Hey guys!
Our weather has improved substantially in the last few weeks which has finally allowed us to go out and see the areas a little more. The South East side of Portugal was fantastic once we got into the mountains a bit more. Have to say we are more of mountain landscape people than beach people. The beaches of the Algarve are beautiful but the mountains always seem to offer such a better array of visuals.
We had some really good rides in Portugal with one of them emmm…not so good. Well it started out good enough. The plan was to ride from our casa (more about that later) to a little seaside village just on the border to spain. It was supposed to be just a casual 3 hours. As we are riding Lisa points out that we are only about 30kms from this river town (Alcoutim) which apparently has this fantastic beach. I was thinking to myself ‘that’s gonna be a long return but we might be able to grab a bus back’. So we get to the town. First thing I do is hit a tourist bureau as I am tired (didn’t eat for a big day) to ask if there is a bus back to Tavira. Turns out there is and it will be here in 1.5hours. Perfect. Can we take bikes? ‘Yes I believe so’. Perfect. Lets eat. A hearty meal of French fries and fried meat takes us to 4pm where the bus driver says ‘no bikes’. What the F@#$ do you mean no bikes? ‘No Bikes.’
Alright well double time back home then. Mmmm… french fries say no way. So we decide lets take a ‘shortcut’. If you ever find yourself in the backcountry of small European countries and decide to take a ‘shortcut’ you can pretty well say you will get lost. ‘Won’t be a problem we have a map that links this town to that town to our town’. Off we go. We get to the proverbial crossroads. Easy LONG route home the way we came or ‘shortcut’ route. We take shortcut route. First turnoff puts us on a dirt road. Not liking the look of this. Well its only 4km to the next village. Might be a road there. Its now 5:45pm. Sunset at 6:45. We are so screwed. Get to the bottom of the dirt road. There is a river. There is no bridge. You have got to be kidding. So we flip it and head back up the dirt road. Full carbon road bikes on dirt roads is not recommended. We finally make it back to pavement around 6:15. I don’t know how we managed it but somehow we find a cab in this 400 person town and it turns out to be a station wagon. 50 Euro later we are home. Cabbie was impressed we got to his town though. http://connect.garmin.com/player/27410196 this is the ride. If you zoom into the map you will see Furnazinhas and the turnoff we did to hit a river and have to return.
Our stay in Eastern Portugal was interesting to say the least. Our first place that we stayed at was supposed to be this Fantastic ‘upgrade’ of being right on the water with a beautiful view of the islands etc… well the place did have a nice view however the interior was somewhat a little less. Note: When deciding to rent places and all they show you is pictures of the view and the outside…. There is something wrong. We are welcomed to a cottage that must have been designed by ‘old and depressed inc.’ Picture old dark crappy furniture covered in doilies and knick knacks. I could’t turn around without knocking a doll off a table. It was really weird. You have this beautiful setting on an acreage, but no windows. And not a bulb above 40w. I checked. Place sucked. No heat. Every time we turned on the toaster and forgot to turn off the oil heater (that had to travel from room to room) we would blow the power. It totally sucked. I was actually out in the forest collecting wood to burn it was so cold. AND THE BEDS…..Oh my God. They had to have been found from behind a second hand store where the second hand store was throwing them out. SO BAD. I digress… moving on.
Turns out that we had booked almost 10 days with this company and we were actually moving to a second place with them. We decided this was not going to happen if the next place was as bad as this one. So we ride out to it one day. http://www.eastoffaro.com/Accommodation/Brook_Cottage . Looks super rural. Turns out YES it is super rural. If you look at the photos, it kind of makes it seem like the place is within a bunch of little homes. Well the reality is that it is one 500sf place within a series of completely rundown not habitated house that are connected by a 500m dirt road. Lol. It was certainly country livin’. The place though was great as the weather finally turned for us and got quite nice. This got the place tolerable for temperature. One thing was that it was so old, the doorways were all original height (5ft) so I had a few cuts on my head. It was good though. Its funny for some reason people seem to think you need so much to make the person happy when really all they need is heat, a good bed, cooking facility. If you fail on 3/3 perhaps home rental is not your forte. Movin on.
Hello Seville, Spain.
Ok remember your lessons… do not enter city at night. Check. Get directions before arriving. Check. Be calm. Check. New lesson learned. Once you realize yes you are lost…. Stay in the roundabout until you figure out where to go. Picture the bickers circling in their little car and maps everywhere trying to figure out how to get to the apartment 2 blocks away. Its just not that easy in these towns. Finally make it. Place is good. Parking is crazy though. I thought Lisbon and Porto were crazy. Spain is insanity. People park wherever they can put their car. They actually hire beggars off the street to move their car when someone wants to get out as everyone is double parked. As in there is a row of cars parked down the road and right beside it is a second row of cars constantly being moved to allow the other cars to leave. Seville is crazy. Needless to say once the car was parked it was never moved again. One cool thing in Seville is that they have free bike usage. Essentially they take a deposit on your CC and have bike kiosks all through the town. So you ride a bike from one area to another, park it, go do something and take another if you want. Really cool system as the walking can get tiring. I got tired of Seville quickly. The monuments and churches were starting to blur together. No riding as it was too hard to get out of the city.
Hello Granada
Granada is cool. One again the parking/car scene is crazy but once you have it figured out it is good. The vibe in Granada is very laid back and easy going. It is quite a bit smaller than Seville. Went to a Moorish bath house the first night as it was kind of rainy and cool. Very nice experience. About 7 pools all of differing temp from cold to hot. Lots of walking down little alleyways and streets. Been here now about 6 days with a couple more in the countryside again. We are right at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada so the nights are chilly. The views are fantastic though.
That’s is my report for now. Hope everyone is good.
Mac
PS: I will post up some pics later as my internet connection is really slow.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
Arrived on the West Coast! Its Raining!
West Algarve
Alentejo highlights
Sintra
Lisbon
porto
Mac here.
Wheww what a crazy past few weeks. I figured it was about time I ran an update about this trip from my point of view this time.
Well we landed in Porto around Feb 17 and have been on the mainland since. Getting off the plane we were greeted by our AutoEurope rep who had our ride ready for us. For anyone who is planning on doing extended travel in Europe, this is a great way to do it. They meet you at the airport and have a brand new... ie 13kms on odometer car waiting for you.
Porto:
This was our first venture into an 'old' city. Lucky for us we happened to have booked a hotel in the heart of the 'old' city. As romantic as that sounds, it happens to be a total nightmare to drive in. Add night to that and a healthy splash on torrential downpour and funometer drops considerably. I was having chest pains. After 10 or 12 wrong turns we made it. Only to find we missed the car park by about 75 metres. No we can't back up. 2kms of left turns and we make it into the car park. Mental note: Always arrive into new cities in the daylight.
Things that people might care about Porto.
Weather: Sucked.
Cost: Pretty damn cheap.
Food: Uninspiring. We mostly ate in the standup cafes. The best things were the simplest. ie. Soups / Sandwiches. Everything else is drenched in oil.
Sights: Pretty impressive. Lots of churches and museums if you like churches and museums. The riverfront where they would ship the Port is prominent and maintains its charm. Roads and walkways are completely closed to cars which is pretty nice.
Cool things we saw: Casa de Musica (google it) Caught a rehersal of the Porto orchestra. Beaches. First sandy beach that was easily accessible. Really cool all glass emporium where you could drink coffee and watch people go by. Go to Sintra. Pretty much the coolest park and country grounds you will ever see. Some guy back in the 1700s had way too much time on his hands so he just made this crazy park of tunnels and grottos.
People: Nice.
Riding: Oh that is pretty.... WHAM... you died.
la la la click click. smile click. Off to Lisbon.
Lisbon.
Arrived in Lisbon at around 7:30pm in total downpour. Damn. I Thought Porto was bad for figuring things out. We happened to have rented an apartment on what could only be described as the smallest alley in Lisbon that happens to have a name. Think 1 block long alley way with a name. Getting somewhere in these old towns is not just go straight, turn left. Usually you have series of nerve shattering corners with people parked on the sidewalk that are all one way going the wrong way. Waiting at light... BOOM! wtf was that Lisa? 'oh this temporary fence beside us just blew apart from the wind'. Fantastic and it scratched and dented the car with less than 200kms on it. Hope that 0/0 Damage Deductable is true to word. Got in. Found the place. Nice place. oi... 4th floor and no lift. Pissing rain.
THings people might care about Lisbon.
Food: Sucks but we ate in a lot. having a hard time with the all oil meals.
Cost: Relative.
Ease to get around:Super easy.
Attractions: Super old buildings.. totally new buildings inside old buildings.. Churches museums. Funky old Trolly cars that are original that actually do more than carry tourists.
Riding: HAHAH. none... you will die.
la la la click click. smile click. Off to the Alentejo coast
The Alentejo is this rural section of land that is between the South coast and Lisbon. Its really pretty with cork trees everywhere and a very laid back atmosphere. We finally got to a place that we were able to find with no craziness. 3kms down a dirt road we arrived at the ranch. Herdadae de Matinha. (google it). We arrived... Pissing rain.
The place was very nice. As the weather was super bad though, there was a lot of time just hanging out on the grounds. The property spanned over 10 hectares (I am told a hectare is the size of a soccer field) so it was really cool to explore. We managed to borrow a couple of mtn bikes the next day and spend the day exploring the dunes and back beaches that only 4x4 and locals would know about. The next few days were spent sightseeing and hanging out. Weather was terrible. Terrible as in 170km wind that literally ripped the garage door off and hasn't been seen since.
Things people might care about.
Size: Alentejo is really big area with very small towns. Think Interior of BC.
Cost: Average. Our place was kind of spendy as it is featured as a boutique B&B with a dining experience that people from Lisbon drive 200kms for just the meal.
Sights: Major surf mecca with sprawling huge beaches.
Cool things: Took part in meal prep and had mild concerns over the fact that entire 1.5 litre bottles of olive oil were being used to cook in. Everything gets cooked in oil. Everything. Mtn biking on old Roman roads was pretty neat. Horseback riding in the forest was beautiful.
Riding: Would have been really good but the weather was too poor/dangerous.
Off to the Algrave... where expats go to die.
We arrived in Burgau...during the day (yay!). In the pissing rain :( . The algarve is pretty much the bottom 100kms or so of Portugal and a point of call for many Euros (mostly brits) who want an easy cheap vacation. Tons.... and tons of beautiful beaches. So many beaches I would be surprised to see them 'busy' outside of the main tourist towns. It's touristy though. Think Concrete seagulls and googly eyes. Kind of like hanging out at BC Ferries gift shop. oh look...more postcards and crap on a stick.
Burgau is situated on the south coast of the algarve West of Lagos. Its not much to write home about. Good location to ride out of though. Weather is finally starting to come around. Today was the first day of no wind/rain so far.
Things people might care about the Algarve
Sights: Small touristy towns, fantastic beaches and natural sights.
Food: sucks
Cost: little higher on some things. Major investment by the EU though on things like supermarket.
Getting around: need a car.
Riding: really good. EU put some major dollars into road improvement.
Okay that about covers our last 3 weeks or so. Check the picassa web gallery for pics if you want later (internet is slowwwwww here). Fingers crossed that this horrible weather is now behind us and we have the next 3 weeks or so of moderately nice weather.
Adios
Mac
Alentejo highlights
Sintra
Lisbon
porto
Mac here.
Wheww what a crazy past few weeks. I figured it was about time I ran an update about this trip from my point of view this time.
Well we landed in Porto around Feb 17 and have been on the mainland since. Getting off the plane we were greeted by our AutoEurope rep who had our ride ready for us. For anyone who is planning on doing extended travel in Europe, this is a great way to do it. They meet you at the airport and have a brand new... ie 13kms on odometer car waiting for you.
Porto:
This was our first venture into an 'old' city. Lucky for us we happened to have booked a hotel in the heart of the 'old' city. As romantic as that sounds, it happens to be a total nightmare to drive in. Add night to that and a healthy splash on torrential downpour and funometer drops considerably. I was having chest pains. After 10 or 12 wrong turns we made it. Only to find we missed the car park by about 75 metres. No we can't back up. 2kms of left turns and we make it into the car park. Mental note: Always arrive into new cities in the daylight.
Things that people might care about Porto.
Weather: Sucked.
Cost: Pretty damn cheap.
Food: Uninspiring. We mostly ate in the standup cafes. The best things were the simplest. ie. Soups / Sandwiches. Everything else is drenched in oil.
Sights: Pretty impressive. Lots of churches and museums if you like churches and museums. The riverfront where they would ship the Port is prominent and maintains its charm. Roads and walkways are completely closed to cars which is pretty nice.
Cool things we saw: Casa de Musica (google it) Caught a rehersal of the Porto orchestra. Beaches. First sandy beach that was easily accessible. Really cool all glass emporium where you could drink coffee and watch people go by. Go to Sintra. Pretty much the coolest park and country grounds you will ever see. Some guy back in the 1700s had way too much time on his hands so he just made this crazy park of tunnels and grottos.
People: Nice.
Riding: Oh that is pretty.... WHAM... you died.
la la la click click. smile click. Off to Lisbon.
Lisbon.
Arrived in Lisbon at around 7:30pm in total downpour. Damn. I Thought Porto was bad for figuring things out. We happened to have rented an apartment on what could only be described as the smallest alley in Lisbon that happens to have a name. Think 1 block long alley way with a name. Getting somewhere in these old towns is not just go straight, turn left. Usually you have series of nerve shattering corners with people parked on the sidewalk that are all one way going the wrong way. Waiting at light... BOOM! wtf was that Lisa? 'oh this temporary fence beside us just blew apart from the wind'. Fantastic and it scratched and dented the car with less than 200kms on it. Hope that 0/0 Damage Deductable is true to word. Got in. Found the place. Nice place. oi... 4th floor and no lift. Pissing rain.
THings people might care about Lisbon.
Food: Sucks but we ate in a lot. having a hard time with the all oil meals.
Cost: Relative.
Ease to get around:Super easy.
Attractions: Super old buildings.. totally new buildings inside old buildings.. Churches museums. Funky old Trolly cars that are original that actually do more than carry tourists.
Riding: HAHAH. none... you will die.
la la la click click. smile click. Off to the Alentejo coast
The Alentejo is this rural section of land that is between the South coast and Lisbon. Its really pretty with cork trees everywhere and a very laid back atmosphere. We finally got to a place that we were able to find with no craziness. 3kms down a dirt road we arrived at the ranch. Herdadae de Matinha. (google it). We arrived... Pissing rain.
The place was very nice. As the weather was super bad though, there was a lot of time just hanging out on the grounds. The property spanned over 10 hectares (I am told a hectare is the size of a soccer field) so it was really cool to explore. We managed to borrow a couple of mtn bikes the next day and spend the day exploring the dunes and back beaches that only 4x4 and locals would know about. The next few days were spent sightseeing and hanging out. Weather was terrible. Terrible as in 170km wind that literally ripped the garage door off and hasn't been seen since.
Things people might care about.
Size: Alentejo is really big area with very small towns. Think Interior of BC.
Cost: Average. Our place was kind of spendy as it is featured as a boutique B&B with a dining experience that people from Lisbon drive 200kms for just the meal.
Sights: Major surf mecca with sprawling huge beaches.
Cool things: Took part in meal prep and had mild concerns over the fact that entire 1.5 litre bottles of olive oil were being used to cook in. Everything gets cooked in oil. Everything. Mtn biking on old Roman roads was pretty neat. Horseback riding in the forest was beautiful.
Riding: Would have been really good but the weather was too poor/dangerous.
Off to the Algrave... where expats go to die.
We arrived in Burgau...during the day (yay!). In the pissing rain :( . The algarve is pretty much the bottom 100kms or so of Portugal and a point of call for many Euros (mostly brits) who want an easy cheap vacation. Tons.... and tons of beautiful beaches. So many beaches I would be surprised to see them 'busy' outside of the main tourist towns. It's touristy though. Think Concrete seagulls and googly eyes. Kind of like hanging out at BC Ferries gift shop. oh look...more postcards and crap on a stick.
Burgau is situated on the south coast of the algarve West of Lagos. Its not much to write home about. Good location to ride out of though. Weather is finally starting to come around. Today was the first day of no wind/rain so far.
Things people might care about the Algarve
Sights: Small touristy towns, fantastic beaches and natural sights.
Food: sucks
Cost: little higher on some things. Major investment by the EU though on things like supermarket.
Getting around: need a car.
Riding: really good. EU put some major dollars into road improvement.
Okay that about covers our last 3 weeks or so. Check the picassa web gallery for pics if you want later (internet is slowwwwww here). Fingers crossed that this horrible weather is now behind us and we have the next 3 weeks or so of moderately nice weather.
Adios
Mac
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