October 4, 2016

Sagres sits on a point of land sticking out into the Atlantic ocean with one road running down the centre.  Therefore, our first 9 kilometres are on the road we cycled in on last night, but with one difference, last night we had the wind behind us, but going in the opposite direction this morning, it is against us.  A fearsome wind, making us work very hard. I’ve not actually mentioned the wind so far, that is because it has been blowing from the north to the south for the whole trip, pushing us along.  This is the first time ever we have toured with a tailwind nearly all the way.

We’re on the main road again, but with a difference today – it has a wide hard shoulder segregating the traffic from the bikes.  Despite the endless traffic, it makes the cycling so much better.

We have a couple of big places to navigate around which slows us down a bit.  Heading into Portimão we spot an information board describing the cycle route we are on, with a new cycle lane heading into the city – after about a kilometre we lose it and go back to making our own way.

We make swift progress overall and again we travel further than the published stage for today, finishing the day in Albufeira.  We find a lovely apartment in a villa surrounded by quiet countryside.  It has a nice garden, washing machine, WiFi, everything we need.  Time for a day off.

We go for dinner to the only restaurant within walking distance, which turns out to be a posh affair – waiters on tip-toes, balancing plates on finger tips, rushing to pour your wine to save you the effort of lifting a bottle – you know the sort of place.  You get to experience a wide range of styles of both accommodation and eating establishments on a bike tour, but often find the best in the most unexpected places.  In general, fat cooks are a good sign, waiters on tip-toes are not.