Vila Real to Vilarinho de São Romão (34.5km, 710m of climbing): the second day of cycling was easier than the first because it was all paved, we knew more of what to expect, and the roads weren't closed, but it was still a lot of climbing, and it was still pretty warm. Everyone walked up at least a couple of hills. The scenery was neat and varied, and we had a couple of cool stops. We stayed at the hotel/resort belonging to Quinta do Portal, a vineyard slightly outside of town with a good restaurant (where we had dinner).
sitting area outside our Vila Real hotel room |
fence of the farm next to our hotel, with trees and mountain sunrise |
nine birds on a wire |
mountain sunrise |
olive trees |
the moon |
view of the farm from the room above ours |
much trees |
Gina standing at a window |
the hotel courtyard where several of us had drinks the previous night |
mountains and windmills |
Scott, Sarah, and Dana, literally about to get underway when i realise i have a flat tire |
with an assist from the whole group, i get the tire fixed |
underway, passing a small ruined building |
road, houses, mountains, and a steep climb |
Joe and Helen obeying the speed limit |
curve in the road as we climb |
chestnut tree! |
the sign says either that the water is just fine, or that we should avoid the water (we're confident it's one of those) |
Scott, pausing midclimb (next to my bicycle with its shiny new kickstand) |
bright red flowers |
Gina walking up a steep part of the climb |
looking downhill as we enter Varge |
a shrub with half red berries and half yellow berries |
land for sale, with two houses |
Scott and Joe ponder the map |
the first of several figs Gina picked on this trip |
i just climbed that, so now i get a photo break |
a church |
fields and mountains |
ad for a festival |
Cats of Portugal entry 3: Kiko is missing! |
road sign: we came from Vila Real, funny how everything else is uphill |
cemetary entrance |
tree maintenance near power lines is important |
Gina, underway |
the moon is still up |
a covered unpaved porch area, complete with recliner |
a hole |
we're excited to ride through this forested area and get a bit of shade |
spiky plants |
Joe, climbing |
bike, trees, sun |
Scott, stopping in front of some trees |
a rock above the road ahead |
moss on rock wall at the side of the road |
valley view past some boulders |
valley and mountain view |
Scott stands on a rock above the valley |
Gina, approaching |
Gina, riding off into a town |
the town of Ludares |
cobblestones and ruins in Ludares |
information about composting in Ludares |
a significant house at the side of the road |
fence on the significant house |
bike next to a stone building at the edge of Ludares |
field outside of Ludares |
buildings in Ludares |
climbing continues, morale has not yet improved |
the road behind us |
rocks on a hilltop |
valley and mountains in the distance |
hillside houses in the distance |
Bill and Gina on the road ahead |
definitely we are not going back to Ludares at this time |
a house with white flowers |
Bill, entering the rotary where we've stopped for water |
we take a brief detour to see the Mamoa de Madorras, a passage tomb! |
informational sign for readers who need a quick refresher on passage tombs - they're very cool |
floor of passage tomb |
Gina, standing in the passage tomb |
Sarah, standing outside of the passage tomb |
Gina, showing off interesting rocks of northern Portugal |
Sarah, keeping an eye out for traffic |
Scott, Helen, and Joe, arriving at the passage tomb |
after the passage tomb... more climbing! |
the road ahead |
Gina walking in front of some large rocks |
valley and mountains |
Gina, riding |
at the top of our climb... a giant swing? |
Gina, David, Tom, and Bill, happy to have reached the top of the mountain |
valley and mountain view from Fraga dos Namorados |
tree view from Fraga dos Namorados |
rock and park view from Fraga dos Namorados |
climbing down from the rock |
it's very three-dimensional here |
Gina tries out the swing |
Capela de Senhora da Azinheira, across the street |
a little tree next to the swing |
Sarah, back on the road again (but we're going downhill, finally) |
a mural in Sáo Martinho de Anta, where we stop for lunch |
we head to the square after eating to find an ATM |
a building facade i thought was neat |
vote with coins: are you a resident or a visitor? |
we befriended this dog, which was not scary because we were not on bicycles at the time |
interior wall of our lunch restaurant, where the 'menu' was a set of small sample versions of each dish, and we could try them and point to the one we wanted as a full meal |
church on the way out of town |
buildings and mountains |
Scott and Helen, riding down around a curve |
we're starting to get into terraced vineyard world! |
Joe, Scott, and Gina, resting in front of a wall |
looking past some vineyards to a town in the foothills north |
the van, waiting on the route to see how we're doing |
that distinctive-looking church we kept seeing as we approached our hotel |
a miscellaneous gazebo behind our hotel |
stone exterior by the pool at Quinta do Portal, our hotel |
road and mountain view from our hotel room at dusk |
sunset from our hotel room |
pool, vineyard, and giant cask, seen from our hotel room |
Dana and Bill, waiting in the lobby before dinner |
the lobby, empty because we are going to dinner now |
it's about a 10-minute walk to the restaurant, through the vineyard |
restaurant at Quinta do Portal (but it's not quite open yet) |
a giant metal statue of a bird and an egg. now you know as much as i do |
Dana investigates the bird/egg statue |
the restaurant serves a set menu, and is not thrilled that our group's long list of dietary restrictions wasn't communicated, but they recover admirably |
the set meal is modular! this is the omnivore version of the vegetarian course in the last photo |
more tasty food for omnivore me |
the port i had with dessert, a ruby but not too sweet |
dessert |
blue tile art outside the restaurant |