have some extra zest in my pedalling, so the kilometres seemed to just fly past.

  After packing up my lakeside campsite at Avis (it would have been very easy to stay there at least one more day), I hit the road relatively early and was making good time until I reached the stunningly beautiful town of Alter do Chao.

  On entering the town the first thing you see is a storybook-like castle overlooking the town’s main square.

  Apparently it was used as a residence for visiting dignitaries back in the Middle Ages, so wasn’t so much used as a fortress, but a grand residence.

  As I do in most largish towns I go through now, I headed straight for the tourisimo building and once again I hit the jackpot with free internet connection. So there I was sitting in the town square chatting to Mum and Julie, with locals wandering past obviously thinking I was crazy talking to a computer.

  With computer issues finished I planned to go inside the old castle, but unfortunately it was now after 12 noon and everything – I mean everything – closes at midday for a couple of hours.

  Undeterred I wandered around and had my lunch in what was once a very lavish private garden.

  Anyway, all this took more than 2 hours, so once I hit the road again I basically made up time by cruising through Crato and Alpalhao before finding a nice wild camping site under some pine trees about 8 kilometes away from Nisa.

  Today marks the end of the first week of the trip and I have just worked out that I have averaged 63 kilometres per day over 6 days of cycling. My goal before leaving home was 70 to 75, so all things considered I am pretty pleased with this as the terrain has been so constantly hilly from day 1.

  Looking at things to come over the next week it is only going to get tougher, so I think if I can average 50 kms per day up until I enter Spain at Miranda do Douro I will be very happy.

  Once the country flattens out in Spain and beyond I am confident of lifting my average kilometres.

captions. Pics 1 and 2: Came across an old Citroen rally Pic 2 &3 The view looking back to Avis. Pic 4: The storybook-like castle at Alter do Chao. Pic 5. One of many very old farm houses along the way. Pic 5: A glimpse of old portugal walking by.