Day 8 - Evora to Beja (87km, 480m)

Saturday, May 10th, 2014

Route Map and Garmin Ride Statistics

The morning briefing took place in the room where the bikes had been stored overnight. It doesn't look like everyone is here, and indeed that was the case. However, there are a few members of the group sitting out of frame.

Tony D wanted to try Strava (an online application that also runs on iPhones), but was worried that the GPS requirement would drain his phone battery before he finished the ride. Having brought his portable solar panels (!) he bought a few cable ties and strapped it to the front of his bike bag. Surprisingly, even for Tony, it managed to keep the phone charged at 100% for the duration of the ride.

Here we are having coffee at our first stop, some 40km into an 85km day. It had been a relatively early start, hence the longer distance before the first break.

Next stop might have been Cuba, and had it had a decent restaurant or bar we might have stopped for a Cuba Libre, a mojito, or even some salsa.

But we slogged on in search of anywhere where we might get a sandwich, or similar. The road was long, but the cycling was easy. We had been joined by Peter at the start and he stayed with us all day. We also picked up Ged and Robert somewhere near Cuba.

The final option for something to eat only had a Mini Mart and a very cute little church where everyone sat around drinking water, eating biscuits, and generally looking like locals (the lycra was a bit of a give away though).

We had noticed, every now and then, that wild poppies grew along the sides of the road. There were also a range of other plants which we might regard as weeds, but which the locals probably consider delicacies. Tony D speculated that even the Patterson's Curse we saw earlier might be in this category.

Coming into Breja we passed Breja Airport. Just like to hospital with no patients in Yes Minister, this is an airport without planes. Apparently Ryan Air convinced someone to bankroll the airport using the principal "build it and they will come". Unfortunately, they never came. If you needed a symbol of the problems with the Portuguese economy, then this must be it.

Because we never did eat lunch, and because we arrived in Breja before 1:30pm, we set of to find something to eat. Just up the road from the hotel was a restaurant and tapas bar serving locals their Saturday afternoon meal. We joined in!

Then onwards and upwards in search of the old town, the castle, and the cathedral. The streets were empty, but that's what happens on warm Saturday afternoons in Mediterranean countries.

We found the castle, which had a nice tower and forecourt area.

Then we climbed the rather steep and narrow spiral staircase for a fine view over Breja and the surrounding countryside.

At the base of the tower was a stone statue of a knight in armor, and (perhaps) a grave cover of another knight.

Back outside we needed an ice cream and then headed back to the relative coolness of out hotel rooms for a rest. Unfortunately, the air conditioning was ineffective, the 3G WiFi was down, and the hotel WiFi only really worked in reception, from where I am typing this blog.