Day 39: Almodovar to Mertola

April 9, 2023

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We are counting on the blog to help us remember this day. It was so much fun, so beautiful and quiet, that we would like to be able to relive it. One sure way is also to come back another time, and we surely would do that.

We started just by quickly looking at Almodovar, which including the church, was locked tight, this being Easter Sunday. But the town is beautiful, being comprised of mostly white buildings, with blue and yellow trims.

Outside of town, by the river, were some very nice gardens.

Right out of Almodovar there began a landscape and our road to Mertola, that between them cast a spell of peace and quiet. We try to link landscapes with others in our experience, help in getting a grip on what they are all about. Was this Kamloops? Arizona? Coastal Northern California? Nope. It had rolling hills, many roadside flowers, orchards of olives, orchards of pine, and most impactfully, a quiet road lined with mature Eucalyptus - offering scents, and goodly patches of shade.

Here is how our road started, and it was the same all the way. There were occasional cars and motorcycles, but generally we could ride right down the middle.

It was also easy to stop in the road and spot nearby birds. A lot were very flitty, but we certainly could hear their song. Partridges would flush up ahead, but they never gave us a chance for a photo. We also watched rabbits from time to time, following them as they raced across the fields, ultimately disappearing in the shrubbery.

This is just a common blackbird, but it is in a field of flowers!

Just a Sparrow, or could it be a Corn Bunting?

Today was all about the land, the birds, and the flowers. But there is a little story and drama in that as well. Look at how this stork is providing shelter for so many smaller birds!

We kept looking at an abundant purple flower by the roadside, feeling we had seen it at home too, but surely not by the roadside. We finally figured it out - we have seen it so often at our local nursery, for it is Spanish or "topped" lavender. It is native to this area!

We also had a closer look at the "Rock Rose", that covers hillsides here. It's a handsome flower!

For the first time we are seeing some stone walls. These are very common in England or France, but we had not yet seen it here.

The road and the Eucalyptus again. This route deserves some official name, so people would come here just to ride this stretch. Maybe this already exists, if the entire Alentejo Circuit turns out to be as great as this.

We passed some very little towns, interesting to peek at, but soon we just returned to the great road.

In the next several shots, we are looking down the road, and over to the sides. The landscapes are captivating, perhaps a little boring to look at here in the blog, but so much fun to ride through.

Here is another of the little towns that we along the way. We took note of them with a photo, but they offered no services or real sights to look at.

We were not worried about Lynx, but there were several signs about them.

The Agave - Century Plants are often seen here, and give a desert feel. I took this shot because of the lighter green one, a shade I had not seen before.

Arriving at Mertola changed the complexion of the day's ride entirely. The town is on the Guadiana River, the one that runs down to help form the the Spanish border at Ayamonte. Here, there is a descent to the river and its dramatic bridge, and then the town is built on a hill, and topped by a castle!

Just before the bridge there was a sign about the Camino. Every since we went to Santiago, the Camino has held a fascination. The sign shows us to be on one of the Portuguese Camino routes.

We followed the road around toward the centre of town, looking down some side streets that descended at 10%. Aside from our Booking, we were looking for any food, bit except for one cafe everything was closed tight.

Typically, the only usable street is one way against us.

Sometimes AirBnB type arrangements have worked out well for us - usually yielding larger rooms/apartments with kitchen equipment, but we really do prefer places with identifiable front desks, and someone always there, to acknowledge they have heard of you. This time, when we reached the bridge, we sent a text to the phone number of the Paraiso del Rio, but got no reply. We then made our way to in front of the place, which at least had an identifying sign - something that is often lacking. From there we made a voice call, and got someone on the line speaking faintly, and only in Portuguese. Some (considerable) frustration followed. I pushed on the door of the place, and it opened, so I went in. Then I phoned again and said (in English, admittedly) "Now I am inside your place, can you PLEASE show up?". Reply: Mumblemumble in Portuguese. I heard someone speaking in the distance, so I went down a corridor and knocked on a door. A woman answered, but she had no English. I handed her the phone with Mr. Mumblemumble, and I took the resultant conversation to have gone something like: Lady: "There is a crazy yellow man standing here. My guess is that he is some kind of client." Mr. Mumblemumble: "Ok, well dump him into #13".

So the lady and I went to the desk and got the key for #13. We went around to it and found it had not been made up. The lady then got Mr. Mumblemumble on her own phone, and he clearly said "Ok, so make it up". It turned out I had lucked onto the cleaning lady. The lady went and got a bucket of cleaning supplies and got onto it.

Meanwhile a man arrived and said "I am Mr. Mumblemumble. Your room is being made up, you need to wait until "later", but in the meantime you can sit here, or if you like, there". How long will it be? I asked . 30 minutes. I went and told Dodie this, but she said Cleaninglady just said 5 minutes.

What we take from this is that places without front desks can be trouble in finding who to talk to. And such places may also not be on the ball in terms of being ready to receive you. On the other hand, it usually works out in the end.

Paraiso del Rio did have the feature of a river view. It also had about five cute cats outside.

Our next door neighbour seems responsible for feeding the cats.

This is the bridge we will use to leave town tomorrow. Dodie has plotted an interesting route around the Alentejo, referencing the Classens and the Huw Thomas book. What has caught my ear so far is a place with truly great fruit at breakfast, and another place that is a restored 15th century castle. I am also hoping for more roads like the one today!

Today's ride: 43 km (27 miles)
Total: 1,659 km (1,030 miles)

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Scott AndersonI’m glad this day worked out for you. This and north in the Alentejo is my favorite region in Portugal, and I love Mertola.
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1 year ago

Kelly IniguezFinally we are joining your route for a couple of days. We are detouring special into Mertola, the Andersons' were so taken with the town.

I wish we were riding some of your magical road, but we are not at all. We come in from Serpa, and then head out towards Alosno.
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1 year ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Kelly IniguezWe are going to Serpa tomorrow. Who knows? maybe there will be 2 magical rides in a row.
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1 year ago

Scott AndersonTo Steve Miller/GrampiesYou can count on it. Be forewarned though - it’s not flat - especially the steep climb away from the river as soon as you leave Mertola. Make sure your batteries are charged!
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1 year ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Scott AndersonWe sort of suspected this. The batteries are charged, the bikes and ours. A good sleep and a good breakfast for us and 100% charge for the bikes. We are ready!
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1 year ago

Brent IrvineJust curious where you anticipate you might be in and around April 26-30? I arrive Madrid the 26th before heading toward Salamanca and points north and west.
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1 year ago

Laurie MarczakI feel like this is one of the first times I’ve seen cats in the blog, which is curious now I think on it given our family’s notorious affinity for them. Where have all the cats been?
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1 year ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Brent IrvineWithout certainty, we will most likely be either still heading north on the N 2 or heading along the Douro either east or west. Sure wish we could engineer a meet up, but it does not appear likely.
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1 year ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Laurie MarczakNot many cats have been seen, which is a shame, but also a fact.
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1 year ago

Brent IrvineTo Steve Miller/GrampiesWe'd best keep tabs on each other's journals since I think we'll be close to crossing paths.
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1 year ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Brent IrvineWill be tracking you.
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1 year ago