Zambujeira to Aljezur

Oct 7 2023

Aljezur accommodations: Hotel Vicentina

Notice the Moorish place names!

As I write this, it’s the evening of Oct 8, and I scarcely remember yesterday. In addition, I forgot to record on the Ride With GPS navigation tool until about half way through the ride, in Odecaixe. (If you can figure out how to pronounce that, please let me know!)

It’s tricky finding a good route. Google seems to assume cyclists like backroads and gravel tracks, which, as we discovered, doesn’t necessarily make for a fast journey. Google’s driving routes give the fastest, most direct route. It’s a challenge for people like us, who want pavement, but also want some scenic stops along the way. 

 

We thought this bit of gravel might lead to pavement, but we gave up after a few hundred meters.

Man of Steel? Odecaixe sculpture.

Cheese board, with meat we didn't expect, Odecaixe.

 

This 0%-Alcohol beer has become my go-to thirst quencher. Elly's now onto it too!

 
Ride With GPS is full of routes travelled by other cyclists, but few actually fit our itinerary. The upside of RWGPS is that it shows hills and pavement/gravel. Google does neither. The most disappointing thing about not recording the first half of today’s ride is that I don’t get to show the impressive hours up a long, long hill. Short hills are okay — you work hard for a while, then you get relief. It’s the long, shallow hills that kill you. “But,” you say, “You're on e-bikes, how hard can it be?” Well. E-bikes are definitely a huge help, but the amount of power you get from them is related to the power you put on the pedals. So if you’re not pushing yourself, the motor gives you almost nothing. That said, I know I couldn’t do this trip on a regular bike. We each have two 20-litre panniers, each weighing probably 10 kg. Without an e-bike, not fun nor even possible for the likes of me.

It’s hot here, around 30° all day until sunset. Heat, weight, headwinds, hills. Are we having a good time? Probably. The company is great. Whether the pleasure outweighs the torture, I’ll figure out once I’m home.

At the end of the day, we arrived in yet another sweet town and a wonderful hotel with a pool. Our room was a suite with a kitchen that looked like it had never been used. Everything modern and spotless. A balcony, which for us is a place to dry clothes, but still, a balcony

Aljezur is divided by the Aljezur river into two parts, the old and the new. We stayed in the new, but walked across the bridge over the dry river bed to a very “old Portuguese” pizza place, and had yummmm bruschetta and a pizza with fresh mozarella and possibly the best crust I’ve ever tasted. Believe it or not, we’re both a bit tired of fish and seafood.  

 

One part of our suite at Hotel Vicentina, after we messed it up a bit.

View across the bridge to the old town, topped by a ruined castle.

 

Today's maps and videos, as I said, only cover the second half our ride. In the photos, note burnt forest, and eucalyptus sprouting from burnt trunks. Also, Bird Nest with Cigarette Butt in a bus stop that served as a rest stop.