Back in England!

Our 10 best experiences

1. Eating fresh grilled fish every day.

2. Going to a bull fight for the first (and probably last) time in one's life.

3. Diving through the Atlantic breakers.

4. Skinny dipping on stunningly beautiful deserted beaches.

5. Doing 50km/h pushed by a tail wind only.

6. Meeting lovely people like Piotr, Benoît, Rui and many others.

7. Our first (and probably not last) naturist campsite.

8. The smell of origano, rosemary, pine and other aromatic herbs cycling through the Alentejo hills.

9. Feeling ourselves getting fit and overtaking a local cycling club group.

10. The wonderful wild campsites.

Our 10 worst experiences

1. Finding apple juice carton spilt in our cycle pannier before our departure in Southampton airport.

2. Being nearly run over by someone who came out of a side road and didn't see us.

3. Walking for the whole afternoon without water or shade on a dusty hot (very hot very sunny very dusty) path looking for spot to pitch tent and landing up on a crowded beach and having to walk all the way back on that hot dusty path.

4. Cycling on a flat road getting very tired and sweaty and finding out that John had left the drum brake on!

5. Cycling to Évora  64 km in 44 degrees

6. Making camp late one evening to find people opposite were a rough crowd of gypsies, moving on to different place and find more gypsies, by which time it was too dark to pitch tent anywhere.

7. Pitching our tent on top of an ants nest.

8. Nicole wanting to go to beach and John wanting to visit mediaeval villages.

9. Cycling down a steep hill to sail on a Dutch Barge and find out there was no wind.

10. Drum brake intermittently sticking on.

Salema

We have found this gem of a campsite 17km west of Lagos. Very quiet (no radio allowed) beautiful trees and plants, friendly staff, a restaurant, near the beach and part of it nudist. We found a lovely spot there. A beautiful way to spend our last two days in Portugal.

Sagres

Made our way to Cabo de São Vincente, Europe's most southern west point. Strong north westerly wind. On our tail we did 50 km/h without pedalling.. but against it, what a struggle! Especially the side gusts pushing us onto traffic. Anyway, we survived!

Lovely setting in campsite (and very hot showers!), going to sleep with the music of wind in pine trees. Quite chilly for a change.

Aljezur

The hills have arrived! We are leaving the flat and arid plains of the Alentenjo and are arriving in the Algarve by the back door. Not only more hills but also more trees, more fertile and more expensive.. The mist has also lifted so it's back to shorts and we even had another dip in that wonderful ocean (John's next project:learning how to kite surf!). Also visited a most interesting and well designed museum describing how the land and the sea affected the lives of the inhabitants of Carrapateira.

Zambujeira

Rested there for a couple of days, comfortable campsite owned by a man who had spent 17 years working in Switzerland (near Le Mont!) and enjoyed exploring the coast line, predominantly cliffs and little coves: a small fishing harbour 

A secluded nudist beach

And all around a national coastal reserve conserving endemic plants

Cabo Sardão

After an awful day looking for camping spot in the hot sun  (unsuccessful) and nearly escaping death a few times on a horrid fast road we had breakfast on a beautiful rocky promontory 

By Cabi Sardão's lighthouse (it mistakingly faces land rather than the sea!)

And we arrived in Zambujeira Do Mar (a surfer's paradise) where we found a quiet and shady camping. Now ready to stay put for a few days, explore the rocky cliffs and the local fishing little port. 

Early dip

Early call from John to cycle to beach. Absolutely beautiful! The whole beach to ourselves: a dip, yoga and breakfast by the Atlantic shore..

This why we pedal hard and sweat countless kms..

Ilha Do Pessegueiro

After a lovely quiet night amongst eucalyptus we saw snake marks on the path near tent..glad I didn't meet him!

Cycling down the coast with a fresh breeze, bliss! Too many people, but pretty coves, lovely clear sea and we saw this beautiful white flower again

Comporta

Reached Comporta by the Atlantic coast. Made a detour by a small interesting village with an extended system of pontoons on stilts

Tourada

On entering Alcácer we saw a poster for a bull fight the following night. We thought it would be a novel way to celebrate John's 70th birthday!

Consequently, we cycled to the bull ring in good time (10pm!) and eventually found our seats in the gallery. 

The bull ring is very reminiscent of a Roman amphitheatre without the stage. Just a ring, like a circus.

The programme opened with a superb display of dressage by very elegantly dressed women.

Then the introduction of the 3 calvaleiros (dashing horsemen dressed in 18th century finery with a plumed tricorn hat).

Each calvaleiro was assisted by 3 matadors (on foot) who provoked the bull. The bull charges the calvaleiro who with superb horsemanship gallops within inches of the bull's horns and plants bandarillas into the bull's neck.

The next phase was the pega (really the suicide squad!), 8 forcados facing the bull bare handed. They were tossed into the air and even trampled on!

They were whirled around holding his tail and eventually overwhelmed the weakened bull.

Lastly, cows were sent into the ring to lure the bull out.

We made for home at 1.00 am (the show was still in full swing!) and cycled back to our tent. What a birthday!

The bull is humanely put down after the event.

Bull fighting is on the wane. We did not enjoy seeing the bull tormented but reflected if this was a more humane death than transportation for many miles in a cattle truck to face the trauma of the abattoir.

Alcácer do Sal

Arrived in the charming town of Alcácer early enough to stroll through the main street which was decorated with paper bunting. They must have known it was John's birthday the following day!

Met Rui, a most helpful guide at the tourist office who told us much about the region, advised us on our cycle route and took us to visit the 2 beautiful salt galleons "Amendoeira 1950" and "Pinto Luisa 1910" moored on the Sado river.

We have decided to stay here a few days, people are so friendly, the atmosphere so genuine and relaxed and the campsite unpretentious, grassy and clean

Leaving Évora

We left Évora in the early evening, after the heat if the day and found a good camping spot by the side if the road, sheltered by eucalyptus. It would have been perfect if we hadn't seen smoke in the distance..dry fields and heat obviously spell danger! We kept checking through the night if we could smell smoke or see a glow, but morning arrived and all was well.

Very early morning start, cool cycling through cork plantations, small dry flowers, and even saw snails (where do they get their moisture from?)