Day 20: Setubal to Vilanova de Santo André

March 21, 2023

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We found Setubal to be a very pleasant place. It featured that long park between the lanes of the main street, and very calm and quiet traffic overall as well. The buildings looked older, and fancier, than what we have come to expect in a Portuguese beach or harbour town , and facilities like the ferry terminal were extremely easy to find.

We are of two minds about reading the blogs of Cycleblazers who have come before us on a route. On the one hand we are keen to be aware of any glitches or tricks coming up, sights not to miss, hotel reviews, and clues about how far we should be going each day. On the other hand we want to form our own impressions, make our own mistakes, etc.

Reading ahead does also create some "star" attractions, just because we read about them. These could be like the intersection where Keith took that wrong turn - or in the case just below, the lime green, Coca Cola branded ferry that impressed Kathleen.

Here it is, the famous Coca Cola ferry! This is the one Keith and Kathleen actually went on. We were on it's twin (as far as design goes) but ours was the all green one!

The all green ferry. These boats and the voyage on them were identical in feel to the "Mill Bay ferry" that runs near our home. It made us a little homesick.

Standing by the bike, on the ferry, I looked down at the handlebar bag map and had the opportunity to contemplate where we are and where we are headed. Right now are going down that coast on the left, which is sometimes called the Costa Azul. You can see inland from here the Alentejo region. We'll catch that on the way back north to Porto. Directly in our sights is the Algarve, which we take to be Portugal's premier tourist region and coast. In about five days we'll hit Faro, at the end of it. From there we'll dash east to Seville, in Spain. But we will not have time on this trip for the White Hill Towns you can see marked to the south of Seville, nor for Malaga, on the Costa del Sol, nor Cadiz on the Costa de la Luz, nor Gibraltar, hiding under the paper clip. What the hell? OK, we'll plan to be back!

The ferry gave us a little look back to Setubal, revealing a fort above the town.

Immediately off the ferry, and for the remainder of the day's ride, we were in managed pine forest, growing on sandy dunes. We eyed the dunes suspiciously, because others had written about having to push through sand. That may be for another day on this coast. Today instead was just about the easiest and most pleasant ride we can imagine. The road was smooth, mostly flat, and lightly used. The sun was out, and the temperature in an ideal 17-23 degree range. The sandy forest offered some slightly different plants to look at, and the air was fresh and pine scented.

It was lucky that we hit these perfect conditions, because Dodie unfortunately was feeling less well than in the past couple of days. She still has the lingering cracked rib pain, and a cough from what we had taken as a cold. But the mucus coming up was of a colour we did not like, and we put her on antibiotics (Ampicillin, cleverly bought at a bootleg pharmacy in Mexico). It is possible nevertheless that pneumonia is taking hold. Pretty soon we may be looking for a doctor and some different drug. Hmmm.

There were lots of interesting plants growing in the dunes, like this blue flower.

For the first 10 kms the roadside was dominated by a medium to tall shrub/tree sporting yellow puffball flowers. The Maher-Wearys had noted similar yellow puffballs here, identifying them as Mimosa, an invasive species. But our leaves look different, so not sure what this is.

Another feature noted by previous bloggers was the numerous storks, with nests all over the place, and stalking the fields as well. Normally I will not now photograph a single stork, because like orange trees, they have become commonplace. But I relented for a "double stork", and a stork giving me the evil eye.

We came to the spot were Keith took his fateful wrong turn, by going straight. Straight certainly does look enticing, and look at that "straight" arrow in the road!

The forest certainly had upward growing pines, but there also were many of a more spreading variety. Some of these were dramatic specimens, like the one shown below.

Cork trees also made a reappearance, with harvested trees visible by the roadside and also in groves. Looking at the bark that remains, I need a refresher on how bottle corks are obtained from this. I watched a Youtube on it one time, I think.

Dodie put forward the idea that this could be a flamingo. I am voting more for a stork. But the real question is "How does Dodie spot these things, way up there?"

The town of Vilanova de Santo André might mainly have as it's Claim to fame an Intermarché supermarket. The buildings of the town certainly look very normal, if disorganized. Our hotel was slightly more costly than most, but Dodie was targeting someplace close, since she was not feeling great. The hotel, called the Vila Park, looks a bit like a high school building. It's deceptive though. The low rise, sprawling construction means that our room is on the ground floor. There was also plenty of room for the bikes in a storage room, and the hotel has a restaurant that it seems we are able to afford. Plus, the internet works! so life is good.

Today's ride: 64 km (40 miles)
Total: 676 km (420 miles)

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Keith ClassenThat was a pleasant day for us as well from Setubal. From reading your experience going south from Porto to Lisbon I think you will find the terrain ahead of you a little gentler in terms of hills. Hope Dodie gets over that bug quickly.
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