April 25, 2017 - Caldas de Aregos to Vessadas: Chatting with sheep in the mists - A Dabble of the Douro then Leaning to Lisbon (Tour 17) - 2017 🇵🇹

April 25, 2017

April 25, 2017 - Caldas de Aregos to Vessadas: Chatting with sheep in the mists

Hotel: Quinta das Vessadas

POOR Joanna, the server in the restaurant, came stumbling bleary-eyed from her car a few minutes after 8 am apologizing profusely that she was late. It mattered not at all to us, and in minutes we were eating yet again.

If you can tell, this was quite a change from the past few days. First off, the sky is cloudy and we actually got a wee bit of rain though not enough to get really wet. Second is the terrain. More 'earthy' and jungle-like than arid, I think rain is much more frequent here. Between Caldas de Aregos to Vessadas, Portugal.

The young server was curious about our trip at this 'cold' time of year. She told us that in tourist season the town is really busy, but off season not so much.

For the first time, this morning's sky was clouded right over, with mists up at the hilltops. It was warm enough not to require my coat but it was at the ready.

The N222 road started immediately as a climb out of town, and a long steep one at that. This is when we discovered that both of our stomachs were giving us some grief. Last night's meal? Water from the tap? Not sure, but it was a struggle for both of us over every km today.

The terrain and vegetation continues to change. The Douro valley is more like a steep canyon. Hardly any grapevines now, there are forests of eucalyptus, groves of oranges, tall pines, and the forest looks more jungle-like than desert-like. The gullies are flowing with fast streams. I think you know what this means.

As it turns out, the cloudy day led to a misty one which led to a few drops of rain and finally to light misty rain for a while. It was short-lived, but the road was wet for a while and my sunglasses needed wipers to clear the drops. Then suddenly the sky brightened, the road dried and Brent was dry and happy again.

On one long climb we were grinding up the ascent when up above the road behind a fence was a flock of sheep. I called out to them with a baaa. They looked at me and answered back with a baaa. So I gave another baaa, to which they answered back again with another baaa. This went on for about 10 minutes, part of which was recorded in a video. If brightened up a tough day. Of course, this was just before the half-way point so we had quite a way still to go. Up.

Some of the route turned in along a river valley, extending the route by a km or two. The traffic was increasing, and some drivers were traveling way too fast and way off of their side of the road. In fact, at one point a car careened around a corner and straight at me. The driver cranked the wheel so much the car leaned toward me. It was so fast that though I had no time to get out of the way, though I tried. And then their car turned just enough and it somehow flew past without touching me. I have never had such a close call as this. I had no chance to move, and at that speed I would either have been horribly injured or killed. Rather than just little ol' me living my cycle tour dreams I would have been one of those statistics of cyclists hit by idiots driving poorly. Yes, I was scared out of my wits, and had to take a break for a while to stop shaking. I was nervous of other cars for some time.

As we approached Vassadas, the route suddenly turned straight uphill to a ridge overlooking the hills and valleys, including over the Douro. The place has a look of an old quinta estate, or manor home, now converted to guest house and event centre. No wonder. What a place. The only problem is that everything was locked up tight and nobody was around.

Fortunately the neighbours next door made a few phone calls and in no time along came a woman to open up and show the house and room. I also spoke with the owner over the worker's phone to order breakfast and to get directions to cross the river tomorrow.

After cleaning up, we both rested as we feel under the weather and figure it was from yesterday's drinking water. Apparently some of the small towns don't have the best purification systems. I should have brought the Steripen since I had the AA batteries and charger with me anyway. And, my stomach had the feel of bad water having been consumed. Nonetheless, we went out around the house to take some pics and get a few oranges from the trees in the yard.

Wanting to recover, we chose not to walk up to the village for dinner. We were not hungry, anyway. I just read my book. 'Deception Point.'

And then all of a sudden highway N222 headed way inland to cross the river and there was this magical-looking bridge. Between Caldas de Aregos to Vessadas, Portugal.

This was a former Quinta, owned by some family who once farmed the area. Now it is a very attractive casa. On this visit there were no other visitors. I could easily get used to this place! Vessadas, Portugal

The grounds of the casa were beautiful - it was a gem in a tiny village on the top of a hill overlooking the Douro River in the distance. Vessadas, Portugal

Today's ride: 41 km (25 miles)
Total: 175 km (109 miles)

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