After leaving Spain we slogged through two days of cycling against a head wind and a cold front. Temperatures started about 6 deg C in the morning, and really didn’t improve much, and rain was always threatening. Our first refuge was in Sendim, in a hotel under reconstruction preparing to be a wedding reception destination. Not quite yet, though. A tent at the back of the property was serving lovely meals mostly for the construction crews. Never mind. The food and hospitality were fantastic.
We had no idea what was in store for the next day’s ride. A sheer drop of about 800 metres into the Douro River valley, with breathtaking views down abrupt dropoffs. We reached the river’s edge (well not quite – it was still 50 m below) at the train stop of Tua and found our lovely small hotel. All of the townspeople were engaged in a large outdoor memorial service (… party …) for a local restaurant owner who had died during COVID. Big fiesta. We checked in and changed clothes, and enjoyed some Douro wine (amazing) and a beef and fried egg concoction across the street. So good.
We then boarded the local train from Tua eastward to the end of the line at Pochino, about 45 minutes away, and back. The tracks hug the edge of the Douro, with steep cliffs both sides covered in vineyards. Spectacular. The entire train line actually starts in Porto and takes about 3-1/2 hours one-way. Large riverboats carry tourists back and forth. We were wonderfully entertained by a boisterous group partying and proudly singing traditional songs. They shared their wine and cheese with us. Such a fun group.
We had three route alternatives for the next day’s cycling, and the hotel staff recommended NOT taking our planned path because of the nasty inclines. We added about 8 km to the ride to smooth out the peaks and troughs and stay on asphalt. As it turned out, the climb out of the river valley was as expected – about 12 km of moderate incline, but the trip back down was WILD. A section of road was washed out requiring some fancy trike dragging around construction materials, and we white-knuckled very steep drops on twisty cobblestone surfaces. The views across deep valleys are impossible to properly describe. After returning to the Douro we had a fairly flat riverside 22 km ride to tonight’s town, Peso da Regua.
So far we’ve rode 1,130 kms, climbing 12,576 metres.
