Day 64 & Day 65 – 12/06/13 & 13/06/13 – Days off

Peniche 

We were going to have a look at the main beach here on the first day, have a nose about and then go fishing, culminating in a huge fish barbecue back at the tent. All these things did happen, the only departure from the plan is that we had to buy the fish as I didn’t catch anything. I am blaming the equipment at the moment, I needed a better float (I was just using the cork from my old setup (poacher's hand line)) and the tide condition wasn't too perfect. No biggie as the fishing spot was right outside the camp-site anyway. The beach itself is huge, maybe 5km long, on the unsheltered side of the island. We took a bit of sun whilst watching some surfers getting the first lesson. The waves looked perfect for the first attempts, and the bottom was all sand. Wed planned to bodyboard forst tomorrow, with wetsuits. It is still a bit cold in the sea.

We bought a big Dourada, and a couple of of other fish a bit like Herring (whats the name?). With some roasted peppers, and salty boiled baby potatoes it was still very nice, even if the cheapo barbeque needed more fettling than expected. Next time I will catch the fish though! Johanna is secretly starting to doubt that I have any fishing skills (I think ;o).

Second day we went down into the main town and had a look at the big Fortress. Also good fishing spots here. We then did a half-day bodyboarding (for 35 Euros with board, wetsuit and flippers). It was good fun but it got progressively windier until the waves were more of a choppy mess and it was difficult to take anything. Still fun. We made a deal with the guy in the shop for a good price for surfing lesson tomorrow at 10.45am also. He was worried about the wind (it was gusting at over 40kph) but said there would be a quiet spell in the morning we could still go out.

We tried fishing again still with no luck even though one guy who arrived as we left caught a couple of Whiting. We cycled over to the other side of the 'island' to have a look at the Supertubo wave, which happily was working. The surf shop guy was bodyboarding over there. It looked like a lot of fun, and not too serious. Apparently this place is totally mobbed in the high season. Being on the south side of the 'island' it was a lot more sheltered than at our campsite. We made a chorizo, pepper and onion with pesto pasta dinner hiding behind a bungalow away from the tent and it was still super windy. Tough going.

That night was crazy in the tent. The wind was so strong in the evening we considered moving the tent to behind a wall on the other side of the campsite, but it stayed put for two hours whilst we hid in the bar so we decided it would be fine with all possible pegs in the ground. It took us a while to drop off as the tent was literally flopping from one side to the next in the hurricane winds. Strangely, we both had the best nights sleep for ages, waking up at 8am, with the tent still madly blowing around like a soap bubble stuck to a windscreen at 80mph. Nothing had come loose, nothing unzipped. The flysheet seems to be a bit baggier since that night now but it still is fine, just needs pulled a bit tighter than before. That a tough old tent ,we can trust it now.

We decided to skip town when we made breakfast hiding behind a wall again.. The wind was even worse than yesterday and the surf shop wasn't yet open to cancel the lesson (which would have been cancelled anyway). This was better than moving the tent to a more sheltered spot as that would mean rebuilding it again anyway. Ericiera was the next big surf location, and only a short half-cycle away. We packed up in the gale force winds and left. The bill was very small as we got a 30% discount on our total bill (which included 13 Euro washing and drying). It worked out at about 7 Euros a night. Cheap and cheerful.

Peniche's never-ending sandy beach

Looking at Peniche sights - Praca-forte de Peniche

Body boarding in a unisex wetsuit

Amazing cliffs

Famous "Supertubo"

Come here, fishy fishy fish....

What a setup!

It's heating up nicely!

Don't kiss it...

....eat it!

Loaded!

Two hours to cook it, 10 mins to eat it...

 

Day 63 – 11/06/13 – Total so far 3891km

Camping Paredes da Vitoria – Peniche

72.5km, 5hrs 24mins, 999m total climb

Left the campsite and we were both looking forward to today's destination. Peniche is one of Europe's most well known surfing spots and the “Supertubo” wave which Peniche is most famous for is on the list of the top 10 waves to surf in the world. We had planned to stop in Peniche for a couple of days and Greg was looking forward to giving surfing a bash.

After a quick breakfast at the bench next to the ladies toilets, the only one in the proximity of our tent, we left Paredess Velhas and headed slightly inland for the Portuguese countryside. He campsite was very cheap as it was only for locals it seems. No other tourists were there. It was less than 7 Euros (no WiFi or swimming pool though). The cycle was nothing spectacular, we passed through small traditional villages, starting seeing olive trees and struggled up some steep climbs out of the towns, cobbles most of the way.

The days are also starting to get warmer. The sun was still behind clouds and the wind was blowing steadily but it was pleasant and warm. We detoured a bit inland today, so it wasnt completely flat, but we did get a better average speed, and also avoided more shocking roads.

As we reached Peniche the wind was really strong. Gusty and forceful we ground out the last few km's straight into it as it howled off the Altantic. Our campsite was on the other end of town, on a kind of semi-island high up on cliffs. We cycled past a big very smelly fish factory which wasn't so welcoming. Alot of fishing and fish-processing goes on here, huge harbour for large ships. Heading out the other side of town there were lots of people fishing and we also spotted some keen surfers on a big reef break at the bottom of the cliffs. Very exciting! Also there was a huge Intermarche 500m from the camp-site so that sorted our food worries out. We looked forward to exploring this place.

The campsite, Praia da Peniche, was nice with free WiFi, an indoor pool (which we didn’t use). Also it was very cheap. They had some nice pitches with four-poster shaded roofs so we took one. Also did the usual trick of borrowing an old table and chair set from the camp-site for outside the tent which makes a massive difference to overall comfort. The only issue was the wind. It was already very strong, hopefully it wouldn't get worse.

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2632855

Leaving the very Portuguese campsite

Arriving at Praia do Peniche

 

Day 62 – 10/06/13 – Total so far 3818.5km

Figuera da Foz – Camping Paredes da Vitoria

76.9km, 4hrs, 50mins, 749m total climb

After breakfast, we left Figuera da Foz across the Rio Mondego back on the N109 which we stayed on for quite a while again. It was mainly long and straight which made the first half of the cycle a little bit boring. Then it started to get a bit more interesting as we hit a Portuguese nature reserve area between Carrico and Marinha Grande which is covered in dunes and pine trees, typical for Portugal. Most of the pine trees were tapped for the sap which they apparently use to make paint and pine resin (google told us later that day). It also featured a fairly new cycle path which went on and on, almost dead straight.

Everything went very well and we were hoping for another fast day...until we hit a dead end. About 15km before out destination the bridge we were supposed to cross was missing. It seems that they are building a new one but didn’t put up any diversion. We saw a few equally confused cars turning around. This was slightly frustrating as we could see the other side of the bridge and the river wasn't that wide and didn't look deep either. We half-seriously considered the possibility of pushing through, but then we decided to cycle up along the river on a sandy dirt path for about 2km to the next bridge. The detour ended up being about 8km, so not that bad. The remainder of the cycle was just like the start. A long straight cycle path in between duney landscape.

We arrived at the camp-side in Paredes Velhas and were absolutely starving as we only had a few breakfast biscuits during the cycle. We had a quick sandwich and checked in. The campsite was quite busy and very Portuguese, there were no foreign tourist apart from us. We set up the tent and decided to treat ourselves to dinner in a little beach restaurant which we past cycling through the village earlier. We ordered fish soup and the chef's special burger (he assured us it was something typical from the region). The fish soup was luke warm and the burger was - unexpected. An old dry burger and bun fitted with a tomato slice and a fried egg and gherkin inside, then covered with melted cheese and drowned in some unfathomable luminous orange sauce that had no flavour at all. Could have been baked beans sauce with the beans strained out? All for 20 Euros which is quite steep for us. Unsatisfying.

We saved dessert for later and walked along the beach to another café watching a bunch of beginner surfers on the way falling off alot. There we had a bica (espresso) and a Feast icelolly which was equally disappointing as the ice cream was half melted and it was blessed with a very under average chocolate bit in the middle.

Maybe better food luck tomorrow!

http://ridewithgps.com/trips/1409289 

Hard shoulder on the N109

Never-ending cycling path

Pine trees being tapped for their sap!

More straight cycling path

There is supposed to be a bridge....

Dirt track detour...

Is there an end?

Beach in

Paredes Velhas

Long day!

Day 61 – 09/06/13 – Total so far 3741.6km

Madalena – Figuera da Foz

123.2km, 6hrs 18mins, 960m total climb

We didn't feel the need to hang around for too long at the Madalena campsite. Before we left we had a quick but healthy breakfast of Fruta e Fibra cereal and coffee at the same spot as last night (the run-down outside disco).

We spent the first 10k or so along the beach road towards Espinho, then headed further inland and stayed on the N109 for the rest of the day. The day was extremely straight forward, mostly flat and we probably managed our fastest time to date, 123km in 6hrs 20mins with an overall average speed of 22.5kph. The day is mainly a blur, as houses, towns and landscapes were just whizzing past. We even didn't any pics of the day but there wasn't much to see either. We hardly stopped and mainly had our water breaks while we were waiting for lights to change. These are the days when you think in 10's of km's at a time rather than km's.

We eventually made our way through some busy roads that looked suspiciously like motorways but weren't to Figuera da Foz. We had booked a cheap pension for the night there as we had been in the tent for quite a few days by now. We were checked in by an almost toothless old Portuguese caretaker who didn't speak a word of English, but was very helpful. It was in a huge old converted building with the highest ceilings ever (our only picture of the day!). The room was basic with an enormous bathroom (considering the size of the bedroom).

We googled the best places to eat in the town and decided to go to Pizza place around the corner. The pizzas were really good. They also had loads of big-name celebrities on the wall who supposedly had eaten there (George Clooney, Leonardo de Caprio, Greta Gabor etc). We sat near some English-speaking surfers who talked about the weather conditions for a full hour. Think we are getting closer to the famous Portoguese surf spots. 

http://ridewithgps.com/trips/1409288 

Day 60 – 08/06/13 – Total so far 3618.4

Estela – Madalena (Porto)

66.6 km, 4 hrs 54mins, 686m total climb

We rolled back out of the campsite and back into the cobbles. After that we made sure each route was not on the same surface by carefully checking on google maps the actual pictures. Basically, any road within 2km of the beach was always cobbles. We passed through some larger towns which generally had developed promenades so better for cycling. We passed Povoa do Varzim which looks like Portugal's answer to Southend on Sea. There are literally thousands of beach huts on the sand waiting to be rented out, but hardly any were dressed yet. The promenade and cycle path continued a long way. We also saw our first actual surfer (well actually bodyboarder).

We were heading into and through Porto today so kept the cycle short so that we could have a nosey. It turned out that our route would take us away from the beach road, and up the estuary of the Douro River for 6km until we reached the first small bridge we could cycle over. All the way up the side of the river was interesting. The town itself is very old and ramshackle but the whole area is totally full of locals and fish markets, small busy cafés, loads of tourists. By far the busiest place we have been to so far, including Santiago. Sadly Johanna's camera battery died before we got there (last picture was of the beach volleyball), so we only have a few pics from my small camera.

We continued on a busy beach road with a great new cycle path, which we however had to share with skaters and pedestrians. It was like trying to swim lengths on a Saturday afternoon, more zig-zag than a straight line.

We were looking forward to arriving at the campsite. It was an Obitur campsite, a chain of usually well equipped and popular campsites. This one was huge but unfortunately seemed to have passed its best days. It was slightly run-down, most of the pitches were overgrown with grass and a lot of the facilities looked like they hadn't been used since the 80s. We set up the tent and went to the supermarket. Afterwards enjoyed a huge bowl of pasta in a run-down area (we think it must have been a bar or outdoor disco in its days) next to our tent. Strange place, but it will do for a night.

http://ridewithgps.com/trips/1409287

Veg buffet, how tempting!

Or you can just buy some on the side of the road...

Pavoa de Vazim, the Portuguese Southend on Sea

Greg watching the first bodyboarder. Soon it will be our turn.

Jetpack!

lovely Porto

This got very busy a bit further on.

Day 59 – 07/06/13 – Total so far 3551.8km

Caminha - Estela

67.9 km, 4 hrs 58mins, 506m total climb

Having barely digested the masses of Portuguese menu del dia of the previous day, we left the Campsite in Caminha at our usual time at around 9.30am. We didn't get very far.

Yesterday I had ended the day with a clicking sound coming from what I thought was the front crank. At the campsite I had a good look over the bike and even tightened up the bottom bracket, also inspected the frame for cracks but found nothing. In the morning when we set off, the plan was to get to a bike shop and have a better check of the bottom bracket there, but we managed to just about get onto the main road before I noticed the real problem – a broken link in the chain. In fact it was the Master link (where the chain is joined). I didn’t see it yesterday as the broken link was still facing. Luckily I was carrying some repair links so after a half hour of oily-fingered repairs I got it fixed and we were on our way again! The French bike shop had obviously over-tightened the link when they installed the chain. My review of that place is getting worse and worse. At least the wheel is still OK.

We were heading down the coast and had plotted the route to pass some of the famous surfing spots, just to have a look. We passed quite a few signs from the road promising surf-bars or campsites later on also and eventually decided to head down one of the access roads to have a look at one campsite. The main road runs about 2km from the actual beach line. This was when we discovered the real old or small roads in Portugal are still cobbled. We bumped and swore our way down through 2km of prime cobble. The whole flat area between the main road and the beach has been developed to grow vegetables, mainly salad stuff. Loads of onions, tomatoes in poly-tunnels, lettuce, peppers, cabbage etc. The interesting thing was that each plot was quite small, and people obviously still made a living out of each plot. Loads of people working. We joked about coming back later with a big bowl, a sharp knife and some oil and vinegar and helping ourselves to a salad buffet quietly in a poly-tunnel. The campsite turned out to be rubbish, one of the ones where people live almost permanently, and nowhere near anything interesting. We stopped at the beach to eat our 1 Euro worth of cherries we bought by the side of the road earlier (next to a Santiago de Compostella sign!) for lunch. When we bought the cherries we tried a couple straight away to sort of give the guy a positive review of his product, unfortunately I choked on one of the stones right in front of him, and went off eyes streaming and coughing out cherry phlegm. He didn't look as complimented as I had hoped.

We got back on the main road and continued to our planned destination – another of the Orbitur chain of campsites running all down the coast of Portugal. After another 3km of rattling and swearing we reached the campsite from the main road. Awesome huge place with a pool and near the beach. The site was separated from the beach by a golf course. You had to access the beach by two short tunnels which ran underneath two fairways. It was all netted to protect the beach goers from hackers, quite strange. I wonder which came first, the golf course or the campsite. The beach itself was wild. A steep dune terminated quite abruptly by huge white waves. We had hoped for a swim but it would have been a bit too adventurous to try that out. There was noone else there either. So we wimped out and had our first few hours in the sun beside a pool since Agen in France. We ate at the campsite which was cheap and had a few drinks there afterwards also. Still very quiet.

http://ridewithgps.com/trips/1409286

Totally fucked!

Fixing the chain link outside a service station

Job jobbed!

1 Euro cherries

They love their cobbled roads

The tunnel from the campsite to the beach

on top the golf course...

They also had a nice swimming pool

and fire flies...