October 30, 2017
Tavira, Portugal: Camping Ria Formosa
One advantage to having the lights at the campground on all night was that it was easy to pack up my tent before daylight. I heated water for coffee and ate from my panniers stash, and somehow didn't leave until about 8:30. I was headed for the ferry from Ayamonte, Spain to Vila Real, Portugal. The ferries leave Ayamonte once an hour in winter, on the hour. I thought I had plenty of time to make it 13 km to catch the 10:00 ferry.
Most of the route was on the Via Verde, the network of unpaved bike trails. I knew it would be slower than riding pavement.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Most of the via was pretty good, but did require focus to keep a good line through some loose gravel. It was pretty, with lots of sea birds that I would have appreciated more without the focus on the gravel. I stopped a few times for pictures.
As I was approaching Vila Real, I realized it was later than I expected, and that I needed to get right to the ferry to buy my ticket. That's when technology failed me. My GPS on my phone got stuck and wasn't updating my position. And my Garmin had refused to plot a route, likely due to the Via Verde. I rebooted my phone, but didn't wait for it, and confidently followed the bike lane into town. One hazard of the bike lanes is that you can't always see the road signs. So I guess I missed a turn, and I ended up heading toward the beach following signs to what turned out to be a private dock at a fancy golf club. Whoops. I got the 11:00 ferry.
As I approached the ticket office, another touring cyclist pulled up behind me. My first encounter of my own species on this trip! It was an Italian guy on tour for a month. He had come from Barcelona. The ticket office only opens 15 minutes before each sailing, so while we were waiting, we went and had a cup of coffee. His English was so-so, and his Spanish much better than mine, but we managed a conversation, and then went back to the ticket office. The crossing takes about 10 minutes, and the ticket for me and my bike was 3.10 euros.
On the other side, we wished each other a boa viagem, and went our ways. We ended up leap frogging each other a few times, until I made a detour from the main road to a supermarket.
Portugal does look and feel different from Spain. I don't think I can explain it yet. The drivers didn't give me as much space as in Spain, but there's more to it than that. A Dutch woman on the ferry said that I'd find Portugal better off financially than Spain, but my initial impression is not of a well-to-do country. We'll see.
I stopped at a campground that had decent on-line reviews, the Camping Ria Formosa. It's very different from the last campground, full of grey nomads rather than the local families. The tent camping area is pretty dismal, with hard dirt under a tarp for some shade. The shade, of course, moves with the sun. I can't get my tent stakes into the ground at all. There is a picnic area, however, where I cooked up some dinner since the restaurant is closed today, and a very nice swimming pool with lounge chairs. The only power points I've found are in the bathroom. And it's a byo tp place. It is 3.68 euro for me and 2.63 for my tent, so 6.51 for the night. On the price list, a dedicated plot rather than the dirt lot under the tarp would have cost an additional 2.10 euros, but it wasn't offered. 16 amp electrical service is 3 euros.
Today's ride: 47 km (29 miles)
Total: 540 km (335 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 3 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |