Portugal Biking Days 6 and 7 - Lots of Kilometers!

Day 6 of our adventure brought the longest biking day yet - 92K. There was one very memorable climb that is easily identified on the profile map:

As these last two days brought us through lots of rural areas in the central Alentejo region, I will be presenting more of a photo essay than a written one (audible sigh of relief).

Typical coffee stop on the route - the van had wonderful pastries waiting for us, baked fresh from guide Luis P.'s wife that morning!

We share our stops with the locals - Peter never loses his enthusiasm for the uniform of the "plaza guys" - cap, v-neck sweater or vest, and a button-down shirt. Always!

The day was about the ride - not much history but lots of goats, sheep, cattle and cork trees. Also blissfully devoid of traffic, and the few cars we did encounter were very deferential.

Peter disappearing down the road...

We overnighted at a tourist farm - they are a newer trend in the Alentejo region to help supplement the cork, olive and sheep farming.

Peter and John (from New Zealand) enjoy beer and rest after a long 92K of rolling terrain.

Martha (Montana) serves up some welcome refreshments - beer!

Our spacious digs at the tourist farm - room for more!

Peter had some time to wander the grounds and captured the cork oak groves after harvest:

We had a "modern Portugese" dinner together in the nearby town of Grandola. The feature was kebabs that included squid, pineapple, shrimp, sausage and peppers:

At our briefing for Friday, the guides described our next bike leg as not the longest, but the hardest - 75K that started with a 20K climb. We could have opted to shuttle to the end of the climb but we did the whole ride!

Again, Day 7 was more about the biking than anything else. We captured the feel along the way:

Lots of quiet backroads.

Amazingly huge windmills - prevalent as we neared the coast.

The cattle are all so calm and we love their coloration - coordinates with the landscape!

Those of you who have followed previous trip blogs I've posted know I always carry an apple or sugar cubes awaiting one lucky horse. There were good numbers of horses along the way these first 7 days, but this was the very first one to be waiting for me right at the fence line :)

He cannot believe his good fortune.

After finishing the apple, he followed me down the fence line as far as he could. Wished I had more to give him - he was a sweetie.

We made the full 75K ride to the coast - our first glimpse of the Atlantic since leaving Lisbon on Saturday 10/15!

Peter sits across the road from our waterfront hotel - there is an estuary in the foreground and the Atlantic Ocean waves were crashing in the distance.

Our hotel HQ for 2 nights.

Later in the afternoon our group went on a lovely boat ride that traveled up the estuary - saw lots of bird life and beautiful landscapes.

Vicky (Ontario) disembarks at the end of the boat tour.

Once again we were fed royally at a local restaurant - I was really thrilled to have traditional seafood stew that included monkfish, shrimp, mussels, clams and rice in a fabulous broth. I have eaten so much on this trip! What a relief to be biking and stem some of the damages :). The desserts are all too good.

We have a rest day today (Saturday 10/22) in Vilanova da Milfontes - an optional ride was offered but we are actually really resting instead! Tomorrow we are heading south along the coast with 3 more biking days left. More adventures await us!