April 28, 2022
April 28, 2022 - Figueira da Foz to Praia do Pedrógāo
Sun out and wind at my back
Hotel: Pedrógão Guesthouse
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It's funny. When I have a 'day off' from cycling ahead, I kind of look forward to a relaxing do-nothing kind of day. But, rarely do I do nothing, and really, if truth be told, I am anxious to get back onto the bike to see more stuff. This to say, when I woke up around 5 am this morning I was raring to go so got down to breakfast as soon as I could and packed things up.
Whereas yesterday there was only one other person having breakfast, today there were six spots set, though only one other was there when I arrived. Similar to yesterday, I also had a bowl of fresh cut fruit which was really tasty. But, the sun was shining and it was time to pack my things.
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I thanked my hosts while I packed my bike in their little courtyard, then rolled out through the lobby and onto the street and was soon rolling along the same seaside promenade where I had walked yesterday in search of my lunch. Today, though, I went further and was heading toward the road and pathway onto the huge suspension bridge that brought traffic across the harbour. A couple of times I had to lift my heavy bike over a little railing, but it meant that I was on a dedicated walk/bike path and not in a main traffic lane with many fast cars and trucks.
I stopped a few times to take photos back towards the city and it was at this point that I noticed how much the bridge swayed when a really large truck went by. It was a bit spooky. This section was not part of EV1, which headed way inland along the coast so here I had to set my GPS to my next guesthouse. As it would turn out, I would eventually meet up with EV1 and criss-cross it at various points.
Today's routes had quite a variety. The start was in the city, of course, then once I got across the bridge, I veered onto a smaller road that went through many little villages. The villages had quite a mix of old deserted homes and farms, brand new homes, but the common thing was that they all had a cultivated patch of earth often with oranges, lemons, figs, olives or grapevines. At one point I stopped and asked an older woman if I could pay her to pick one of the oranges from a tree but she had no idea what I was asking so on I went... orangeless.
For a while my route followed along gravel roads, then mud tracks then even grassy sections. Had it been raining I would have stayed on a paved route and gone a different way. There were many stands of eucalyptus or pine and in some small areas some selective cutting had been done. Then as I approached my destination, there were big stands of blackened 'poles'. Obviously there had been a fire some/many years ago so there were no trees, though lots of green scrub brush but miles and miles of black sticks.
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I came to an intersection where there were two abandoned homes and wouldn't you know it there was an orange tree in the accessible yard. And wouldn't you know it, I headed away with two oranges safely tucked away in my panniers for a snack some time later today if they are tasty - I will report back later.
On one rise amongst the burnt-out forest along came a group of cyclists without panniers, but obviously on a tour of some sort. I noticed that two of them had Canadian jerseys on but not sure if the tour was Canadian, American or European. I said hello but didn't get a single smile, so when I saw they had pulled off at a restaurant up the road, I kept on going.
My GPS kept telling me to turn along the 'unpaved road' but these ended up being soft sand dunes with tracks in them. No thanks. Though I think I took the long way to get there, I was able to stay on a paved road and soon rolled into Praia do Pedrógāo. I was awe-struck by the HUGE sandy beach that went forever from the town in both directions, and all along the waves crashed, and crashed and crashed along the beach. It was so beautiful!
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After looking around a bit, I came up to my guesthouse which is a brand new and very modern-looking place about 120m from the beachfront. The woman said I was welcome to check in now and would let me put my bike in their garage. I asked about the town and she said that it has a lot of summer vacation homes and that at this time of year it is only busy on weekends. That's why nobody was around.
My room is quite nice and has a BATH!!! So that is already one of my plans. Before this, though, I headed out to find lunch and found a little place called the Central Cafe where I had pork, potatoes and rice, with a mixed salad, and ... pineapple Sumol. Very tasty. To work off some of my lunch I took a walk along the sandy beach with the waves crashing beside me. There is not much to this 'town'. It really is a summer vacation home place. Row after row after row of small apartment buildings and row buildings often with a for rent or for sale sign. There is nothing else here. I think it would be nice for Canadians in the winter since the weather would be decent, the prices would be low-season prices and one could relax and enjoy the lack of cold winter and snow! I'm not sure, though, if there is a bus to Porto or Lisbon. If you had a car, that would work fine as there is room everywhere, but otherwise it might be difficult to get here from an airport.
So now it's time to read my Louise Penny book and likely doze off for a while.
Today's ride: 45 km (28 miles)
Total: 220 km (137 miles)
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