This morning I was awake before the alarm sounded but I left it to awaken Alex so it was quite startling when it sounded. Wanting to be out of the city before it got too busy, we were down for 730 am (opening time). Another delicious sandwich, today the croissants were tasty and fresh, and some guava juice (do guava grow hereabouts?) and I was ready to roll. While we enjoyed the breakfast another fellow tourist who was from Victoria, BC, was there again. We met him yesterday and he, too, is leaving the city today to head to Albufeira. His trip is two months across Portugal, Spain, France and Italy, and it seems he will be on a bus or train every two or three days, and the days in between are spent walking, walking and walking. He seemed an energetic sort.
We met a tourist from Victoria, BC, yesterday in the breakfast room and chatted again with him this morning. He asked if he could take our photo and we agreed. -- Porto, Portugal
It took us no time to roll up our things and tuck them into the panniers and load the panniers onto my bike. Down the elevator we went, out the front door and then alked the bikes through the construction in front of São Bento train station. Once past, Alex figured he was good to climb the big hill alongside the Porto Cathedral and indeed, he did really well.
I hadn't taken this route since 2003 and crossing the Dom Luis I bridge gave us incredible views up and down the Douro River and over to Porto and Vila Nova da Gaia. Of course, I took a few pics, many of which included Alex so he'll have these moments captured for decades to come.
Early morning crossing of the upper deck of the Luis I bridge. -- Porto, Portugal
Early morning crossing of the upper deck of the Luis I bridge. The Porto Cathedral and Bishop's Palace are in the top-right of the photo. -- Porto, Portugal
Once across the bridge there was a really steep and windy cobblestoned road that curled around and under the bridge and came out alongside the Douro in VN da Gaia. We rolled (with brakes clenched) for part of the descent but walked some that seemed too steep to ride.
At the bottom of the crazy descent the route now flattened out as it followed alongside the Douro giving us great views across to Porto, including a good view of the Crystal Palace Garden.
Looking across the Douro River to Porto with the Luis I bridge to the right. -- Vila Nova da Gaia, Portugal
In former times these little boats used to dash down the Douro laden with barrels of Port wine from further upriver, to be stored in the local warehouses before being shipped around the world. Today they are used for local tourist rides. -- Vila Nova da Gaia, Portugal
We stopped at one point to watch a cross-training group. In teams of two they had to run to a two-person kayak, drag it to the Douro River, then paddle out around a buoy, return to the shore, one at a time they ran up to some benches, then jump back into their kayaks to round the buoy again, back to shore and drag the kayak back up the beach. There was laughing as some teams initially struggled to move forward, then cheering as every team completed the task. It was a lot of fun to watch.
After the race we continued along the bike route until we arrived at the mouth of the Douro where it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. There we stopped to admire the view and to re-capture a photo I had taken last year on Tour 22.
This is where the Douro River meets the Atlantic Ocean. Alex wanted to re-create a photo I took last year when I toured here. I used that photo for this blog and as the cover of our tour booklet. -- Douro/Atlantic, Portugal
As we swung south on Eurovelo 1 we enjoyed a fairly brisk tailwind which helped our cause. The path alternated between cycling path and cycling/pedestrian path so we had to be wary in case someone wandered into the path without noticing us. We had no problems at all.
Alex has quite the green thumb and liked the look of the succulents growing everywhere in the beach sands. So much so that he asked me to photograph them so he can research and maybe source some. -- EuroVelo 1 between Porto and Espinho, Portugal
Steve Miller/GrampiesThis particular succulent is IcePlant. Also prolific in California. You would need to research if it could survive the northern Ontario winters. They were in full flower when we rode through here in the spring. Reply to this comment 8 months ago
Bill ShaneyfeltConsidered invasive most places. But you can eat it! And flowers are pretty.
All along the beaches are these long walkways to keep people off of the beach dunes so the grasses and plants can grow and hold down the sand. -- EV 1 between Porto and Espinho, Portugal
At around the halfway point we stopped at a little cafe where I had a capp and Alex had a pineapple Sumol. And we just sat there and enjoyed our day to that point.
This was supposed to be a nice photo of Alex as we stopped at today's midpoint for a capp and a Sumol. I moved before the shutter snapped the photo. -- EV 1 between Porto and Espinho, Portugal
Soon after the drinks, we continued on our way but had to stop at a railway crossing at one point since the gates were down. Dozens of cars were backed up on both sides of the crossing and though a train finally passed, the gates remained lowered. So we waited. That was until a railway worker on the other side of the road waved the cyclists from both sides through the crossing, and away we went. Traffic would have been busy except for the train crossing blockage and soon we were back onto a dedicated cycling route.
We rode along the path with the ocean waves to our right until we came to the town sign and then meandered the town until we got to our accommodations. As I was ringing the doorbell I heard Diogo call out, "Here I am, my Canadians." Diogo welcomed us in and though our room was not yet ready we were able to store our bikes and our gear. Then we met 'Mama' who fussed over Alex and his joy in seeing her rosemary tree. Diogo then took the time to walk us down to the nearby Pingo Doce supermarket. There we picked up some wraps, some juice, some tarts and some oranges, and this would be our lunch to enjoy down on the beach. It was windy and a bit cool but we were able to find a sheltered spot. Though not crowded, there were quite a few people on the vast beach. Some were sunbathing, some were reading or resting in the shade of beach tents, some were playing football and a very small number were in the ocean for a swim.
We were arriving to the edge of our destination for today. -- Espinho, Portugal
We picked up lunch items at the nearby Pingo Doce supermarket and headed to the beach to eat before heading out to the rocky pier. -- Espinho, Portugal
After our tasty lunch was gone we took a walk across the broad expanse of sand to the rocky pier which is used to shelter and protect the beach from wave action. The leeward side was fairly calm but on the windward side the waves were crashing onto the rocks, often spraying us with fine salty mist.
The windward side of the pier had splashy wave action while the sheltered leeward side was calm and safe enough for swimmers. -- Espinho, Portugal
Time for our siesta we wandered back to our accommodations where Diogo greeted us and guided us to our room. He explained how he bought this place after returning from overseas in Angola where he worked in finance, and bought this place, which was a grand home for one family in the past. He says he does this to meet people and only works enough to cover his costs so is open from April to August then is closed for the remainder of the year. He says that as long as he spends less than he earns, everything is fine.
It took no time at all for both of us to doze off in the comfort of the cozy room.
This accommodation is a grand old home that the current owner bought to transform into rental rooms. It is open four months of the year because that provides more than he needs. -- Espinho, Portugal
Diogo had suggested we see the sunset (just after 8 pm) so we were sure to head out, but first went out to the courtyard to try the oranges we got at the grocery store. They were not the typical amazing Portuguese orange, but the company outside was great. Three people from Germany, one person from Poland, the owner from Portugal and the two Canadians (yes, us). Everyone chatted but then we excused ourselves to be out in time for the sunset. For dinner we went to what seemed to be a small local fair where there were street vendors. We got something similar to a pulled pork sandwich, but there was no sauce and the meat was nicely spiced. We zipped back to the benches overlooking the beach where we watched the sun slip behind the Atlantic as the waves continued to come up the beach. It was really pretty, and made better by the handsome cat that came by and meowed for a snack (unlike Neko, it turned its nose up at the bread I offered).
We sat on a bench facing the Atlantic as we enjoyed our street vendor dinner. -- Espinho, Portugal
Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Brent IrvineWe only leave tomorrow for Germany and will only be in Spain in mid November. There will hopefully be another year, another tour. Reply to this comment 8 months ago
