Castelo Rodrigo to Trancoso

October 18, 2021

The Falcao de Mendonca hotel was a great find. After a delicious breakfast (we were the only occupants), we were on our way.

Yesterday it seemed all uphill in the rain coming to Castelo Rodrigo and it must have been, as today we started off with a 15km gentle downhill. We just kept rolling until we realized we had actually missed a turn and gone 6km in the wrong direction. It was on this mistaken routing that we had our first incident with dogs chasing us. And then we had to go back by these same dogs! This is a new worry as we have not had any issues with loose dogs until now.

Back on track, the road snaked steeply downhill to the Coa River, a 600m descent/ascent with 20% incline at times. The Coa is a major tributary of the Douro River. It is a rugged, harsh and beautiful environment. We passed through the Faia Brava, a protected area of high cliffs and bare rock outcrops, and wonderfully devoid of dogs!

If you don't mind the climbs, today's ride is a cyclist's dream. Perfect pavement, spectacular scenery and absolutely no vehicles, we probably had 10 cars pass us all day. We went down, then up, down again, then up to quaint, eerily quiet, stone villages. Some of the houses are in need of repair and others freshly spruced up. The few people we saw were mostly reticent to respond to our poorly pronounced "bom dia" but those we encountered at the village water fountain or during coffee breaks spoke some French, which was the second language taught in schools, nowadays it's English.

As we cycled high up along the spine of a ridge with phenomenal 360 views, we could just make out windmills on a distant ridge. Then down again into another gorge and up the other side.

By this time we were getting tired, we had already climbed 800 meters in elevation but had another 200m to get to Troncoso, our destination for the night. It took us hour and a half to ride that last 14km. And yes, Trancoso is right up beside the windmills we had spied hours ago.

The centre is a medieval, walled town with a castle. It was late, so we quickly changed and walked the enchanting cobblestone streets in the evening light, looking for a restaurant.

This was our biggest vertical climb day to date, 1030 meters in total. Our meagre picnic lunch was long ago converted into pedal power so we were hungry for a tasty dinner of local specialties- grilled wild boar and baked cod before our well-earned night's sleep.

Streets in town are cobblestone, cute the first few times but slow and uncomfortable after the 8th village.

The door and knob of this well were made of solid granite

Imagine the effort to tend a grove of olive trees up in this environment!

Can you see the windmills in the distance?

The "new" Trancoso city hall built in 1909

Today's ride: 68 km (42 miles)
Total: 1,682 km (1,045 miles)

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