Portugal has been on my travel bucket list for a long time, but for whatever reason, it has always been too complicated to get there. Then this spring, with the help of some local holidays, I could take two days of leave and have a 10-day vacation. I figured I'd give Portugal one more try, and lo and behold, A2Z Tours offered a self-guided cycling holiday that matched my dates near perfectly. So I got motivated to do some creative flight shopping and showed up on a Saturday morning. But unfortunately, my bag, full of all my cycling clothes, did not.
I had to race to make my connection in Spain, so I figured my bag missed that flight. I had faith that it would show up eventually, but not before the next day, when I was supposed to do my first ride. So my incredibly patient and helpful tour guides took me for a shopping spree before we headed into the Portuguese countryside for my first overnight stay in Castelo Rodrigo, home to the picture-perfect Rocamador parish church (left). As soon as I saw the vista from my accommodations, at Casa de Cisterna, I knew everything would work out (right).
After a good night's rest, I woke up to a beautiful day for my inaugural ride (top left). The tour organizers were kind, as the first ride was a fairly level loop, so I could go at a leisurely pace, even stopping off for a second cup of coffee at Casa D'Irene in Malpartida (top right). I made good time to the halfway point in Almeida, which features a leafy park within its walls (bottom left). The fact that it was before noon didn't deter me from having a glass of cherry liqueur, ginja, at Casa da Amelinha (bottom right).
I hopped off my bike and made a circuit of the urban fortress, whose gates (top left) and walls (top right) are extremely well-preserved. I pushed my wheels up the hill to the clock tower, which shoots like a spire from the center of the city (middle). Before I started on the route home, I stopped at the king's riding arena (bottom left), where I said hello and goodbye to some royal horses (bottom right).
My ride complete, I settled in for a late, light, delightedly unhealthy lunch of almond tart at Pateo do Castelo (top left). There's not a lot of variety in a small medieval village, so I repeated the rounds. I rehydrated with a Dois Corvos' brown ale at Cantinho (top right), then had a deja-vu dinner with a sunset view (bottom left). But this time, the main meal was a Portuguese specialty: balcalhau a bras (bottom right).
Right before dinner, my bag arrived, so I was able to don some fresh duds for my second ride, a one-way trek to my next overnight destination. The route started out much like the day before, winding through sleepy villages (top left), where one woman gave me a flower from her garden to wish me well upon my way (top right). But then I coasted downhill past the crags of Faia Brava Natural Reserve (middle left) until I crossed the Coa Valley Trail (middle right). In biking, what goes down must come back up, so I had a hard, hot climb until I stopped for a picnic in an olive-tree grove (bottom).
Pedaling through some rolling pastures led me to the village of Juizo (top left). Fearing the hills, I had departed first thing in the morning, so early that I arrived with time to kill before I could check into my hotel. So I took a hike to a nearby river, where I read for a while waterside (top right). As I walked back to town, multiple townspeople told me that the proprietors of Casas do Juizo were looking for me, to check me into my room, located in an old stable (middle left). The rest of the day, I relaxed in the pool and watched villagers go about their business (middle right). At night, the place became a ghost town (bottom left). I was the only patron at a delicious dinner cooked lovingly by my hosts (bottom right).
The challenge of the third day, another point-to-point ride, was the heat. I had little respite from the sun as I traveled unshaded roads through the Guarda District. Luckily, when I stopped in Marialva, no one had to suffer the smell of sweaty me as I clamored around the citadel (top). I cooled off as I strolled around the Church of Santiago (middle left) and its scenic cemetery (middle right). Then I caught a revitalizing breeze and an invigorating glimpse of the countryside when I stormed the crumbling castle (bottom left). As I continued on, the bugs started to swarm, so I sought refuge in a stand of evergreens, where I refueled with a snack (bottom right).
Eventually, I arrived in Penedono, where I enjoyed a long shower before making the short ascent to the village castle (top left). I scaled some scary steps to walk along the turrets of the uniquely shaped fortress (top right). At night, I had a preeminent perspective of the structure from my room at Hotel Medieval (bottom left), which I discovered after a filling meal of another local dish: octopus risotto (bottom right).
Before dinner, I lingered in the village plaza, where I watched a fishmonger drive up and sell his wares on the sidewalk (top left). Some village dogs unsuccessfully sought some free samples, so after the truck drove on, they came begging to me (top right). In fact, every town where I stayed had a friendly, furry welcome wagon, whether he sluggishly greeted me on the street (bottom left) or she alertly accompanied me on the patio (bottom right).
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