Thirty-eight years ago as we began our married life, we cycled out of Strafford, Vermont and began a year-long bicycling adventure traveling around the world. (The photo is from Nepal.) Then came another wonderful adventure -- children and careers. With children on their own and our careers behind us, we entered the next chapter, again with a bicycle adventure. That one was more modest, train trips across the country and five weeks on bikes from Los Angeles, CA to Portland, OR; but it greeted us with we good riding, great sights, and interesting people.

After two bicycle trips on the west coast, we tried something different. With an old dog along for the ride and a camper in the bed of the pickup, we set off for the desert southwest exploring national parks, enjoying daily cycling, and even playing a little golf.

In Spring, 2017, we decided on an international adventure. We landed in Lisbon, Portugal and rode a loop through Portugal and Spain and back to Lisbon. Once again, seeing the sights, meeting people, and pedaling 1600 miles were wonderful!

In March 2018 we left Maine after a big snow storm and headed to North Carolina for some warmth - we didn't find it. We went further south to SC - still didn't find it! But we did discover new places to cycle and explore!

It is now August 2023, kids are married with families of their own (five wonderful grandchildren) and we are off on another adventure! Our first stop will be Lily Bay State Park on August 13, then head north and west, across Canada and into Alaska driving and camping with bikes and a canoe. Here is the family, though missing Miles' wife, Baily.

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Starting to complete the second loop

          We completed the first loop of the figure eight and started the second loop when we crossed a bridge in Huelva, Spain and took the short ferry ride from Ayamonte, Spain to Vila Real de Santo Antonio, Portugal.  We are so glad we changed our plans early and stayed in Spain and Portugal with virtually every mile offering something completely new. 
Toasting the first loop
By-passing Huelva on a bike lane
Maundy Thursday in Isla Christina
           After crossing into Portugal, instead of taking the coast road as we had previously, we headed inland to the Alentejo region of the country. Rather than overbuilt tourist towns, Alentejo offers small rolling, winding roads through pastoral scenery, small towns widely separated, vast olive groves, wheat fields, vineyards, and what was recently the largest solar facility in the world completely covering 60 hectares.  
Another day, another castle -- Mertola
Another day, another castle -- Serpa
  The area is a cyclist's dream as there is very little traffic, the small towns have quaint plazas surrounded by cafes where we stop for a morning coffee, birds singing, sheep and goat bells ringing, and a rainbow of beautiful flowers. We even downloaded a cycling guide to the area and are loosely following the suggested route. We have already met a couple of women, one from Seattle, cycling in the opposite direction. In a couple of days we will take a rest day in Evora, a World Heritage site. So far this spring two separate groups of Deer Isle friends have been in Evora and recommend it. From there we will move on to Lisbon and complete the trip.   
 
 
Mertola
 
And we even got to play golf!
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2 comments:

  1. UnknownApril 19, 2017 at 6:33 PM

    Aww, we miss Portugal!! Enjoy Évora; it's a really interesting town and the countryside around it is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Richard PalmerApril 20, 2017 at 4:07 PM

    Hope you are maintaining a healthy intake of tarta de nata com cafe. Portugal is a great country - enjoy the remaining days of your tour.

    ReplyDelete

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