After ten days with Timo, Kath and Minou, today was back to the business of solo travel. It felt very quiet but also very familiar. I’ll certainly miss the fun we had hanging out around the Algarve and in Lisbon.
Today was also the start of my ride to the ‘stans. That’s the objective, so let’s see if I make it. I’ve spent plenty of time in Europe, with my only other objectives here, being to spend time in Italy and Greece. Then it’s off to Central Asia.
I also had a new setup for my bike, “This Moment”. Timo brought my two small Ortlieb panniers and my new frame bag (I wasn’t expecting the old one to last the next ten or fifteen thousand kms. That meant that my perfectly balanced bike was to be rear-heavy from now on. Practically, it’ll be harder to lift up and down stairs and things. I’ll have to sort that out somehow.
It was a busy road out of Faro for my last day in Portugal. My destination was Vila Real de Santo António which is at the border with Spain. I’m heading to Seville.
Luckily there was a gravel bike path and a series of quiet roads for the rest of the day until the last 7-8 kms. A nice easy day in the end.
I stopped for lunch at a bench beside the wetlands in beautiful, warm sunshine. There were lots of people about too – mainly birdwatchers from what I could see. I also heard a fair bit of French being spoken. I guess that people might head south for a bit of warmth after Xmas.
There were plenty of day trippers on bicycles but few of them said hi. I felt like I was back in Germany
As I neared Vila Real de Santo António, I restocked food for breakfast before finding the guesthouse. Most important meal of my day, and boy, am I looking forward to some tortilla in Spain.
It’s another nice town and it seems to be frequented by British and Dutch, judging by the food choices available – english breakfasts, pie and chips, as well as kroket, and frikandel.
I walked around town and saw the marina and the festive lights, but most food places are shut as it’s Monday and not many people were around.
Tomorrow, I’ll take the ferry over the river to Spain.
