May 1, 2022 - Nazaré to Óbidos - Return to Cycle-OPOLIS (Tour 22) - 2022 🇵🇹

May 1, 2022

May 1, 2022 - Nazaré to Óbidos

Thirty-six years to the day...

Hotel Rainha Santa Isabel - Óbidos History Hotel

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Oh, the memories. It was May 1, 1986, that I started rolling on Tour 1. That morning I pulled out of Uncle Frank's starting what would be my passion to this day... touring on my bicycles.

Breakfast was great and I learned why the place was called 'Sweet Dreams'. A couple runs it now with the help of her older mother. For many years her parents ran a food store out of this spot but it was always his dream to have a guesthouse to be able to welcome people and look after them. He died six years ago, so last year (five years later) the daughter and her husband, and the widow opened up the guesthouse to fulfil his/their dream. They fussed over my breakfast to make sure everything was just so and the older widow seemed to be such a sweetie. As I left I thanked them for their hospitality and for fulfilling their dreams.

Igreja São Gião, X Century. -- south of Nazaré, Portugal

Last night and this morning I had been looking over the map to decide on my exact route. The preplanned one was along a road, but it seemed that 4 km south of town there was an alternative that was partly on rougher terrain - but just how rough? It also took me past a 10th Century Asturian church, Igreja Sao Giao. There was an off-road foot race taking place partly along that route but when I asked the volunteers who were working at the fueling booths, they were not sure of the terrain.

I decided to go. The road to the church was packed sand with some rocks but was very easy to navigate. I stopped to check out the church which was pretty neat, but then my route diverted from the road or went toward and along a beach for about one or two km but in very soft sand. My other option was to choose the road less travelled - it turned 90 degrees east then almost 90 degrees up as it climbed up and over the bluff that was parallel to the coast. There was no way I could cycle it and it was so steep that even pushing the bike was difficult. This is certainly no complaint, though, since I was pretty much expecting a tough climb.

You can see how rough the terrain is here as I climbed up and away from the sea, but not how steep it is. It is very steep. -- south of Nazaré, Portugal

As I struggled and pushed my bike, along came some of the runners - the path was quite wide so I was not at all in the way. Luckily with data I was able to confirm that I was on the path and when I came to an intersection was able to figure out which way to go. Then I made it. There was another food station where the path met the paved route (my original route and the one on which I would continue) and wouldn't you know it, over came the guy I had met on the beach yesterday - the one who had lived in Vancouver but now ran a guesthouse at 41 Rua Gil Vicente (I put this here so I can remember how to contact him if I ever return). We chatted a bit then off I went.

One of the many beaches along the coast today. -- just north of São Martinho do Porto, Portugal

Along the way were oodles and oodles of spectacular vistas down to either rocky craggy cliffs or to white sandy beaches. Breathtaking. It is only too bad that the day was primarily cloudy. When I came to a few towns, it was like EV1 south of Lisbon - there would be a huge descent into the town, followed by... a huge climb back out again. It really was pretty though.

A great big descent followed by a rewarding ride along the beachside promenade. -- São Martinho do Porto, Portugal

With all of the scenery, I hadn't done what I usually do - set my GPS to my hotel so I don't overshoot my route. Well, today I overshot my route by a few kilometres. That along with heading inland, made for a lot of climbing through the tiniest but cutest little villages. I was expecting a day of 35ish km but it ended up considerably further. Many of the tiny villages were perched on top of hills and the roads to them were very steep. Today there was no shame in having to get off the bike to push it quite a few times. Again, this is not a complaint - cycling through hilly terrain is tough but often visually rewarding because of these same hills.

With the castle straight above me I diverted to what I though was a totally abandoned railway line and station, but I think at least the train might still come.

Below the Castle and just out of town is the forgotten-looking train station. There is a schedule in the window, a covid sticker suggesting 2 m spacing and the tracks are shiny, so they must be using it. I am wondering if just the track is used and not the station, though. The wall facing the tracks is covered with azulejos depicting various scenes around town. -- Óbidos, Portugal

Then I resumed my route which took me way up to the outer walls of the castle, most of which I pushed my bike, then... rolled all the way down the other side along a rough gravel road. Fortunately, my route soon swung around and was bringing me up toward the old town.

This is when I saw the aqueduct and remembered it from 2003. I went over to where my guesthouse had been and it was there but appeared to have shut down in 2016. I asked at a restaurant two doors down, but the Australian guy who runs the restaurant says he's only been here two years and it has been closed the whole time.

I asked if I could bring my bike to the back and come in to which they said yes. They asked what I wanted to drink, but never asked about food though they were serving a group in the back. Maybe too busy to bother with me, I paid for my Sumol and headed toward my hotel in the centre of the old town.

Wikepedia: "The Óbidos Aqueduct was built at the orders of Catherine of Austria in around 1570. It has been classified as a Property of Public Interest since 1962." Back in 2003 I stayed at the guesthouse with that yellow door - sadly, it seems to have been closed since 2016. I don't remember much about it other than looking out my window at the aqueduct. -- Óbidos, Portugal

The old town buildings mostly have these bottom or vertical yellow or blue stripes that make them quite alluring. -- Óbidos, Portugal

Where my visit in 2003 had been way out of season so I was the only person around, today was very busy with tourists up and down the little streets going in and out of all manner of tourist trinket shops, and ginja (sour cherry liqueur) shops wanting you to try and buy their bottles. I think it was ginja we tasted in Sintra in 2017 and it was quite good.

I came to my hotel, stuck my head in and asked about my bike to which the desk clerk said to bring it inside to the sitting room - awesome! I pulled off my bags and checked in then came up to my big though simple room - but it has a bath tub!

I walked along the inner side of the walls and took this photo of part of the old town. -- Óbidos, Portugal

With most restaurants now closed, I decided to walk down to the Pingo Doce grocery store to get some fruit, juice and croissants to fill myself up. The sun came out so the fifteen minute walk was nice. On my way there was a trio of singers singing opera in the entrance gate to the city. I met up with a couple from southwest France who are doing little bike rides around the area on their folding Brompton bikes (I would say probably the best folding bike made). I walked along the inner side of the walls to take pictures of town. Like last night, I think before sunset I will go for a walk through more of the old town to look around. I think a lot of the day tourists will be gone by then so the streets will have more room in them.

Today's ride: 49 km (30 miles)
Total: 357 km (222 miles)

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