Quiet Riding to Serpa

October 16, 2022

Mertola to Serpa

Another great day in the Alentejo. Breakfast this morning was great and we were on the road at a reasonable 9:45. We said goodbye to new cycling friends and away we went. The start at the hotel was hilarious for me. I was in a very low gear, but the grade just in front of the hotel was just enough that I had trouble getting going. I would have managed, there is always the go across the road before you go up trick, but this great man behind me called to me in Portuguese and gave me a good push. Such kindness again. I hope my effusive obrigada and wave let him know how much I appreciated it.

The views back to town from the bridge we crossed were so dramatic we had to stop for pictures. Then we had some climbing to do. After about five kilometres, primarily uphill, we discovered Keith had the hotel key in his pocket. We like to pull this kind of stunt at least once a tour. We looked at each other in dismay, and while I was getting out the hotel information to call, Keith flagged down a motorist who said ‘no problem’ when Keith asked if he could deliver the key. What a relief. If we had had to go back, the swoop back to town would have been fun, but the ride back out, not so much.

The view of Mertola looking back from the bridge.

It was a straightforward route today, not spectacular, but rolling hills through wide open spaces and we both found it easy riding and enjoyable. We also had shade today and in the afternoon it became overcast, and both of those things were welcome. It kept it from being so hot.

The highway was very lightly traveled again today and it was terrific. It is so quiet much of the time. You can hear the birds, and at one point Keith stopped because he thought I had whistled to him. Nope, just the birds.

This picnic and swimming area came too early in the day for us unfortunately. It was really attractive.

We loved the rolling nature of the road.

These sheep were very vocal and then all of a sudden took off at a dead run. It was quite funny to watch.

We stopped for lunch in the most ridiculous spot, but it had everything we needed - shade and a place to sit. There really hadn’t been anything else and we had been watching for awhile. Sure enough, when we got going again, the perfect spot appeared less than 500 m later.

Our lunch spot without a view. I pulled my jacket out of the bag to sit on. I took this picture because we have friends who tour with a light weight table and chairs and I really, really think they are on to something! This was a new low in lunch spots as we are usually so lucky to have amazing places to picnic.

After that it was a quick ride into Serpa. The agriculture changed from grazing land to olive trees as far as we could see.

And then olive trees to the horizon on both sides of the road.

Serpa is very quiet today. It is Sunday. We walked around the old town and toured the castle. It has to be one of my favourites ever. It is huge, and there were four of us there. What a privilege. The other couple were from Colorado and we had a good visit, exchanging travel stories. They were on their way to Mertola, so we could help there, and they were able to tell us about some of their favourite spots on our route forward.

Pretty spectacular. This photo and the next two were taken by the Colorado couple.

It is so amazing to have a place like this all to yourself so you can really see it.

We walked back towards the hotel to check out a restaurant and to do a little dinner research, and while finding our way to the restaurant a woman asked if we were lost. We explained no, but it did give me a chance to ask about groceries. She directed us to the InterMarche just a few hundred meters away. All we needed was dental floss and a few things for lunch tomorrow. You can guess what happened. We had already bought cheese and wine from a sweet lady in the town square, and so we added grapes, Iberian ham, crackers and chocolate. Dinner was on the terrace outside our room. The cheese and wine from the sweet lady in town was divine. I swear I feel we should bike back to her shop tomorrow so I can tell her. She was a delight and chose the cheese for me.

https://www.relive.cc/view/vr63A7XV58v

Today's ride: 57 km (35 miles)
Total: 1,587 km (986 miles)

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Scott AndersonM surprised to realize we’ve never stayed over in Serpa. We stopped for lunch there our first time through but didn’t really look around. We’ll have to go back.
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2 years ago

Rachael AndersonWow! Another beautiful day of cycling!
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2 years ago