To Albuquerque

April 6, 2024

A Return to Spain

Today I returned to Spain and bid farewell to Portugal, at least for this tour. I met Suzanne and Janos at the square in Castelo de Vide and after a quick stop for provisions we were on our way. The route took us down to Portagem and followed Rio Sever to Porte Vehla, with frequent views of Marvão barely visible on this cloudy day.

Shortly after Porte Vehla, we made a spur-of-the moment route change, one that added a few miles but promised to be a bit less hilly. But there was no avoiding the hills, and at one point I was forced to walk up a short steep incline. We dropped down into the small town of Galegos, crossed a small bridge and rejoined our route into Spain.

Looking a bit sheepish when I caught him on the wrong side of the fence

Marvão, perched atop a rocky crag of the Serra de São Mamede

Vivien George pleads "Not Guilty" to knocking over the potted plant

Small bridge across the Rio Sever in Portagem

A pause for a photo/rest on the climb up from Porte Vehla

Suzanne, using the full range of gears on the climb

The road from Galegos to the Spanish border town of La Fontañera was magical – a narrow lane bordered by stone walls that gently wound up and across the border into Spain. Once in Spain, the road widened bit by bit, sweeping down through an open rocky, dolmen-rich landscape to Valencia de Alcántara where we stopped for Fanta and calamari.

The last mile in Portugal - or are we already in Spain?

We rolled on to Alburquerque through an open landscape full of yellow and purple wildflowers, sheep, cattle, and storks – but few inhabitants. The road was wide, traffic was low, and though the day was cloudy there was no threat of rain. And the winds were light. I’ll take those conditions most any day. Alburquerque soon came into view, it’s castle appearing high on a rocky outcrop overlooking a vast expanse of land it once defended. The city grew up around the fortification and today remains a somewhat isolated outpost, but a convenient overnight for those cycling through this region of Extramadura.

Two cows, two trees, and an abundance of wildflowers

Albuquerque is not what you would call a tourist hot spot. I had booked us into a three bedroom house that lacked a number of amenities, though our host Jorge was very kind. We knew that dinner service in Spain does not usually start until 9 pm, but nonetheless ventured into the town at 8 pm, hoping that one of the open restaurants would be serving food. The town center was alive with people – families, friends, children – all engaged in loud and lively conversation. Drinks could be had, but no food until 9 pm. After nursing our drinks for 45 minutes, we were seated at one of the few tables in a highly rated bar/café. Not quite understanding the portions of the various items on offer, we ordered a tremendous amount of food – 2 to 3 times more than what we needed. Unfortunately, the food was barely edible! We had a good laugh at our expense, realizing that we needed to make a few dining adjustments now that we were in Spain.

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Scott AndersonYup, I just compared maps. We took the same road between Valencia and Registo, going the other direction: https://www.cycleblaze.com/journals/iberia2019/portalegre/
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7 months ago

Today's ride: 38 miles (61 km)
Total: 413 miles (665 km)

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Rachael AndersonYou definitely should adjust what you do for meals! We can help when we meet up but the best thing is to do lunch as your main meal! Most restaurants serve lunch between 1 - 3:30 which is good as the weather gets warmer! We also look at restaurants and their reviews the day before and make a reservation ahead of time if possible. Today we had the most amazing meal and it was inexpensive.
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7 months ago