Schist, Castles, and Sore Forearms

Day 10: Coimbra to Bordeiro (54 Miles / 5,750 ft.)

We woke up early, a little nervous about the predicted 7,000 feet of climbing. We left Coimbra at 7:30, rode through campus and down to the Mondego River, then fought our way through the morning traffic. The farther we got from the city, the quieter it became and the climbing began.

Near Lousã, we made a short detour to Castelo da Lousã and spent nearly an hour exploring the castle and nearby chapels. The castle dates back to the 11th century and once helped guard the southern approaches to Coimbra.

Next came the long climb to Candal, one of Portugal’s Aldeias do Xisto, old mountain villages built largely from the region’s dark schist stone. From there we continued high into the Serra da Lousã, riding along fire-scarred ridges with giant wind turbines humming beside us.

Next was a five-mile descent over loose rocks and gravel. By the bottom, our forearms were aching from squeezing the brakes. Somewhere along the way, we also spotted a huge deer with antlers nearly three feet long.

We gathered supplies in Góis for a Jim and Lisa specialty pasta dinner with mushrooms, arugula, green olives, and local cheese melted into the sauce. As the evening cooled, we sat outside near Bordeiro looking back at the television towers high on the mountains we had crossed earlier. Chocolate pudding cups finished off another great day on the road.Read more