April 9, 2015
Thursday, April 9 - Montijo to Elvas, Portugal: Rainy roads to Portugal
THE nice thing about looking out first thing this morning was that, though the roads were wet, it was not raining out. I snacked on yesterday's groceries and zipped down to pay and pack. Not pay to pack, mind you.
I was ready to go just short of 8 am, and though it was a bit gloomy out, I headed out just the same. Hey, no rain, I'm game. Only a slight breeze, too. A tail breeze. New term.
I took a route that I thought was a quiet country road. The second part was correct, but not so quiet. Plus, no margins on the road so I had to be very viligant and use my nerdy outrigger mirrors on my glasses a lot.
I was in the Guadiana River valley so it was fairly flat. Olive orchards and maybe hazelnut orchards (?). Cement aqueducts fed all of these fields, and again the majority of the small farmhouses were deserted and crumbling. Hurray EU? Or hurray 2015 progress? Not sure.
About an hour into the ride I felt a few raindrops. Then a few more and even more after that. Then the hazy mist that I had been watching to the south was upon me and it was a steady heavy rain. This was as I was approaching the large-ish city of Badajoz. At one point it looked like my road was becoming the autovia (ie no bikes allowed) so I found the old closed highway that got me a small way including a crossing over the old bridge which is beside the ancient stone bridge. What a find. Had I not been 'lost' I would not have found this treasure. A little further along I found my road which brought me right into Badajoz along the Guadiana. In the heavy rain.
I want to speak of the rain. I read another blog the other day on cgoab where the author mentioned that her 'waterproof' jacket only seemed to mean that it does not dissolve in the water when drenched. I concur. Another way to think of it is that it strikes a close balance between the pounds of water soaking you on the inside with the sheets of water running off along the outside. You get so wet when cycling in the rain that somehow you are actually wetter than water.
Just past Badajoz, according to my battery-faltering GPS, my road was about to end. I stopped at the gas station who pointed down the road I was on. Though the GPS showed no road, I could keep going. It must have been the old frontier road... and soon I was in Portugal.
I was pretty tired and had about 8 to 10 km to go with a climb into Elvas. As I approached I could see fortress walls looming in the mists up and ahead. Up. Up. Up. Through the old walls of the old centro and here was my 200 year old hotel which overlooked the walls, the fortress and was near the cathedral and castle. Love it.
Of course, I was hungry, so though I was looking around the old city, I was hunting for lunch. I found a wee place just inside one of the old gates. When I walked in and asked about lunch, they pointed at their clock which showed 11:20 am. My watch showed 12:20 pm. Duh! I knew it but had forgotten that Portugal is an hour earlier than Spain. I am such a dopey tourist.
Anyway, they prepared my tourist lunch - olives, bread, red wine, many slices of pork, potatoes, rice, tomatoes, lettuce, flan.... so much I could not eat it all. For €10. Incredible. The flan especially so. Each time in Portugal I am amazed with how good the flan is. I had to waddle back to my room which was now ready, and as I type, the sun has come out, so I may head back out for sun-drenched photos, instead of soppy wet ones.
- Elvas, Portugal
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- Elvas, Portugal
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- Elvas, Portugal
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Garcia de Orta, Casa de Hospedes €22
Today's ride: 57 km (35 miles)
Total: 378 km (235 miles)
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