Jeff: Portugal Week 2

So on Thursday we thought we would head towards Setubal which is a town south of Lisbon which had a few things of interest but the weather had different plans for us. It decided to rain all day which meant we ditched our idea of going to see anything. We got some shopping in and went to decathlon to try and get a replacement fin for the paddleboard. We also managed to find a shopping mall where we took advantage of the free wifi as we have been running low on data recently. We had decided to stay in a homestay for a camper stop tonight anyway so after getting everything in and uploading our last blog post and photos we headed there for the evening while it continued to rain.

The next day we decided that as it had stopped raining we would head to the Setubal fort so we parked in the town and walked up the hill to the fort where we got great views over the town. We then headed back to the van via a café where rich could have another Acai bowl (that boy is obsessed with them) and we drove a little down the coast to the start of the coast road which had a nice cycle on it. What we didn’t realise is that while the views were amazing the hills were hard. We took our time and stopped at a couple of beaches including Praia de Galapinos which was beautiful and the sea looked really inviting so we did have a little paddle. Just when we thought we got up the hill it took you down before making you ride back up it. We covered about 10km and got to the top of the hill and decided to head back which was a fun ride on the down hill sections (less fun on the uphill sections) and once back at the van we decided to head on to the clifftop we were planning to spend the night. It was a stunning clifftop where a few other vans had parked there. We ate dinner outside the van and watched the sun set before retiring into the van as its becoming noticeably colder here, especially at night. Rich has enrolled on a freediving course (and yes for those of you asking he will get ANOTHER certificate for it) that starts tomorrow so he has an online call to do tonight and that took up most of the evening for us.

Saturday was day one of Rich’s class in Sesimbra which involved some breathing practice before getting on the boat and learning to dive to 10m and back on one breath. I went with them and watched while also going snorkelling around the marine park they were in. I saw some interesting fish (but also broke our underwater camera) and a cave – which at the end of Rich’s class they were allowed to dive down to and through as it was 5m deep. Rich wasn’t the only one on his course he had a diving buddy called Philipe from Russia who had moved to Lisbon and had more certificates that Rich! Once the class was over we had a walk around the town before heading back to our clifftop place. We arrived at the cliff and the guys who had been there the night before were still there and told us the local forestry rangers had been by to tell them they couldn’t stay and that the police could fine them. We then had to decide what to do, did we risk it and stay or move on. The rest of the vans were planning on moving on to nearer Lisbon (as they were young, cool and liked to go out on the weekend – unlike us oldies). After trying a couple of different places, including the local beach car parks were either stated that no camping was allowed or were full of people we headed back and thought we would risk it as we would be up early in the morning.

The next morning, having not been disturbed or received a fine we headed back into town for day two of the course. The aim of the day was for Rich to get down to 20m and back on one breath and learn about the rescue techniques. Rich passed with flying colours (as did Philipe). While Rich was at his course I stayed in the van and sorted bits and pieces out and planned the next day. I walked into town before Rich finished his course and got him a breakfast croissant to refresh him after the class before we headed back to the van and started the drive north to Lisbon. We drove over the toll bridge into the city (and went in the wrong lane, something we need to sort out at some point) and saw the statue of Christ, which was inspired by Rio’s Christ the Redeemer, and drove to the edge of Belem where we planned to stay the night.

The next morning we had a busy day planned to explore Lisbon on the bikes as there is a nice bike path from here all the way into the city. I did warn Rich that being a Monday lots of the major attractions were closed (we do have this luck) but we really wanted to explore the city and could decide to spend an extra day if we wanted to go inside any of the attractions. First stop on our tour was the Monumento aos Combatentes do Ultramar which was a military monument to all the fallen solidures over the years then next up was the Torre de Belem which was a UNESCO world Heritage site and is a Torre which juts out to the sea. It was beautiful to see but it was very misty so the views from inside would not have been any good. Next we cycled to Padrao dos Descobrimentos which is a concrete monument to maritime explorers and then we walked to the Monasterio los Jeronimos which is another UNESCO site. After this then we headed up the bike path with a brief stop at the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (MAAT) and went up to the roof to get the good views, including the view of the Christ statue, and then continued on to the city centre. There were many things we quickly discovered about the city, it was full of, what google would call, steep hills which made riding the bike hard going for Rich and no bike racks meaning when ever we stopped we had to find some random fence or pole to attach the bikes to (which also meant we kept deciding to take them with us rather than walk to the different sites). First up we cycled through the main square which welcomes tourists and ferry goers called Praca do Comercio which has a range of tourist traps including a beer museum but we quickly moved on up a very steep hill to a vegan café where Rich had, can you guess, an Acai bowl and I had a fake bacon and cheese sandwhich and then we headed down the hill slightly to a couple of the view points over the city including Miradouro da Garca and stopped ag the church and monastery of Vincente de For a which were damaged by the 1755 earthquake. Unfortunately due to it still being a Monday we couldn’t go in. We then ventured down the old cobbled streets to the Alfama district which while great to look at was full of tourists and hawkers so after again looking at an another miradouro de Santa Luzia we decided to head a bit further out of town to the Time Out Market which is great if you are hungry but having had a large breakfast we weren’t and there wasn’t any vegan Pasteis de nata so we headed up another couple of steep hills to a shop where we knew sold them. We then cycled down the hill to the Basilica da Estrela (which we did actually go inside) and to the Guerra Junquerio garden before it started to rain. So far the day had mostly been stopping by great architectural buildings and admiring great views which had been fun and also had given us a real insight into the different areas of the city with some we really liked like Belem and areas that are beautify but too touristy for us, like Alfama. The city is very reminiscent of San Francisco which is even more apparent with all the hills and the trams which bus tourists around. As it was raining we thought there was only one thing for it we needed to find a bar and so we headed to the LX factory which is a whole range of independent shops and bars and found a place with a happy few hours which meant 1.50 half pint so we had a couple and by the time we had drunk those and looked around at the shops the rain had died down so we headed back into the city to find some dinner at a vegan restaurant specialising in Portuguese meals. We had a vegan steak and happy octopus (both very good) before the heavens opened and we knew we would have to ride the 30mins back to the van in the rain. That was not fun and Rich and his bike slipped in the rain on the marble and various tram lines several times on the cycle back but we eventually got back in one very wet piece and decided to stay where we were for the evening.

The next morning we got up fairly early and headed north west to Sintra where there is a national palace of Pena which is a castle high on the rocks and it has both Moreish and Spanish influences whilst also being brightly coloured. We got there and walked up the steep hill to the castle but the rain from yesterday was not giving up so while we did tour the inside of the palace we didn’t get any views of the surrounding area or decent views of the outside of the palace itself. The palace was the last place the royal family was when the republic took over in 1910. The interior of the place was interesting and we did note that the beds looked even too short for me! Some rooms were painted vivid colours while other were painted to look like marble or wood but actually looked like cheap wallpaper. After exploring the inside we headed outside to do the wall walk and marvel at what the views could have been like. We then headed down the hill to the rest of the park where there was stables and green houses to see but on our way there the heavens opened again and we regretted our choice not to go straight back to Jeff as we became soaked. Eventually we got back to the van and got changed out of our wet clothes before heading north to Alcobaca which has a famous monastery and a very busy camperstop. After driving round and thinking we would have to go somewhere else a very nice German lady pointed out a place further on the grass then they were so we parked up and tried to do some laundry (we failed) and settled in for the night while it rained.

The next morning we got up and headed out to get our first LPG (the gas which does our heating, – not yet used – hot water and cooking and after a few false starts we managed to get it sorted. Its still nice to have some firsts in the van. Then we headed to the supermarket and managed to get some laundry done and get some shopping in before heading to the Parque Natural das Serras de Aire de Candeeiros which has caves and Fornea which is similar to a natural amphitheatre within the rocks. We hiked the short way to the Fornea, past a waterfall, and up to a little cave which was a lot smaller than we thought it would be before heading to the next stop in Mortagua where we plan to spend tonight before a nice big bike ride tomorrow.

Next morning was foggy but it soon cleared up into a lovely clear sunny day. With 100km on the agenda (Route Ecopista Do Dao which runs between Santa Comba Dao and Viseu) we got ourselves ready for the next 4/5 hours ahead. We found some great parking at the train station which was at the start of the route but it soon became apparent that due to the building works there, we wouldn’t be able to get to the path itself which gave us a convenient 2km diversion to get to the start. The actual cycle route was only 96km there and back so we needed the diversion to hit out 100km. The first 20km or so was a lot more scenic with the river and green fields. The rest was pretty in parts however its always nice to have uninterrupted good bike paths. Within the first few km we came to a screeching stop as a herd of goats decided to leap over the fence of the adjoining field onto the path. After a brief standoff we got to one side and the goats made their way up the path. Disappointingly at the 50km half way point in Viseu there was no greeting party cheering us on, nor even a bench to sit on but we did find ourselves a nearby wall and devoured our overnight oats! We wasted no time getting back not wanting to stiffen up. The new saddle gel seat covers we brought the week before from Decathlon were coming into their own as we started to ache from head to toe (and ass). The way back was a lot easier due to the overall decline but at times it still felt a grind. The last 2k was killer back up the big hill to get back to the van but we did it – 100k. Maybe 120k next? (NOT A CHANCE RICH!) We had scoped out a nearby camperstop which had the promise of free hot showers. Turned out they were free luke warm showers which after a few minutes turned into cold showers – ah well could be worse!