To Portimao

November 4, 2017

I got up in the morning and cooked myself some eggs in the hostel kitchen. I knew there were other people there, but no one was stirring when I rolled out at about 8 am. There had been quite a bit more rain overnight, and the roads were wet. Before too long, I noticed the blue line near the edge of the road that indicated I was on the Ecovia route, which was the same as Eurovelo 1. The blue line changed to bicycle symbols on the pavement from time to time, well faded from weather and traffic. I happily followed the route knowing that it would diverge from the pavement, until it did diverge, near the town of Porches.

A sign as the bike route leaves the paved road.

Eurovelo 1 and I are just not getting along.

I backtracked closer to town, and picked up road 125 and followed it for quite a ways. There was a very long bridge crossing the Arade river. The bridge had a bike path, but it was a metal surface cantilevered out over the water. It made me nervous! There was a local cyclist in front of me, who pulled over to let me pass and then rode right behind me. I didn't want to stop for a picture with him on my tail, so I don't have one.

I rolled off the bridge right to the waterfront in Portimao. It's a pretty area. The beaches are further away, but the docks on the river are scenic, and there are a variety of cafes an restaurants nearby. I had arrived early. I sat down and had some coffee, and went on-line and booked 2 nights at the Residencial Arabi, right on the square by the waterfront. I went ahead a sprang for a double rather than a single, as the double said it had a patio, and I added breakfast. I've yet to get a good hotel breakfast, so I'll see how this one works. Then I rode my bike down the waterfront, and came to the municipal museum. I stopped and was looking at it, when someone came out and told me that I had to park my bike outside. I guess he thought I was bringing it inside. He also told me the museum was free today, but not tomorrow, so I parked my bike and went in. A lot of the exhibit related to the artifacts and old history were only in Portuguese, but there was a big exhibit about sardine processing. The museum is in an old sardine plant. There was a movie about it, with English subtitles. It was a good exhibit, but I still don't like sardines at all. There was also an exhibit about traditional Portuguese games, but only in Portuguese.

Sardines were moved from the boats into the processing plant in baskets on this contraption.

In the Portimao museum. A lot of the work processing the sardines was related to making and sealing the cans.

Then I went to my guesthouse and checked in. The room I was shown didn't have a patio. The worker who checked me in didn't speak any English, and after a brief Google translate exchange, called the owner. He said the only rooms with a balcony are the river view rooms, which I hadn't reserved. I said I reserved a room with a patio, so I could sit outdoors. He ended up switching me to a river view room with a balcony, but the balcony is too narrow even for a chair. Later in the evening when I saw him in person, he understood that I was asking about the patio. He said the patio notation in booking.com refers to the view. The windows in the standard rooms open onto a common patio where breakfast is served. And he told me that my booking did not include breakfast, although I showed him that it clearly said "breakfast included" on my receipt, so he agreed to it. Booking.com is useful in many ways, but also a pain in the neck!

Today's ride: 30 km (19 miles)
Total: 658 km (409 miles)

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