THAT noise I heard last night was not the heater fan. Nor was it the tv. Nor was it the wind. What was it you may ask? It was torrential rain that went on for hours and hours and hours. It just poured and poured and poured. I saw news stories on tv showing flooding in Lisbon. Oh oh.
When the sky lightened I peeked outside to see... pouring cats and dogs. When I went downstairs for breakfast I peeked outside to see... pouring cats and dogs. The good news was that when I stepped in to the breakfast room there were the two German couples who thumbed up for me and I keep seeing as I tour along. They do head home today, though, so I will not see them again. They said they felt sorry for me knowing I was going to be heading out into the deluge.
It was a nice breakfast with a couple of nice lattes from the auto machine. I was sure to load up with calories, thinking that if it rained all day I would be wet and cold so using up a lot more energy than on a warm day. After breakfast I went to pack but this time pulled out my cycling pants and my fleece sweater. Keep warm above all else.
When I was ready I came down to load up the bike to see that the rain had diminished quite a bit from earlier and it was looking brighter out there. Hmmm. I liked that. I went in to thank the owner who hoped I would return yet again - such a sweet lady.
I rolled outside to find that the rain had actually stopped or at least paused. Though my GPS wanted to route me a way back towrd the beach, I knew that I could cut uo through the centre and past the old windmill to meet up with my plotted route. It was a nice narrow smooth paved road that wound through the fields. Yes, it rained on and off but not all that much. And the traffic was fairly light. At one point the EV route sent me down a dirt road and the surface seemed foine but soon it deteriorated to a mucky mess with huge puddles. Not passable at all. The torrential rains had stopped me in my tracks. I backtracked to the road and continued on the paved route until I was almost to Aljezur. Before reaching town I tried again to re-join the actual Eurovelo route. Though it was wet and a bit muddy it was ok and when I came to a really steep descent, I just took it very slowly and carefully.
A good way down this hill a long came a jeep with two Germans in it. They stopped to tell me there was no way to get through because of the flooding in the valley and I would have to turn back. Up I walked to the summit of the hill, then re-traced my route back to the paved road. I descended on that paved road to Aljezur and that was when I saw how much water there was. The wee river had jumped its banks and there was water everywhere. Fields were lakes, the water was right up to the bottom of the bridges and people were all out taking pictures and gawking at how much water was about. Major flooding.
After Aljezur I climbed the hill and tried to re-join Eurovelo 1 and this time I was successful. The first few km were on paved road, but then my route diverted to a dirt road then a muddy road, though never terrible. Most of the time if was the yellow limestone that was a breeze to ride along. There were open fields, eucalyptus and pine groves, and a few farms. This must have been part of the Fisherman's Trail as well since I saw quite a few hikers going in both directions. At one point I saw a couple ahead and when I slowed to pass them I noticed that he had on a MEC ball cap. Aha - Canadian from Edmonton. We chatted a bit with a loose idea to meet in town and have a beer together if it worked out. Then along I went.
My route continued to wind through hill and dale until I started a serious descent so figured I must be heading to town now. However, as I approached a valley I thought to myself that if this valley was like others I might have a problem if I have to cross some sort of bridge. Sure enough, my route did cross some type of bridge but water was coursing over the bridge about five or six metres wide and about 40 cm deep. I thought about what to do and decided to remove my shoes and socks, roll up my cycling pants, hoist up my bike and slowly tiptoe through the water and hope there wasn't a spot with a really deep washout. Right when I started to worry the water started to get shallower and I was across. I'd made it. What an adventure. This was definitely a new thing for me.
Soon after the river crossing I was up and back on to the main paved road which soon had me to the town sign. I climbed up toward the centre and was soon to the guest house. The owner's mom was here and after checking with her daughter I was ok to check in. I just dumped my bags and headed to the coast to ride arounbd the cliffside roads. But soon dark black clouds appraoched from the east so, not wanting a repeat of last night's rain, I zipped back to my guest house. And the rain started and stopped within a fifteen minute period. Oh well.
I had asked the owner for a rag which she happily provided so I went out to the street to clean off some of today's grime from the dirty wet roads. Then I made the short walk into the village centre to the little supermarket to get some food for late lunch and tomorrow's breakfast. It was 1.40 Euro for a litre of red wine so though I did not want that much, how could I say no. So I splurged. I also got some sheep's cheese and a few other goodies and returned to the guest house deck for a nice afternoon sip and snack.
A bit more rain came along but once it stopped I went for a stroll to the old centre and meandered about. There were a few people in and around the very centre but very few as this is the tiniest of villages. I walked past one restaurant and saw someone wave. I looked closer to realize it was the couple from Edmonton who were about to return to their room. We have loosely set plans to meet in Vila da Bispo tomorrow if it works out. As I tarted to return to my guest house a local stoppd and chatted for a moment. He pointed at my shorts and at his winter jacket and laughed. He was a fisherman but was in a car accident some years ago and now ha a bad back, bad legs and says his mind is not right. So, he yearns to fish but can't so spends his time in the village just hanging out. I met another young fellow who does construction and he says to build a new house it is about 2k to 3k Euro per square metre. Not bad for a brand new place here.
Now back to my room early, that is ok, because I am planning for a longish day tomorrow. Out from here to complete the route by the sea before heading south.o
And then suddenly the Eurovelo route became a wet and muddy steep descent. Halfway down this mess two German guys coming up in a jeep said the path was impassable due to the flooding so I had to turn around and walk back up. -- Aljezur, Portugal
And then suddenly the Eurovelo route became a wet and muddy steep descent. Halfway down this mess two German guys coming up in a jeep said the path was impassable due to the flooding so I had to turn around and walk back up. -- Aljezur, Portugal
Almost to my destination the route dropped into a valley so I thought oh-oh and sure enoough had this 40 cm deep torrent to cross. I did so successfully with shoes and socks removed. -- Carrapeteira, Portugal
Almost to my destination the route dropped into a valley so I thought oh-oh and sure enoough had this 40 cm deep torrent to cross. I did so successfully with shoes and socks removed. -- Carrapeteira, Portugal
I decided to explore the route out and around the coastal road. It was spectacular but when huge dark clouds came in from the east I dashed back to the safety of my guest house. -- Carrapateira, Portugal
I decided to explore the route out and around the coastal road. It was spectacular but when huge dark clouds came in from the east I dashed back to the safety of my guest house. -- Carrapateira, Portugal
I decided to explore the route out and around the coastal road. It was spectacular but when huge dark clouds came in from the east I dashed back to the safety of my guest house. For a wine and cheese. -- Carrapateira, Portugal
