“Never give up. Never give up on anything. Never stop trying. It's better to try and fail than never trying. All the experiences are necessary. It will prepare you for the great success which comes unexpected.” -- Laila Gifty Akita

This will be my fifth time to Portugal, though only my second time to the south. Each time I have been to Lisbon, though, so it is getting fairly easy to find my way around. It was this familiarity that has me staying there at the end of this bike tour in a hotel which allows me easy access to the metro lines directly to both the centre and the airport. With a bicycle in tow, this is a big deal.

I had planned and booked a cycle tour from Faro to Lisbon last year, but in the midst of planning, I fell on ice in a public parking lot and pulled a muscle in my calf and hurt my back. Sadly, I had to cancel the trip - the first time I have ever cancelled. Fortunately, I had booked using my credit card which included cancellation insurance so was able to recoup anything unrefundable. The fact remained, though, that the original tour dates came and went without me going anywhere.

I hoped things would be alright within a few months and started planning a cycle trip from Vienna to Prague, but re-strained the calf and had to cancel again. In the fall I hoped to re-kindle the Portugal trip, but still experienced calf issues.

Though I am sure not too many people would be overly sympathetic, for the first time in years, I did not leave the country at all in 2018. No Portugal, no Czechia and no Cuba. As a gentle return to travel, we did travel to Cayo Coco, Cuba, in January 2019, though without bikes. And now with the improving of my leg, this trip to Portugal.

In order to take it easy, I have stretched out the amount of time for the journey, have avoided most steep hills, and have throttled back the daily distances. Normally I would go from 40 to 60 km per day, but this time it will be from 15 to 45 km per day. Easier and shorter.

Many have heard it before, but good health is sooo darned important. I was so discouraged after the fall - just when I thought I could start cycling again, I would re-injure myself and have to spend time lazing on the couch in front of the tv. This can be very addictive yet discouraging at the same time. Being a person who likes to move and get things done, it was really weird. Getting older is not all glitter and sparkles!

In the recovery stages I have been using a lot of deep massage, heat, electrical stimulation and stretching. At times, I can still feel pulling in the calf, but the past few months have been much improved compared to the first six to nine months. So darned long to a partial recovery.