Sunday, October 21, 2018

21st October (sun and cloud with spots of very light drizzle) 56 km


It should have been done in the dead of night, when the parents had looked away. I could have had him and gone, like those buggers that took Madeleine McCann….but no….I thought the best….and got the worst.  If you remember from our last instalment, even Julia thought this kid was over the top, so it wasn’t me exaggerating. 
In the middle of the night I was woken from a beautiful sleep (back on the hard surface again), by what I thought initially was a cat making that horrible …looking for trouble, so look out sound. Tried to doze off, but it was still there. By now I had been roused from my lovely sleep, enough to realise that it wasn’t a cat, but the whining kid.
Now I know I’ll be getting….ooh that’s harsh, he’s just a kid. Well….you know the old saying…kids should be seen and not heard, it especially applies after midnight. I understand the little gem might have been teething. Well, the best place for that is at home, with all his little toys around him and no one, other than his parents to keep up half the night.
I must admit, once completely awake that he was not the only one vying for attention. After our young German, we had a symphony of dogs, I think in A minor….then there were the two pissed guys wandering back down the road, arguing at the top of their voices, but standing in the one spot for minutes at a time. Finally, well…we left the best and biggest til last…..we are on the flight path into and out of, Lisbon airport.
Packing up from our lovely little campsite

Julia woke up and I asked her the time - 5.30am. Managed to drop off for two hours. Upon waking, we decided to pack up the tent and go down to the lounge area for breakfast and blogging. The lounge wasn’t open, so we sat outside on some benches (where we could still get wifi) and ate breakfast.  As we enjoyed a quiet breakfast at the picnic table, we heard a woman coming along the street shouting.  As she got within viewing distance we could see she was lambasting someone on her mobile.  Well woman, if you’re trying to wake us up, you’re too late!!

I moved across to Ju’s side of the picnic table to view some of the photos and when I stood up, I noticed that I had a sticky sap on the back of my shorts that must have dripped from the pine tree that was above us. That really annoyed me, as it’s the second pair that it’s happened to on this trip. Next twenty minutes I spent washing those and a couple of other items, but even after a good wash, they still have the mark. Whilst washing them…guess who had started back up again…I kid you not…this kid is whining for Germany.
There were seven groynes and in between each pair were numbers like this (there's another 20 that aren't in the shot)
There are a number of campgrounds round here with permanent tents set up - this one was particularly large, this is only part of it.
Typical of the scenes we saw today - although this road is by the beach so has less rubbish and no potholes.

It was 11am, by the time we rolled out of camp…so much for getting back into it and it was threatening to rain, which it had been forecasted to do. Took a road taking us by the beach and we were able to ride along a prom, of kinds. Here, there were more surfers on seven separate breaks, over a small area, than either of us have ever seen. Julia reckons about 500 in the water….so who am I to argue. Some were getting good rides, but the majority were just sitting in the water.  The prom/walkway was also pretty crowded with it being Sunday, so we just cruised slowly, taking in the sights.
Imagine this for 40km - Portugal, you should be very ashamed of yourselves.
It makes me wonder how long this problem is going to be ignored - will they wait until they can't drive through it?

From here, the road today took us inland for the next 50kms and what a total contrast. To see Portugal by car, coming off the autostradas, to the resorts on the beach, you would think it was a fabulous affluent thriving country, with everything geared up for the tourists. However, a darker side lurks inland, where kms of desolate wasteland make riding unappealing. These roads are a bloody nightmare, full of potholes and drivers who don’t give a toss about anyone but themselves. Derelict factories are everywhere, interspersed with the odd beautiful home and all you can do is wonder why anyone would want to live there. But the worst aspect is the total lack of self pride. The rubbish strewn all over the sides of the roads, went on for forty of the fifty odd km we covered today. We felt harsh in blaming the locals and thought that it was probably the tourists, but we were following the local roads, those that the tourists wouldn’t even think about using. It was disgusting and although we can always improve our clean green image back home, it makes us proud to live where we do.

It's nice to know Nestles haven't forgotten about you Toff
and have named their latest portuguese coffee after you -
seems they thought you were a bit of a girl though
At one part of the ride today, we were in the middle of nowhere and we saw an old black woman sitting on a plastic chair at the side of the road. Figured she was waiting for a lift or maybe selling something and waiting for the goods to be dropped off.  I smiled as we rode by. Shortly after, another black woman, this time much younger, down a dusty track, just off the road with someone we couldn’t make out.  Figured just a couple of youngsters hanging out.  Just around the corner a car stopped in the middle of the road and another younger white woman, also sitting in a white plastic chair at the roadside, approached the car. She was dressed a lot more obviously than the previous two women and we clicked…prostitutes…out in the middle of nowhere. She was talking to the man in the car and pointing up another dusty track – we assume she was inviting him to come up to her office, or maybe she was merely pointing out that was where she found her dog.  As we’re observing this, her big dog comes racing at my bike and barking and biting at my panniers. Trust me, Julia is up ahead, oblivious and I’ve got a bloody prostitute’s dog trying to get my number.
Lunch break - it was quiet, shady and had a rubbish bin, so pretty good.

The cycling only got worse and unless you’re driving the autostradas and visiting the cities, these are areas that have no appeal. Rode into a town and spied a Lidl supermarket, where we stocked up for lunch. A little further along on the edge of the same town, we found a shopping centre that had obviously not been successful, so they had walked away from it, leaving everything as it was, just deserted. Strange feeling actually, sitting there eating lunch.
A very steep hill on the four wheel drive track to Setubal

The potholes and bad surfaces continued. The drivers here don’t back off, if they want to pass, they’ll expect the oncoming car to slow down so that they can squeeze past us. It makes for some very close calls. We were closing in on our destination and in Palmela, we decided to get supplies for the night. Julia had found an alternative road out of town, which although only suitable supposedly for four wheel drive vehicles, proved no problems for us and we cruised downhill into the port town of Setubal, where tomorrow we will catch a short ferry ride across to a peninsula to continue southward.
By this time the weather had settled and after asking about a campsite in town, two very enthusiastic locals, told us that at least one had been closed for years and they weren’t sure about the other. Decided then, that as it was getting late in the afternoon, we’d have to get a hotel. Being late autumn, a lot of campsites are closed and we reckon the days of freecamping for us are over, as it’s nice to be able to shower off after a days riding. At another supermarket, known for their free wifi, Julia went online and booked a room at a hotel just around the corner, and at 40 euros including breakfast, we’re feeling ok about missing out on a campground.
The soil is very red round here
Castle and fort at Palmela

So, here we sit in our hotel room, one night after sleeping outdoors. Not sure what our journey south will bring in that regard, but we can at least use the wifi to organise travel for the end of the trip. Have yet to get boxes for the bikes and organise storage whilst in Barcelona, (which we think will be less hassle than trying to get them to the airport for an early check in).  Plus, we have to arrange another flight from Seville.  We have used the wifi tonight to also check there are two campgrounds that are open within striking distance tomorrow.  So crossing our fingers that they are open and actually exist!
After showering and a beer and wine in our room, we settled in for dinner, watched a movie, in English on tele and worked on arrangements for our last three weeks and finished the blog.
The view from our hotel window.  The air conditioning didn't work so left the window open, hoping it won't be too noisy.


2 comments:

  1. You’ve seen some cool towns up till now along Portugal’s coast , didn’t realise they had so many castles to - Sinatra looked amazing with Pena Palace etc. sounds like it might be a country with two sides to it though , the scenic more touristy areas ( and the wealth that brings ) and the less fortunate areas.
    And yes Nestle did name that Nescafé after me, as reward fir my years of service and used Tofina as in Portuguese that means person not to be messed with and one possessing superior intelligence and strength,while sofisticated, and with rugged good looks. No , really it does... look it up, prove me wrong. I would not lie about something like that .
    Was reading about some key sights in southern Spain in the Sunday paper yesterday and the necessity to book ahead to see them- in Granada ( Alhambra )and Seville (Alcazar Palace). I ll send you details of what they say , if you going through those places.

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  2. Yes please - going to Seville but not Alhambra in Granada.

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