Day 12 Sabugal to Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo

Day 12… Sabugal to Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo.75.57kms cycled. 4.48 hours cycling. 55.41km/h max speed. 15.70 average speed. Weather – overcast and cold with one torrential downpour and some thunder.


IT’s amazing what a rest, less hills and no wind in your face can do to lift your spirits.
Not only did I cover more kilometres than I expected today, but at times I virtually felt that I was turbo charged.
With no wind to deal with the big hills that came my way were dealt with relatively easily, with my biggest concern for the day trying to stay warm.
When I left Sabugal at about 7.30am the temperatures was about 1 or 2 degrees and believe me it didn’t get much warmer all day.
For the majority of the day I coasted along the top of the mountain range that I had so much trouble climbing over previous days, and for the first time so far I think I had more downhills than I did uphills.
There is no doubt about Portugal, it certainly has ever changing scenery. For the majority of the day today I was cycling through an area that just a couple of months ago was covered in snow – and believe me from the temperature it felt like the snow should still have been there.
The wildflowers of further down south have now given way to barren plains covered with huge granite boulders that I am told were put there by a huge glacier that covered the whole area millions of years ago.
It is spectacular indeed, but unfortunately because it was so overcast and misty I didn’t feel that any photos would do it justice today. I will see what the terrain – and weather - is like tomorrow and hope to get some pics then.
About 10 klms from Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo the dark clouds rolled in quickly and before I knew it, it started to pour. Fortunately I was well prepared with all my wet weather gear at the top of my pannier and was able to get it out and on pretty quickly.
As it is so cold and wet I have decided to stay in a residencial for another night here, which should also give me a good chance to have a look around town.
With only 2 or 3 days max left in Portugal, I have to say that I will be sad to leave. It is a beautiful country with friendly people and hopefully one day I can see much more of it.

captions....Top pic: Everywhere you look farmers are hand sowing their fields. Pic 2: The beautiful Cao River that I followed for much of the day. Pic 3: A renovators delight. Pic 4. The River Cao again in a much wilder setting.

Day 11 sightseeing in Sabugal

IT’S incredible what amazing places you come across by chance while bike touring. In urgent need of a day’s R&R after three days of battling unrelenting hills and winds, I decided to book into a hostel (they call them residencials in Portugal) in a historic town called Sabugal.

  And it couldn’t have been a better choice. The area I have now learned has thousands of years of history going back to before the bronze age and Sabugal itself is a beautiful little town very worthy of a visit.

  Like just about all towns of medium size in Portugal the centre of the town boasts a medieval castle, which in this case was not for residential purposes, but only used in the event of an invasion.

  The centre of the castle features a large square where people from the surrounding village would gather in times of peril. Today, from the top of the main tower, and for just the grand sum of 1 Euro, you get magnificent views of the surrounding area and entrance into a museum that charts the history of the area going back 1000’s of years.

  Unfortunately for me it was all in Portuguese and Spanish, but it was an impressive display nonetheless.

  The rest of my morning was spent wandering around the many lanes of the old village and generally taking it easy in preparation for hitting the hills of northern Portugal in coming days.

  I don’t know if it is just me, but while cycling along I sometimes amuse myself by mooing, baaing and generally making the appropriate noises to the various farm animals as I pass.

  While it may sound crazy, I did this on a bike tour along the Great Ocean road a couple of years ago and got some interesting reactions from some of the animals.

  Anyway, I haven’t been getting anything like the same sort of reaction here, maybe they speak Portuguese, I guess.

  But the practice certainly came in help at lunch today. Let me explain. As pork is the national dish, without knowing what was on the menu at the different restaurants I have visited I have invariably ended up with, you guessed it, pork.

  So today I was determined not to have pork for lunch. But what do you do when you don’t speak a word of the local language and no one in the restaurant speaks a word of English? You resort to animals noises, don’t you?

  In an attempt to get an idea from the waitress what the various dishes were, I resorted to making various appropriate animal noises, to the great amusement of everyone else in the restaurant.

  I tried my best oink and shook my head, and she understood. The next one I mooed and she shook her head and came back with a baa and I understood. In the end I cock-a-doodle-dooed and she nodded and I nodded and everybody was happy. It was chook for lunch!!!

  In the end everyone in the place was watching our antics to much amusement, and I may have made a fool of myself, but at least I didn’t end up with pork for lunch!!!

  It was also a trial trying to get served white wine. I asked for white wine, no response. I asked for vino and got a big smile, but red wine came out. In the end I pointed to the white table napkin and smiled and then pointed to the red wine and shook my head, and hey presto, out came white wine.

  But not just a glass, but a whole bottle of what I now know is the local sparkling wine. So what do you do with a whole bottle all to yourself? Enjoy your huge chicken meal with a whole bottle of sparkling wine, stagger upstairs and sleep heartily for a couple of hours.

  Somewhat recovered now, I am relating this experience after a good couple of hours sleep, but anyway who cares? I’m having a day off, after all!!

captions.. Top few pics: various angles of the old Sabugal fortress. Next pic: A couple of the contrasts in town, the new and old. Final pic: A shot of my lodgings for 2 nights from the top of the castle.


By the way everyone, I have absolutely loved all of your comments. Keep them coming, they are the first thing I look at when I hook into the internet at yet another town. 

Day 10 Penamacor to Sabugal

Day 10 Penamacor to Sabugal. 32.49 klms. 2.44 hrs cycling. 45.62 km/h max speed. 11.88 km/h average speed. Weather – sunny and very cold, but fortunately the fierce north wind had dropped somewhat.

After a number of days battling Portugal’s mountains in combination with an unrelenting headwind, I basically hit the wall today.
With the temperature hovering around 4 or 5 degrees (I had all three of my long sleeve jumpers on, plus my thermal underwear, plus my long john cycling pants while cycling today), it was extremely hard to get out of bed to get started.
This was basically for two reasons, the temperature and the knowledge that I had a day of solid hill climbing ahead of me.
But after 11 hours sleep (I can’t remember when I have slept so well), I figured I was ready to get stuck into it.
And I was, the only trouble was that I was climbing from as soon as I got on the bike and it didn’t stop for the next 30klms (as you can see from the day’s average speed of just 11.88klm/h), with the road going even higher (about 1100 metres) than the wind turbines that dot every mountain around here.
So with Sabugal in sight I decided that it was time for some R&R so I booked into a hostel where I will spend two nights. At just 25 Euros per night it is great value and from what I can see so far Sabugal is a great city to explore and comes complete with its own historic castle.
As is the case in just about every town in Portugal of reasonable size the local library has free internet available, so I have been diligently working on my next tennis newsletter as well as attending to business, as it were.
After a big sleep in tomorrow I plan to explore the city and generally take it easy to get ready for what lays ahead of me over the next few days.

captions..... Pic 1: The road just keeps going up. Pic 2: Is this the`smallest church in Portugal? Pic 3: An interesting shot I thought Pic 4: I kept cycling up higher than those wind turbines.

Day 9 Castelo Branco to Penamacor

Day 9 Castelo Branco to Penamacor. 61.82 kms cycled. 4.40 hours cycling. 36.51km/h max speed. 13.22km/h average speed. Weather sunny but very cold with a very strong head wind from the north all day.

After waking to an extremely cold morning, I decided to make the most of the free internet in Castelo Branco to send a few emails, use skype and generally get on top of things.
And certainly after running out of food the previous night restocking my panniers was an urgent matter to attend to.
So it wasn’t until close to 11.30am that I finally set out for Penamacor brimming with food and raring to go. But unfortunately the vicious northerly that I battled with all the previous day was back with a vengeance and right in my face.
Undeterred I battled on, but it was a battle I must admit.
To help me take my mind off the wind, I started to jot down in my notebook a few random thoughts on some of the occasions I stopped (which was very frequently).
Here are a few……..
(a) Why are camping grounds in Portugal always on a sloping site, which makes it impossible to find a flat surface to be able to sleep properly?
(b) Why are all the oranges I help myself to from yards along the way always much tastier than the one I buy in supermarkets?
(c) Why is Portugal so well signposted yet there are no signs to be able to find the tourist office until you are actually there?
(d) Why did the ancient Portuguese road builders go over every hill they could find instead of around them (believe me if there is a hill anywhere in Portugal there is a road right over the highest part)?
(e) Where are all the children in the towns – I could count on one hand the number of children I have seen in the smaller country towns?
(f) And finally for today, why does the wind blow all day into my face, but as soon as I stop cycling it stops blowing all together?
Anyway, with no campground in Penamacor I found a lovely wild campsite next to a natural spring in an olive grove a short way out of town.
After setting up camp I enjoyed a great meal of lamb, vegetables and egg and am praying that the wind won’t blow so hard tomorrow.
Am exhausted after a very tough day, so am hitting the sack.

captions   Pic 1 and 2: Interesting buildings along the way. Pic 3 & 4 A fantastic venue to stop for lunch. Pic 5 And we think a couple of hundred years history is` a lot in Australia. Pic 6 Camping in the Olive Grove. Pic 7 I can still smile despite the wind

Day 8 Alpalhao to Castelo Branco

Day 8. Alpalhao to Castelo Branco. 65.48 kms. 5.04 hours cycling. 68.73 max speed. 12.86 average speed. Weather – sunny but with a very cold head wind from the north.

Well, basically I got hit with a double whammy all day today ... massive hills and a vicious headwind.
With the terrain changing dramatically from the previous couple of days, I soon found myself surrounded by mountains, some in the distance still covered with snow.
After stopping in Nisa, another historic and beautifully maintained town, for a bite to eat after about 10 kilometres, I didn’t really know what to anticipate for the day.
It didn’t take long to find out however, as I found myself careering downhill at nearly 70km/h for about 4 kms. But the adrenalin rush soon came to an end with vicious climb from the Nisa River at the bottom of the gorge.
The climb, the steepest I have come across yet on the tour, lasted for just on 5 kms, and was made all the more difficult with an unrelenting headwind all the way.
I felt the effort was well worth it at the top however as there were some magnificent views to take my mind off my burning legs!!
The climbing continued – with small downhill respites - gradually until Vila Velha de Rodao, where I stocked up on my daily fruit ration before getting back to something like the same gradient I tackled earlier in the morning. The only trouble with this was that it lasted for at least 25 kilometres and was into a ferocious headwind all the way!!
Suffice to say I was wearing out quickly and still had 15-plus klms to go to get to Castelo Branco, my destination for the day. With the wind so strong I had to start pedalling down the few hills that came my way to maintain momentum, I was delighted to finally make it – and you guessed it I got hopelessly lost trying to find the centre of the city.
Boy I hate big cities!! Anyway I finally tracked down the Touisimo office and got directions to the parque de campisimo only to find that it was another 4 kilometres out of town.
Exhausted I finally made it to the camp only to find there was no restaurant for dinner, with the closest back in town – and there was no way I was riding up another big hill to go out to dinner!!!
With very little food stocks in my panniers dinner was somewhat makeshift, with a big promise made to myself to lash out on a huge breakfast in the morning.
But while the riding was tough throughout the day, the scenery was brilliant and I am told by the lady at the tourisimo office it continues to get even better as I head north.
Wind and terrain permitting my goal tomorrow is Penamacor.

As a sidenote in Vila Velha de Rodao I bought what I thought were sardines to have with bread I already had from the previous day on the side of the road for lunch. On opening the can however I realised I didn’t know what I actually purchased!! Have a look at the pic and maybe you can let me know what your take on the translation on the tin is ……………………sure hope it wasn’t cat food, because it was horrible!!!!!!!!!!

Captions...Top pic: In Nisa who needs a garden when you can have one upstairs. Pic 2: Central Nisa. Pic 3 &4 and bottom: The views after a tough climb. Pic 5: Lunch ...what is it??????

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.

Day 6 Evora to Avis

Day 6 Evora to Avis. 74.16 Klms. 4.53 hours cycling. 57km/h max speed. 15.16km/h average speed. Weather sunny but cool with strong side wind from the west. Camped at Albufeira do Maranhao camping Park just outside of Avis.

Isn’t it true that you never know what is just around the next corner. After nearly five hours of mostly uphill cycling from Evora, I decided to call it a day at Avis, a historical town high up on the central Portugal plateau.
After expertly asking at the local service station for directions to the local parque de campisimo (and they even understood what I was saying), I was given directions to the campground about 3 kilometres outside of town.
I had seen on the map that there was a large lake in the area, but I certainly wasn’t prepared for such a beautiful place.
The Albufeira do Maranhao campground is situated right on the edge of the lake, has a restaurant, great facilities (the best I have seen in Portugal so far), office staff that speak English (a big bonus) and once again free internet. Things just seem to be going from better to best!!
Anyway, after setting up camp overlooking the lake, I grabbed myself a spot outside the restaurant to write my blog and to enjoy a local beer or three.
The riding earlier in the day was once again through some stunning country … Portugal certainly is a beautiful place.
Except for the killer stretch of road I got stuck on outside of Beja a few days ago, the roads have been excellent for cycling. They are generally in much better condition than Australian country roads and fortunately the vast majority of drivers give me a wide berth in their cars.
Cars seem to be a status symbol with the Portuguese. Rarely do you see old cars and the few that you do see are driven by old-time farmers. In the main most cars are near new BMWs, Peugeots, Mercedes, etc etc and are kept in immaculate condition.
The decision to bypass Estromez was a good one, as there was very little traffic and it was generally a very enjoyable day’s cycling.
Tomorrow I will be heading for Alpalhao or maybe Nisa depending on how strong I am feeling (read how many steep hills there are).
Let’s hope the weather stays cooler as it was today as it makes cycling so much easier than day one and two when it would have been in the mid 30s.

captions. Top pic: the ancient aquaduct on the way out of Evora Pic 2:  A pretty village in the`distance Pic 3: The entrance to Pavia with theold fortress in the background Pic 4: I always do what the road signs say!! Pic 5: Another great campsite overlooking the lake Pic 6: All set up to write the blog with a great view.