São Julião da Figueira da Foz

This little fishing village turned resort town was supposed to be a one night stand for us as we made our way down the Portuguese coast toward Lisbon. As it turned out, we ended up spending a week here while Brenda convalesced from her biking injuries. We stayed at the Hotel Aviz, a nice little Mom and Pop establishment owned and operated by a charming couple who were very helpful despite the language barrier caused by our lack of Portuguese. For the first couple of days, I was pretty much on my own as Brenda was in a lot of pain from the severe road rashes on her right arm and both legs, her bruised ribs and her fractured cheekbone. On Friday we got her out of the room for the first time when we drove back to Coimbra for her appointment with the maxillofacial surgeon. Once we learned she wouldn't need any reconstructive surgery, we came back to Figueira to chill out for a few days.

And chill we did, literally and figuratively. Although Figueira is probably a pretty happening place in the summer, it's pretty sleepy come mid-October. The main attraction here is the beach, which is absolutely huge. From the coastal road to the water, the sand must stretch for at least 500 meters. Unfortunately, some nasty weather set in over the weekend and didn't really clear out until Tuesday morning. Thanksgiving weekend was rainy, windy and pretty cool. On Monday Brenda was nonetheless feeling strong enough to venture outside to explore the town with me. We stumbled upon a little hole in the wall restaurant that was brimming with locals and decided we'd have our Thanksgiving lunch there. Of course, there are no Thanksgiving celebrations here, so we had to improvise, particularly since none of the local restaurants cater to vegetarians, let alone vegans.On the other hand, without exception, every restaurant offers up wonderful soups at bargain prices.They're almost always thickened with potatoes and are usually vegetable based. They have all been delicious. This restaurant brought a cauldron of soup to the table, followed by a rice dish, a plate of chick peas sauteed with onions and a delicious salad. And no turkeys were harmed in the making of our meal!

By Tuesday the sun had returned and we ventured out to take our first look at the beach. It is spectacular. The sand goes on forever and eventually brings you to a steeply sloping shore with crashing waves. We walked along the shoreline to a breakwater with a lighthouse where we sat and enjoyed the sun and ate some delicious grapes from the Algarve. Aside from the gulls and one other couple, we had the entire beach to ourselves.

On Wednesday, we again strode along the water, in the opposite direction from Tuesday, and one again felt like we were the only people enjoying this beautiful place.

Tomorrow we pack our things and head south to Lisbon where we'll spend another week. For the time being, we'll be traveling by car, but hopefully we'll be back on or bikes fairly soon. One thing at a time.Read more