Sofia and Pedro´s Portugal trip, 1st installment: The North

[Sofia]

The North, The Center and The South, in the quest for the perfect tour!! 

 

 

 

No rush to arrive, in the company of Poets, majestic scenery and  nostalgia, 

Together with soul warming food and wine 

Adventuring into unknown places through ribbons laid down on mountains

Over rivers, lakes and dry land

End to end country visit, from Seaside to Countryside, 

Up to dizzying heights of the North and down to the undulating landscape of the South

Variety a plenty, real lives being lived, not your typical tourists!! 

 

Emotionally I was not in the right place to do this trip, but sometimes not giving in to disillusion turns out the best results! . Lots of anxiety for 3 weeks prior to departure left me frazzled and also the fact I had not ridden the bike for over 3 month didn't help my lack of confidence in myself and my abilities. Plus I hadn´t planned anything like I normally do,which left me in a territory of unknowns and a certain uneasiness. My own lack of planning due to all the said anxiety did make matters worse. But I am not one to give up and have always lived by the moto Audaces Fortuna Juvat.

 

The point was to do a reconnaissance  for the moto tours and this would turn out to be one of the most challenging journeys of my life, pushing me over fears, pain and mental blocks, dragging me out of my comfort zone and forcing me to face and beat ( albeit slowly!)  the insecurities and worries in my head. 

I have to thank Pedro for, first taking me to these places/roads where I would have not gone alone, hence pushing me to go further out of what I knew I could do and allowing me to experience/see the most incredible scenery. Second, I have to thank him for his patience and care at the expense of his own amusement and enjoyment plus all the explanations and attempts to teach me to ride better. 

 

And without further ado, let's report!! 

The North

We started in Espinho, Pedro´s home town and a place I really quite like. Its a Seaside town just South of Oporto and with gorgeous leafy neighborhoods ideal to take Costa the dog for a stroll before departure. 

The first day was going to be a long one, with over 7 hours riding and a few breaks for “pic-nicing” and coffee, plus admiring the views. 

And what views there are around the Douro Valley, called the Gold Valley due to the production of some of the best wines known to men and also how the Autumn Sun makes it seem like molten gold when it hits the vineyards at the end of another season in September and October.

 

 

This was the first formally demarcated wine region in the World and is now a World Heritage Site, with history that spans over 2000 years and with very friendly and hardworking people, anyone that visits will want to come back many times. 

The Douro itself is over 900 kms long, starting in Spain and crossing into Portugal through the Douro International Natural Park, that would be the final destination of this 1st day. 

For you Celtics out there, the name actually comes from Dubro, given by the Celts that inhabited the Northern part of the Peninsula before the Romans. 

 

 

 

 Pedro took us on smaller and smaller roads till we were on single track lanes with passing places, high up on the slopes carved by many centuries of hard working hands to plant more and more vines for more and more wine production, using every single inch conquered from the harsh terrain. The combination of this soil, the dry climate and the exposure of the slopes, makes this terroir impossible to replicate anywhere in the World and the Port Wine is unique to exactly here!! 

 

This valley is truly romantic! Narrow winding roads twisting up and down the steep hills always with spectacular views is definitely a point on a bucket list for every nature-loving traveler. We visited one of the most beautiful and romantic of them all,  São Leonardo da Galafura! From the top of its 640 meters, the landscape that can be seen here triggers a mixture of reactions: the tranquility of a river that meanders serenely through the valley and the emotion of a superb landscape that we do not seem to know how to fully enjoy.

 

 

 

 

One of Miguel Torga’s favorite places, the poet described the Douro seen from São Leonardo da Galafura as “A geological poem. Absolute beauty ”.  

Miguel Torga is one of my favourite Portuguese writers and we will encounter him further down our journey in other very remote villages he visited while doing his job as the countryside doctor for the people in those isolated hamlets. A special person he was! 

 

Moving on we descended to Pinhão, an important river port in the Douro where wine barrels were loaded on Rabelo Boats destined for Oporto and commerce to the rest of the World. 

 

From there we got on the N222, the famous Douro Road you find in all tourist brochures. Because this is no oversold tourist tour., we chose to do the other side of the River for more romantic views and more authenticity and less traffic, plus we rode past all the best Wine Vineyards which was also part of the plan!  Now we got on it and climbed up the Douro Vinhateiro, moving away from the River but still climbing between slopes and a changing landscape that would eventually take us to the Douro Natural Park and the The Archaeological Park of the Côa Valley with its  Prehistoric Rock-Art Site,  is an open-air Paleolithic archaeological site near the border with Spain.

In the early 1990s rock engravings were discovered in Vila Nova de Foz Côa during the construction of a dam in the Côa River valley. They include thousands of engraved rock drawings of horses, bovines and other animals, human and abstract figures, dated from 22,000 to 10,000 years B.C. The sites were reviewed by archaeologists and other specialists of UNESCO and other agencies.

We didnt see any engravings because we were now past 18.30 and still had to ride a very tiny road Pedro had found and was seriously determined to show me! I will admite right here, right now, when I saw where we were going I was not amused and was a lot keener on going via the main road to get to the hotel faster. So a civilized ding-dong ensued, fueled by my anxiety and tiredness, plus I started the day with an accident, so by then I was *really* digging deep trying to muster all my resources and telling myself, “Who dares wins” ! 

Pedro was right, it turned out to be my FAVOURiTE road of the trip. Like so many times in life, its small size and unkept state was hiding the most beautiful, peaceful, soul stirring place. Pure Nature all around, without any evidence of the presence of Men other than the small road itself, the feeling of adventure and freedom was right there to be taken with us. I totally fell in love with that place. As for Pedro, in my helmet I thought how content I was he pushed us to go further into a road that looked like the service road of a dam, with overgrown vegetation all around and seemingly abandoned, soon to be reclaimed by Nature and my heart loved him a little bit more! 

Arrival was past 19.00, making it a 9 hours biking day, and was followed by a bath in a bathtub fit for the Hulk  ( boy I needed that relaxing bath! ) and a great diner! 

 

 

 

2 kms away is a viewpoint the bares my family name, Durão. Its full name, Penedo Durão.It's a phenomenal place that shows you two countries, divided by a beautiful flowing river Douro, at the bottom of a 500m high canyon. 

 

 

For 112 kilometres the Douro forms the border between Portugal and Spain. This is an isolated area, dominated by two national  parks:  the International Douro Natural Park (on the Portuguese side) and the Arribes del Duero Natural Park (on the Zamoran margin). 

Surrounding the rivers are the schist mountains, covered in all kinds of green. Here and there you’ll find small and amazing roads,  making their way to the other side. You’ll notice it’s an isolated area, dominated by nature. It’s the home of various animals, of which you might see the griffon vulture and the golden eagle if you’re lucky.

It is a delight to me, making my head considerably bigger, that such a magnificent spot has my name on it!!! A part of me likes to pretend I am a 13th Century Queen commanding the land and kicking the Spanish ass from my high position!!! 

Anyway, we moved on descending via another tiny road that hugged the mountain while descending at over 10% incline, making it into a mini, mini Stelvio!! 

And there we joined the N221 and 8 kms of fast flowing corners with great tarmac followed to my great pleasure. Pedro very patiently followed me and gave some tips I tried to follow but failed miserably! 

 

 

On this way we continued, past Barca d´Álva direction South-East with yet more amazing corners and tarmac until we left the N221 and cut into the deep countryside, always close to the border, but staying on the right side of it! Eventually we reached a gorgeous little place, that for some reason made its way into my silly romantic being and asked me to linger, seating under a tree overlooking the medieval bridge and making me dream of Templar Knights out on their Conquests with Lusitano horses for transport instead of motorbikes!! Being on the border with our oldest enemy many scenes of chavelary played out in this and other villages, now reduced to almost nothing in significance and size, but still carrying their history with pride. 

Saying that, our next stop is neither small or insignificant! The Fortaleza de Almeida is the fortress that stands on the site of a medieval castle that saw many wars between neighbors and that was finally declared Portuguese in 1407. The current fortress was completed in 1641, it is a 12 pointed-star shaped built in a Vaubanesque style, a famous military style developed in the 17th Century by a Frenchman commonly referred to as Vauban , a military engineer generally considered the greatest engineer of his time, and one of the most important in Western military history.

It was our second visit to this place. My first visit was declared a “total rubbish” by Pedro that then proceeded to show me round the castle walls and the fortress interior. In fairness I was a lot more educated by the end of this 2nd visit! We had a lovely pic-nic in the garden of Almeida and then a coffee in a sunny terrace to top it off!

In Almeida, 2 executive decisions happened: fill up the 2 bikes together to my utter amusement because mine could go 287 kms and the white mamut announced an autonomy of 638 kms!!  The other thing that happened was also amusing, Pedro putting on his gigantic waterproof trousers!

The skies opened up after the lunch break, heavy and continuous rain fall took me back to some of my trips around northern Europe cannot say I prefer it to nice sunny weather, but somehow it gives me a warm feeling inside! The Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa 2 held on very well even when we got up to 120 kmh on little bit of open road. 

 

 

We meandered down the interior of this region and after a couple of hours the larges mountain in Continental Portugal loomed closer and we started climbing, passing one of my ancestors seat, Sabugal, with its Castle overlooking the menacing neighbors and then the loveliest of villages, Sortelha, with yet another Castle and cute cottages perched on the hills. 

At this point I was desperate to eat a sandwich with the traditional cheese of this area, made from ewe's milk, curdled with thistle and intensely rich and creamy. It was not to be found anywhere, many places chose to not open and take advantage of the compensation from the Government for staying closed and eventually a kind cafe owner made us a sandwich with the cheese he had bought for himself to take home. Not the real deal, but almost!! 

 

 

With this new fuel ( lets not try to count the calories on found in a cheese with a fat content above 40%...) and feeling ready for the challenge of hitting the top at 1993 m, under the rain and maximum temperature of 5C. 

By now we had been riding for 7 hours and were about to face switchbacks with cold temperatures and water. Still, we are tough cookies and the bikes were happy. As we reached the top, there was still snow on the side of the road and it was  a highlight of the whole trip. Pedro's happy face running  for a snow bath! 

 

Unfortunately the cloud came over the top and got stuck, the mountain pulling the mist further and further up as if covering it self with a fluffy blanket for the night.

 For us, the descent was done inside this thick blanket of cloud and there was nothing else to do but to put the hazards on and very steadily go down, down, down until our night stop, Seia. 

The landscape in Serra da Estrela is almost otherworldly, always imprinting on the visitor a sense of majesty, the realization of our real size and importance. Compared with the rock formations, the Glacier, the vegetation that have been there for millennia, we Humans are  like a mere speck in the continuum of time and space. I have been here a few times, Pedro many more because this was his regular weekend trip a few years back, so both of us know it, understand its moods and for sure forgave the harsh conditions presented to us pretty quick. 

 

In a couple of hours we were at the hotel, very wet outside but totally dry inside. Hurray for good gear! Such an improvement on days gone by! 

Dinner was a traditional affair of this region, some of you would struggle! Either with the famous black pudding produced here, the very smoky chouriço, the bird sausage made to look like a chouriço by Jews pretending to be Christians and trying to avoid the inquisition ( one day I will explain….), the ewe's milk cheese with its intense smell or maybe, just maybe, the octopus rice!!! The wine was delicious, from a farm we had passed in the morning and production of a friend of Pedro´s brother, amazing!!!

 

Complementary schnapps to wash down the coffee, to which Pedro made good use of!! 

 

Next, The Center of Portugal!! 

[XTreme]

Absolutely brilliant Sofia! Great write-up and amazing pics!

Though I did laugh at this one with your bike looking like a mini moto compared to Pedro's! 

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

Nice work Sophia. Some lovely pics there. I also had a double take at the difference in size between your and Pedros bike, made me smile Sounds like you did some good work exorcising old demons too Congrats 

[alfalfa]

well, hell!  now i need to go to Portugal!!! Glad we have an expat from there in the club to lead us!  (our local BMW club)

 

[yen_powell]

Most splendiferous write up and pictures.

[Sofia]

10 hours ago, XTreme said:

Absolutely brilliant Sofia! Great write-up and amazing pics!

Though I did laugh at this one with your bike looking like a mini moto compared to Pedro's! 

It is!! And now it has those ridiculous bars that increased the size a bit! They have already seved me a lot of bother 2 times, highly recommend them.

[Sofia]

7 hours ago, alfalfa said:

well, hell!  now i need to go to Portugal!!! Glad we have an expat from there in the club to lead us!  (our local BMW club)

 

Yes, its really worth a trip. The magic of small and plenty

[Pedro]

This is a great region to ride a motorcycle, if you stick to the smaller roads in my opinion. 

All the food was tasty, the views were pretty, Penedo Durão has one of my two favourite scenic views in Portugal, the other is on the third installment of Sofia's report.

I have nothing more to add to this.

 

[XTreme]

2 minutes ago, Pedro said:

This is a great region to ride a motorcycle, if you stick to the smaller roads in my opinion. 

All the food was tasty, the views were pretty, Penedo Durão has one of my two favourite scenic views in Portugal, the other is on the third installment of Sofia's report.

I have nothing more to add to this.

 

Any Motorcycling Tourettes involved Pedro?

[Pedro]

17 minutes ago, XTreme said:

Any Motorcycling Tourettes involved Pedro?

We did have a couple of episodes of actual verbal tourettes but fortunately none on motorcycling