TET Portugal 02

 

Barrie chuckled mischievously looking everywhere, but at Jason, as he was put under a little pressure. 

"Look me in the eyes and tell me there's no sand." Said Jason. 

 Fast forward to the next day. Judge for yourself, but that bike is stood upright without a stand.  The owner laying dead in the sand. Barrrrriiie! 😉

Aside from the sand death it was a wonderful day of riding for us all, the icing on the cake being staying overnight in Evora and enjoying a great meal with friends, but that was much later. 

Waking at Delinda guest house in the 'bungalow' (read: static hot box caravan) I was overjoyed to note the thirty new mosquito bites adorning my body like little rubies and i shuffled off to breakfast. 

It wasn't long before bike preparation began where Barrie aided me, fixing the backfiring, and then Jason with his fan. 

At departure time Jason and Barrie headed West, to do the full TET section (because it wasn't sandy, remember?) and Sarah and I went East to join further down the track. 

It was hot already and it was just after 9am. 

Reminiscent of aborigines, these odd trees orange lined the hard baked tracks, bark peeled off and all painted to varying degrees.  Thier visual resemblance to Australia just reinforcing the fact that it was hot. Really hot. 

Never have I wanted wet boots as much as I did  today.  Above, Sarah taking on her first river crossing. 

Like a football pundit I'd describe today as a day of two halves. Off-road in the morning and road based in the afternoon.  For Jason and Barrie it was much more off-road focused, they both took a longer route with Barrie completing 240km of TET.  We all commented on the heat.

As we pootled along, the sun scorching above, we passed flooded fields, akin to paddy fields, many of them filled with stalks. I have never seen so many in one place, one even flying along just above our helmets. The heat and water seemed at odds with one another, the stalks nested everywhere and the 40degree heat was relentless.

Below, Sarah's bike enjoying no sand. At the same time, somewhere else Portugal, Jason's bike was also enjoying no sand. 

A little later in day we reached a small town on an extremely straight road. The heat was shimmering above the tarmac and the town promised respite.

Bimmbling down a back road Sarah suddenly started shouting 'Ouch, Ow, Argh!!' down the Comms. I span around to find her bike parked in the middle of the road, her coat on the floor and she was feverishly pulling off her trousers! You can take the girl outa Leeds...  

Nope! sorry, it was a wasp that had become trapped in her pants and was doing what wasps do in such circumstances.  (Yes she is stood in the street as pictured) 

Upon reaching Evora I made a bee line for the historical centre. It's at times like these I appreciate the flexibility of bike travel.  Just head exactly to the point you want to be at and dump the bike on the pavement. 

 

At 14:30 in the blistering afternoon heat Evora was pleasantly empty.  I took took the opportunity to take a few snaps of the ancient Roman city. 

 

Jason asked us to check the Dom Fernando hotel on the edge of the old town. I popped into reception, but the woman on the desk refused to let us park the bikes on the property. 

The two of us later approached the topic again and a quick call to the hotel management clinched the deal.   

Barrie and Sarah enjoying the pool and a beer, not a bad way to end the day! 

J

Walking into a restaurant bar Chef Nando immediately put an arm around me,

 "you must try my Gin, you drink Gin?"  He asked energeticly.

 He proceeded to pour me a massive Gin i hadnt asked for. He looked half cut on gin himself and so i went with the flow!!  

He was small and boisterous, full of energy and wore a Chef's top that had never seen a kitchen. 

The food was delicious, easily the best we've had on the trip. It was a far cry from the plates of Grey meat knuckle and gruel served yesterday.  I don't mean speak badly of the authenticate Portuguese food at the Deolinda, but whilst tasty, it was exactly as just described. Prison like.

Food-tastic!!

The conversation around the table was lively, like Chef Nando, who kept visiting us in his Chefs fancy dress costume.  At one point he picked up my Gin glass and poured half from his glass into mine! Odd ball.   During dinner birds swooped and called from the sky's above, one even sent a massive shit to join us at dinner that landed on Jason and Barrie's leg. Delicious. 

Evora is a UNESCO world heritage site since '86. It was home to Portuguese royalty back in the 14 - 1500s and boasts a rich history. I hope the pics do it justice. 

People, who'd been hiding under rocks all day,  thronged the streets as the temperature dropped to a respectable 35degrees at 20:40! 

Our night ended at this rum shack on the market Square.  Jason bought us 12 soft drinks to medicate against the insane heat and the locals watched football. 

We have 120miles to cover tomorrow and I've factored in lunch at Montargil. Time to get some sleep. 

 Today Sarah and I covered 90miles, Jason 135miles and Barry ..erm.. much more.