Templo de las Mercedes

An action packed day on the Algarve! Woken by thunder and lightning is never that great a feeling- but less so when you need to do some cycling! However we watched the first few biblical downpours come and go and managed to get 30km down the road to Tavira before the first clouds spilt their contents on some godforsaken bypass/ roundabout. Frustratingly close to a cafe- the first for a while- but at we were able to recuperate there. Next issue: Tim's slow puncture. By the time this was fixed Helen had an unfortunate interaction with a slippery level crossing- and Jude - and the ground😖. The end result was a broken brake/ gear shifter, a bruised thigh( hels) and a swollen bruised ankle ( jude). Local cycle shops were very helpful- but unable to help. So, led by Tim, with copious superglue, duktape and cable ties we were able to cobble it all back together into something cautiously road worthy. 🤞
What can't you fix with cable ties and duktape?
Invigorated by our dice with death- and it could have all been a lot messier- we made good time to catch the 2.30 ferry from Portugal to ayamento in Spain.
Except the 2.30 ferry wasn't running. Hmm. Time for a leisurely lunch and by the time we realised we'd lost a further hour between Portugal and Spain - and noted more torrential rain- we bailed to a lovely hotel in Ayamonte.Read more