This ride took us through a major cork growing area. Portugal is the world’s largest producer of cork. We were puzzled when looking at trees with all of their bark removed up to about the 2 metre level. Often a small bucket was mounted in this bare area collecting sap. Turns out the bark gets processed into cork, and is shipped worldwide.
On the way we stopped in Nazare, made famous by the recent documentary about the highest surfing waves in the world. There were lots of people there enjoying the incredible views from the upper town and from the lighthouse which was a VERY windy walk down the hill.
Don’t forget to pull left and right on the GoPro video, below.
Just before arriving in Nazare I noticed that my rear wheel was loose – one axle nut loose and the other gone. Hmmm – not good. I tightened up the one nut and carried on, turning carefully and wondering where to buy a replacement. The first place was a bust, but with a hopeful referral to the second place – a hardware store – which was also a bust. That hardware guy and a couple of Brits who were also at the counter recommended a bike shop 10km down the road, sort of on our way. (Thankfully.)
I Googled directions while standing in the store, and they made sure that we chose the less hilly route. Range was also becoming a worry. We finally got there and it was locked up tighter than a drum.
Nobody in sight, and there we were, down one nut, range compromised, somewhat, in the middle of nowhere.
I looked around in the dirt just in case a nut may have been discarded. (That was a ridiculous hope, says pithy cranky Patti.) Nope.
Noticed a messy curtain covering an outdoor wall. Looked behind. Ahaa! It was the shop’s garbage area, with several old wheels. One had an axle nut that was the right size! Took it off, installed it, good to go. LUCKY. Patti left a handful of coins – Euros that wouldn’t blow away in the wind – on a table outside the front door, and we pedalled down the road (miraculously, we were on the same road that our hotel would be on) to our next stop, the StoryTeller’s Palace, a hotel that needs to be experienced to be believed.
São Martinho Do Porto is a very sheltered large bay with an incredible beach. Our cool windy day there had only large groups of high-school aged kids playing ball, but in the summer the beach is jammed with 60,000 people, most escaping the intense heat of Lisbon, 100km to the south, and France and Spain. The light wood frames in the photos below cover the beach in the summer, with canvas sheets draped for sun and wind shelter.
We stowed the bikes in a very fancy private underground parking garage. Reserved spots for ourselves with chef for dinner and for breakfast, and then went for a walk on the beach, then a walk up and through town. (It’s hilly. So what else is new.)
Oh, and the china for dinner was from Vista Alegre, the porcelain factory we had visited earlier in the trip. Everything about the Storyteller’s Palace was exquisite.
Again, photos are out of sequence. Sorry about that. Sorting them is more arduous than it needs to be in this format. You’ll figure it out.
You’ll notice that the palette has changed, now that we’re at the coast, and on sand dunes. White sand. Different coloured fields of wildflowers. I think the Portuguese are doing a commendable job of environmental control on dunes. Great preservation.
