May 5, 2022
May 5, 2022 - Ericeira to Sintra
Time threads intertwined from 1982 to 2003 to 2017 to today
Hotel - Hotel Sintra Jardim, Tv. dos Avelares 12, 2710-506 Sintra
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(...and another 6 km on foot)
Could a travel and tour day get any better than this? Not sure. That is, does it get any better than this? Not sure. Is there worse? Yes. But could one improve upon today? I suppose the answer to that would be yes as there is always better than great and always worse than bad. But today gets pretty close to the betterest greatest.
Things started to improve from the earliest get-go. I had been a bit concerned that there might be noise all night but other than the odd couple or group of three or so people babbling away as they walked past in the night, presumably from whichever bar they had been attending, it was pretty well silent. This busy central street was pretty well deserted all night.
One small negative was that the wifi in the hotel didn't work all night so I had no BBC to lull me back to sleep. Suddenly it was time for breakfast, so I quickly got my bags ready for the bike and headed down to the breakfast room. I made a slight diversion to make sure my bike was still safe and sound and sure enough, there it was right where I had left it. Breakfast was a bit meagre today though I still had my regular meat and cheese on a Portuguese sourdough bun. It was tasty, but I was still hungry but knew how to solve that on the road a little bit later in the morning.
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I packed my last few things then headed down to load the bike. Again, I had a bit of difficulty with the GPS. I'm not sure if it is an issue with its electronics or something with the environment and the satellite signal is not getting picked up properly. It finally got going and within moments I was back onto the EV1 route which took me right to the edge of the ocean. More amazing views with the waves right beside me. Yowza!
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I still had not decided whether I would stick to the coast longer than planned, or head toward Sintra from the closest point to EV1 which was my initial idea. Heading along the route I was taken away from the oceanside and was more inland through rolling hills, partly in villages, partly through cultivated fields. Suddenly... there it was in the distance. I could see Sintra's Pena Palace in the hazy distance at the peak of one of the many mountains. That was it for me - I was goin' to town!
I still had quite a way to go, though. Starting to think about a snack break, I decided to stop at the next cafe and of course, the next village presented one almost immediately. I ordered a capp (as always they have the proper big commercial espresso machines) and two tarts of some kind - one they said 'almond' and the other they said 'milk'. Everything was great as I sat at my outdoor table and enjoyed them. There were a few other people coming and going and as always, I had a few curious glances from the locals. I'm sure I look like a bit out of the norm for them with my outrigger mirrors. Touring cyclists they must see on a regular basis, though, since this is on EV1 after all.
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I was watching for the Sintra signpost but never did see one. Meanwhile, the Pena Palace became clearer and larger and now I could see the Castle of the Moors as well. This is when I noticed a narrow tram rail beside the road and thought to myself that the area looked very familiar. The road became ladder-like in that it went up at about a 15% grade and sure enough, before long, I recognized the guest house where we had stayed in 2017. We had cycled down this grade on our way to Cabo da Roca then on to Estoril the last time.
I 'decided' to push the bike and got up to the Sintra Palace and old centre where I looked around for the small fish restaurant where we had eaten last time but could not figure out exactly where it was. I will head down later on foot to try to figure it out. It was really good last time.
I kept pushing the bike up the really busy narrow streets that led to roads that had non-stop cars driving down into the centre. And then I got to the gate of where I had wanted to stay other times in town, but just had not done so, for no real reason. After forty years, I was back at Hotel Sintra Jardim. Our family had stayed here when I was a teen and we were on our first family trip to Europe to this 'up-and-coming' destination - Portugal. It had been an amazing trip and so much of it has stayed with me and has become something so important and life altering. I have not stopped beaming with happiness since I arrived.
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I asked the owner if their family had owned it in 1982 and yes, she said it would have been her mother who we would have met. I was able to change to a room that looked into the garden and up to the Castle of the Moors and I just sat and enjoyed it for a while. The old wooden floors, the high ceilings, the high doors and windows, the immaculate gardens. Everything amazing. I am so happy!
I called my Mom and Dad to share these thoughts with them as this place was important to all of us. I checked in formally and the owner asked if I would like a glass of Port in the gardens or on the terrace since I was a repeat guest. I don't usually, but today is special and here is special so I happily accepted and am typing this out in the garden under the pergola in the gardens, with the guesthouse beside me, the Castle on the hill, the birds twittering, the sun shining... To answer the earlier unasked question... on a scale of 1 to 10, today would be an 11 because it is one more.
I went out looking for that typical restaurant, but couldn't find it. It was while eating at a very mediocre stand-in that I realized my mistake. The restaurant of my search was not near the Sintra Palace; rather, it was near the Sintra Municipal building. The one that has a more fairy-tale castle-like tower. I headed around the valley, toward the train station... to find... there it was. Right where we had left it. They are open for lunch hours and dinner hours, so I will look for a meal there tomorrow, though with it being Friday, it might be too busy.
I kept going along to 'New Sintra' where I recognized the pedestrianized street, along which I stayed during my 2003 cycle tour across Europe. That day (and week) had been cold, misty and rainy. I still went walking around Sintra, though.
Slowly making my way back to the guesthouse brought me through a maze of back streets and ancient stone walkways and steps until I emerged at the gates to the hotel but from the opposite direction to which I had arrived. I went back downstairs to get a few more photos and met a couple from the Seattle area so stopped to chat with them a bit. They had been doing some out-and-back cycling days further north and were now making their way back to Lisbon (though no longer on bikes).
What a day!
Today's ride: 37 km (23 miles)
Total: 503 km (312 miles)
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