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Portugal 2024
  • Bridgett Hanna
  • Bambi Doe
  • Trails of WOTUS
  • Bridgett Hanna
  • Bambi Doe
  • Trails of WOTUS
  • Jill Painter

Portugal 2024

Biking tour for two weeks! Read more
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  • Trip start
    September 24, 2024
  • Portugal 2024
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    Day 2 - Learning Lisboa

    September 25, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Things we learned on day 2 about Portugal…the weather is similar to San Diego…cork originated from trees here…the city is actually pronounced “Ligshboa”…and artists really like the human body. Undeterred by a rainy morning, we jumped on a trolley toward an 1147 AD castle and walked every bridge, staircase step, and dark corridor. It was amazing! Wandered through the narrow, cobblestone roads of Lisbon, shopping, laughing, drinking and enjoying the delightful European city by the sea.

    Favorite giggle from friend Roxanne to handsome lunch server: “What is your name and do you swing old?”    Read more

  • Portugal 2024

    Day 3 - Lovely Lively Lisbon

    September 27, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Today’s adventures were BIG numbers. Lisbon is similar to San Francisco with many steep hills. So we walked 14,903 steps including up 229 stairs on the southeast side. Then we took a ride on a 42-foot sailboat (seriously, sailing in Portugal?!). Some hopped on a taxi, others on two-wheel scooters back to our favorite hotel bar. Day 3 was simply dreamy.Read more

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    Day 4: Travel, Cork Forest and Bikes

    September 28, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Boarded a bus from Lisbon to Evora. Meandering through dirt roads led us to a tree farm and ranch - beautiful oasis! Our tour guide shared the property owners’ story of many generations working to bring harmony and balance with the cork trees, olive trees, lower brush, cows, sheep, and donkeys. Cork tree trivia: first of all, did you know Portugal is a leading exporter of cork? (Patti taught us all!) And the bark from cork trees can only be harvested after the first 25 years and then every nine years after that. Fascinating! A little wine with duck/rice lunch and we were back on the road to a 14th century monk/convent/church renovated as a hotel. THEN we got to meet our bikes and our wonderful guides! Tomorrow…16.5 miles of biking in the country areas of Portugal.Read more

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    Day 5: Old Bones

    September 29, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Rolling hills of dry grass, cork trees and vineyards. Brilliant blue sky. White buildings and homes with ornate gates. Those were among scenes of our 17-mile bike ride. Amazing! The last few miles were uphill to reach the tiny town of Monsarez, which overlooks a body of water like Lake Powell and the mountains of Spain.

    The history in the city of Evora was mind blowing. An Augustus Roman Temple dated 14 AD was still standing and the Chapel of Bones was created (yes from 5,000 human bones) in the 13th century. You have to see it to believe it. Super fun day. Glad we started with two teeny tiny espresso cups!    Read more

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    Day 6: Freaky Fun Facts

    September 30, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    During and after riding 27.8 miles today (thank heaven for padded biking shorts!), we learned many fun facts…Portugal practices “super-intensive” farming of olives, almonds and cork. That means miles and miles of dense and tightly planted trees. “Fundulating” means biking up and down hills. The “Iberian Lynx” lives in these Portugal hills. And from the 12th to 14th centuries, this area was populated by the Roman, Islamic, and Christian people. Our evening tour was of archeological ancient home sites, a temple, burials, church and castle in the small river town of Mertola. Incredible and humbling.Read more

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    Day 7: Sheep, Quiche and Shopping

    October 1, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Bom dia! Good day! Sangria for lunch? Fantastico! Bread and olive oil? Absolutely! New favorite: Portuguese tuna quiche. Shorter, casual 15-mile ride to the border of Spain. Got to put one foot in Portugal and one foot in Spain! Then we lunched and drank authentic Sangria under a shady Ficus tree by the Guadiana
    (pronounced “gwa-dee-yawna”) River. Delightful! Next was a riverboat ride back to the hotel. Then a dip in the pool, shopping in Mertola, dinner and dice game with our tour guides Jorge (from Portugal) and Bibi (from Poland). So fun!    Read more

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    Day 8: Sssssspeed

    October 2, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Things some of us forgot and regret: reusable/refillable water bottle and portable coffee cup, night light, and butt butter to prevent chafing. Advice from our friend Bruce for males to not forget stuff, repeat this: “spectacles, testacles, wallet, phone.”

    Today we enjoyed a fast downhill, “s” curve ride through a eucalyptus forest. Smelled amazing! Total miles was 31 and we reached speeds up to 30 miles-an-hour! We also toured a “costume museum.” Wonderful capture of 1920-1950s clothing, vehicles and cork processing. Ended the day at our next hotel—the 5-star, Octant in Vila Monte Farm House. Who are we, where are we, and how did we get so lucky?    Read more

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    Day 9: We thought we could. So we did.

    October 3, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Our last day of biking was to the Atlantic ocean. First stop was a lovely olive tree farm and olive oil business, the Monterosa. Quick summary of the process (founded by the Romans):
    7 kilos of olives makes 1 litre of oil; it’s a bush not a tree; prune annually so young branches can produce more olives; pick or comb the “fruit,” then produce oil within 3 hours; press, let rest, test to ensure no bitterness; and “extra virgin” means high quality. Crazy cool, and tasty!

    Last 15 miles was mostly downhill but narrow streets and busy roundabouts a little sketch. At last the big blue ocean. Fun splash to cool our sweaty bodies. Then back to our beautiful hotel for rest and farewell biking tour dinner party. Our guides, Jorge and Bibi, said it was a success and we were low maintenance. 🥴 To anyone who thought we might not make it, ha ha. We did it! Nearly 130 total miles over 5.5 days—that’s an average 25 miles a day.    Read more

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    Day 10: New city, next adventure

    October 4, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Instead of hearing Bibi’s happy, high-pitched Polish accent, “Gud morneeeng,” we began our day on a bus. 🫤 Cool kids (our group) in the back of course. Four hours later, we stepped into the beautiful beach town called Cascais (pronounced “cash-kaigsh”). Our hotel was built inside an ancient Roman fortress directly on the coast. The old is architecturally and artfully melded with the new. Cloudy and periodic drizzle did not dampen our spirits…and yes, we had tasty spirits! Our fun group of seven enjoyed laughs, stories and a delish dinner, then straight to our rooms. No wake-up alarms for Saturday!Read more

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    Day 11: Bubbles and Bites

    October 5, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Relaxing morning! Exploring the city of Cascais led us to a ceramic shop, flea market, artist outdoor market and farmer’s market. Shopping for everyone! Lunch was an impromptu loaf of hot chorizo bread, jar of pesto, mixed nuts, grapes and bottle of wine—delightful! Portugal is quite affordable. Easy-going, laid-back lifestyles with San Diego-like weather. We like it here. Games with good friends, big belly laughs and more delicious wine have made this a perfect vacation. Cheers!Read more

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    Day 12: Last Day in Portugal

    October 6, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    “Voce esta bem?” Are you ok? This always brought us laughter because of course, we were all “completely fine.” Our last day exploring Portugal showed us the iconic cliffside shore; the St. Maria lighthouse; another mercado where Bridgett spent the last of her Euro; a tour of the President’s vacation palace; no Fado but games, almonds and more great wine. When Portugal people talk about their country they ooze pride, respect, and if Spain comes up in the conversation, expect a scowl. Little-known-fact: Portugal was discovered before Spain.Read more

  • Portugal 2024

    Day 13: Farewell, time to go home

    October 7, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    We are not surprised by the outcome of our 12-day biking and touring adventure. Absolutely not surprised because the trip turned out as great as we had hoped. Along the way, however, a few things did surprise us such as: the Moorish influence, depressed rural areas (but ringing church bells were oh-so-sweet), lack of findable Fado music, people wearing helmets even when not on bikes, caught a glimpse of four weddings and a baptism, olive trees can stay alive for up to 5,000 years, tempura started in Portugal, while England and France were fighting Portuguese explorers went looking for the riches, and no salsa anywhere!

    Dear biking buddies, wine-drinking winoes, dice-game gamblers, fabulous friends: thank you for the memories and bom dia! The end.    Read more

    Trip end
    October 7, 2024
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