After the excitement and drama of our soggy second day, it was wonderful to wake up to brilliant blue skies. We chatted with a couple from Kamloops in the garage while we set up for the day’s ride. (They noticed our Canadian flags.). They were riding very compact, foldable “Dahon” bikes.
Our first stop of the day was Setubal’s famous fishmarket, Mercado Livramento, a bucket list item for me. The problem with these sightseeing stops when you’re on the trikes is: you have to carry the panniers once you’ve locked up. They’re not huge but they’re heavy. Makes for short stops! The market didn’t disappoint, as you will see from the pictures. (Panniers don’t allow a lot of room for purchases, so there no souvenirs. It killed me not to buy some of that salt from the Algarve.)
Next up for us was a short ferry ride. We ran into the Kamloops couple on the docks there, and talked about various cycling trips with them. One interesting trip they had had was with Giant – a travel arm of the bike manufacturer – around the perimeter of Taiwan. Price of bike rental, bike guides and hotels for a week? $1,000. What a bargain. If only they offered trikes. My two-wheeled days are over, however, some of you may be interested!
When we left the ferry, the ride was beautiful. What a relief from yesterday! Quiet roads, hardly any cars, lots of sunshine. (Although, we were skirting massive puddles, leftover from yesterday’s storm.) We rode past mile after mile of rice fields – the area is famous for their variety of rices – and pine, cork and lemon trees. It was peaceful and uneventful; even the twenty minute detour at the end of the day due to bridge construction wasn’t a bother.
We treated ourselves to a grilled-chicken-and-fries lunch at a very popular cafe that John happened to see on the side of the road. We were spontaneous!!! Usually we don’t stop for lunch but this was irresistible. It was jam-packed with Portuguese diners aged 35 – 95 years old, each enjoying a carafe of red wine with their meal. No one spoke English. Delicious and authentic.
At the top of a hill (of course there was a hill, I mean, this is Portugal) Hotel Octant Caminho in Santiago do Cacem is popular with golfers. It features a massive open kitchen managed magnificently by a female chef who has been with the hotel for years. We had a spectacular dinner (dorado for John, pork cheeks for me, check out the photos) and then slept the sleep of the dead. It was a perfect day.
