CPS2502 Motorcycle Dream Portugal round two
Our eagerly awaited adventure in Portugal finally begins today. The hardships of the journey are quickly forgotten. The sun is shining, it's warm and the atmosphere in otherwise bustling Lisbon is relaxed. It is a national holiday. And therefore perfect conditions for our early birds to explore the city in a relaxed manner. In the hotel garage, the bikes are given the finishing touches before we all meet up for our first briefing in the afternoon. We all get to know each other a little better over our first dinner. We end the day full of anticipation for the days ahead. We can hardly wait to finally say “and of we go"
The sun is shining and the mood is good as we meet this morning for our first daily briefing. The best conditions for our first day of riding. Our first mission for today is to leave the big city behind us. And after only about thirty minutes, the first bends are already waiting for us. Our first stop is the westernmost point of the European mainland, Cabo de Roca. Even on the way there, we are treated to spectacular views of the coast and the Atlantic. Many photos later, we continue our journey. Our destination is Mafra, the largest palace complex in Portugal. As we are well on time, we can stay here a little longer and admire this impressive building in detail, chat with the locals and have a coffee in the bakery around the corner. We continue along the coast to Santa Cruz. There we enjoy a fantastic lunch with a view of the roaring Atlantic. Freshly fortified, we now tackle the last few kilometers of the day. We drive directly to Nazzare. On our way there are always spectacular views of the Atlantic. But before we check into the hotel, we park our bikes on the sidewalks like the locals and enjoy an ice cream on one of Portugal's most famous beaches. What a start
What a great morning. The sun is shining and the sky is blue. The air is clear and everyone can hardly wait to get going. After the usual briefing, we set off in time and after 20 minutes we were at our first stop, the Monasterio de Alcobaca. We briefly stretched our legs, took a few photos and off we went. Next stop, Fatima. An incredibly impressive place. Especially on a Sunday with a church service on the largest church forecourt in the world. We overtook hundreds of pilgrims on the way to Fatima. Photos, gathering impressions, walking around a bit, then a coffee and pit stop and we were back on the road. We still had time to stop and take photos at a fortress built by the Knights Templar in the 12th century and had lunch in a local restaurant full of local families. From there it was only another 2 hours on a beautiful winding road over our first Sierra in Portugal. Simply wonderful! We arrived at the hotel in the afternoon, so we still had a chance to explore the town. In the evening, we sit together and finished this great day of driving with a lot of talking and laughter.
A new day begins, the sun slowly rises over the rooftops of Coimbra and our adventure enters a new stage. At this point, we don't know how much adventure this day holds. After a short briefing, we set off. Our first stop is the Castelo Montemor o Velho, unfortunately we can only visit this place, which is so important for Portugal's history, from the outside. Nevertheless, we can enjoy the radiance of this place and its sheer beauty. From now on, the road becomes more interesting, the terrain becomes more hilly and the roads become more winding. Unfortunately, one of the bikes has problems and so a short stop is necessary. After this brief interruption, we continue on to our highlight of the day. The Palacio Bucaco. The summer residence of the last king of Portugal is an architectural masterpiece and looks like something out of a fairy tale. We enjoy this special place for a while before continuing our journey. Our next destination is a remote place on the Alfuqueiro river. One flat tire and countless bends later, we reach the place where our guide Ron is waiting for us with a picnic. Here we finally swap bikes and continue our ride on spectacular roads. News of the power cut on the Iberian Peninsula has already reached us here. We check our fuel reserves, everything is fine, the adventure continues. We are surprised when we arrive in Porto. The traffic is much less dense than expected. A very welcome circumstance as the traffic lights don't work. The atmosphere in the city is very relaxed despite the lack of electricity. Almost at the last moment we find a restaurant that knows how to conjure up dinner for us despite the difficult conditions.
Porto is one of the oldest cities in Europe. Its origins date back to Roman times, when it was known as Portus Cale - the origin of the name Portugal. In the Middle Ages, Porto developed into an important trading center, especially for the export of wine. During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, the city flourished. In the 19th century, Porto played a key role in the liberal revolutions. Today, the city is famous for its historic old town, port wine and lively cultural scene. And because this city has so much to offer, we spend the whole day exploring it and its sights in beautiful weather. And what should not be missed on a visit to Portugal? That's right, a visit to a traditional fado performance. Our guides were kind enough to organize something. A perfect day to relax.
Goodbye PORTO. Well rested after a great rest day, we headed off before the forecast rain. Our first destination was BOM JESUS DO MONTE. A place of pilgrimage that can be reached via 581 steps or a cable car. The cable car is the oldest in Portugal and the oldest water-powered cable car in the world. After an hour of sightseeing, we set off again in order to be in time for our planned lunch stop. During lunch, heavy rain set in, which stayed with us all the way to the hotel. Once we arrived at the hotel, it took a while before we were all dry again and were able to meet up for dinner.
The rain has cleared overnight, wafts of mist slowly drift over the green hills. The lighting mood is perfect for the mystical start to the day. Because we spend our first break of the day with forest ghosts. But one thing at a time :-) After a short briefing, we cross the border to Portugal again. After a few kilometers we start our ascent into the mountains of Peneda Geres, Portugal's only national park. The roads are wonderfully winding and the panoramas breathtaking. The aforementioned ghosts are waiting for us on a small viewing platform. We ask them for good wishes for our journey and continue on our way. There is a lot to discover along the way: prehistoric graves and hunting traps, as well as imposing dams. Again and again we are overwhelmed by the diverse landscape. Over lunch at one of the many reservoirs, we discuss the experiences of the first half of the day. In the afternoon, we continue on narrow, winding roads towards our destination. Our route takes us through many small villages where time seems to have stood still. Portugal at its best. The last few kilometers towards Braganca are really fun, the roads get wider but no less winding. Although they also have a little surprise in store for us. All in all, another fantastic day.
When we look out of the window this morning, we can hardly believe our luck. Our fears about the weather did not materialize. The day could be better than expected. So let's get on our bikes and off we go. Shortly after leaving the hotel, we turn off onto small side roads and take on the hilly and sparsely populated area along the border with Spain. Small villages, winding roads and gentle green valleys dominate the scenery. simply wonderful. Our first stop is the Concatedral de Mirande do Douro, a beautiful cathedral surrounded by a charming old town with city walls. We take our time to enjoy this place to the full. The following section offers more of everything. Winding roads, beautiful views and little to no traffic. We arrive at the Douro River, which is dammed up here by a mighty dam. We drive over its crown and are in Spain. Just over the border, a small town called Formoselle awaits us. Today we will have lunch in the middle of the medieval town center. The rain starts shortly after we arrive and stops before we leave the town. You have to be lucky;-) After lunch, we put on our rain gear as a precaution because the sky is sending unmistakable signals. Nevertheless, we make it almost dry to the Parque do Douro internacional, where there are once again many bends and some great motifs await us. The last few kilometers to Salamanca are rather unspectacular and wet. But David, Lafaye (our temporary tour guides) and Ron are waiting for us with a special kind of boat beer. Great, thank you very much!!! We spend the rest of the day exploring the Golden City or simply relaxing. What a day
A new day in motorcycle paradise begins. A severe weather warning is still in force in parts of Spain and Portugal. But it looks relatively good for our route. We leave the Golden City behind us and start by making some distance. Our first stop is the pretty little village of La Alberca, where the beautiful old town invites you to linger. We also sit out our first downpour here with a coffee. Ahead of us lies the Sierra de Francia, which not only awaits us with challenging roads but also, due to the weather, with an almost mystical flair. The border to Portugal is not far away. Along the way we come across giant eucalyptus trees. It takes five of us to reach around the gigantic trunks, somehow a great moment. The mountains of the Serra da Malcata on the border provide further incredible moments in the saddle. The roads are in perfect condition and incredibly winding. We almost find it difficult to interrupt our ride. But the view from up here is always worth it. We deliberately have a very late lunch today because we want to enjoy every kilometer on dry roads. In the afternoon the rain finds us, not a little surprisingly. Fortunately, our really nice hotel at the foot of Portugal's highest mountain is not far away. And so, after a great day on the bike, we enjoy the afternoon relaxing in the dry.
The clouds hang low in the mountains around our hotel as we make the final preparations for the last big stage of our adventure this morning. Nothing less than the highest mountain in Portugal is on the agenda today. And in view of the weather, it is not easy to decide whether we should attempt it. But as better weather seems to be waiting for us on the other side, we tackle the ascent. The wafts of mist that drift around us repeatedly reveal the view of a gigantic massif. We can only imagine how impressive this region must be. Once we reach the summit, we quickly take a picture, but the situation doesn't really invite us to linger. We start the descent and with every kilometer it gets warmer again, fog and rain disappear. We recharge our batteries during an extended break. We have made it, the beautiful mountains of central Portugal now lie before us. Green hills covered in bright yellow flowers in places, narrow winding roads and small traditional villages nestled close to the rocks. One of these typical slate villages is Piadao, we wander through the narrow streets and admire this place where time seems to have stood still. But we don't stay completely dry. But it's worth it. We now head towards our destination for the day on winding, perfectly maintained and almost deserted roads. Our hotel in Crato is something quite special
The sun rises over our little monastery and the last day of driving begins. We start a little later than usual because we are in no hurry. The route today is not very demanding. We will make good progress. After a short refueling stop, we head south on side roads. We follow in the footsteps of the ancient Romans and find a remnant of their infrastructure hidden next to a highway. We quickly reach our highlight of the day. The world heritage city of Evora. Although we can't visit the famous Roman temple from the 1st century, we can see the famous Chapel of Bones and the adjoining church Igreja de Sao Francisco de Evora. After a very tasty lunch in the open air, we take the quickest route to Lisbon. The impressive Vasco da Gama Bridge welcomes us. We have arrived at our destination. We have many great and memorable moments behind us. Over a final dinner together, we review the last few days.