4 years, 4 ride reports, portugal as a playground! 2019 was beach time!

[Sofia]

A trip to the beach! 

 In 2019 we left the mountains behind and headed to the desert island in Faro! 

 

 

 

 

Faro is the capital of Algarve, the furthermost city of Portugal,  divided into two distinct areas, the coastline, part of the Parque Natural da Ria Formosa (Nature Park of Ria Formosa ) and the barrocal, characterized by hills and valleys, populated with typical Algarvan vegetation.

 

The Natural Park is one of the seven natural wonders of Portugal, with a beach that is around 7 km (4 mi) long from the downtown area of Faro city.  It includes the river and a lagoon system, interspersed with dunes, forming small islands and peninsulas, that protect a large area of marshes, channels, and islets.

 The beaches in Faro are situated on the peninsula of Ancão and island of Culatra, along the corridor of the nature park.The park is a rich and complex aquatic ecosystem, consisting of barrier islands, marshes, and channels, comprising sandy shorelines that separate the waters of the Ria Formosa and Atlantic Ocean

 

 The barrier islands are separated by tidal flats and shallows, including (from west to east) the Barra do Ancão/Barra de São Luís, the Barra de Santa Maria/Barra do Farol, and the Barra da Culatra/Barra da Armona (in the municipality of Olhão).

Annually, many species of aquatic migratory birds transient northern Europe and nest there during the winter. These include flamingos, terns, pied avocets, Eurasion wigeons, and common chaffinches.

 

Staying in Faro  is a very different experience from the tourist brochures of Algarve you can find at your local travel agent, it is a working town, which gives more a real feeling of what Algarve is and not just resorts catering for the beach going addicts of Europe. 

And ocasionally we have a gem like this one: 

 

 

There is another part of the Faro city identity that is special to us, this town is the  motorcycle capital of the country.  Annually for 4 days, thousands of motorbikes, beer, concerts, exhibitions and street entertainment are the ingredients of what is considered one of the largest and best biker meets in Europe, every year in July bikers from all the Europe travel to Faro.

Vale das Almas, near the Faro International Airport is the meeting point of the thousands of motorcyclists who gather for a weekend with great excitement, making Faro the capital of the 2 wheels.

You do find it is a kind town to bikers, very aware of our presence and making room when we need it. Its a similar atmosphere to the one in the Isle of Man when it comes to the motorcycle scene.  The meet is organized by the Motorcycle Club of Faro, one of the oldest in the country, full of character and very much connected to the chopper community. I have been to this meet once, many, many years ago, on the perfect bike for it, a Harley Davidson Heritage Softail classic!! 

 

With its special geography, the busy town separated from the beaches by water with big tides, to go to the beach we must get on a boat or go round a long way and cross a small, one lane  bridge,   which gets us an almost deserted, stunningly beautiful, beach  to ourselves. 

 

 

 

 

Fortunately someone had the great idea of building a restaurant on  the Desert Island, and we had a marvelous lunch there! 

All this was totally unknown to me, I had never been there before, but Pedro had described it so enchantingly that when he asked me to join him there, I could only say yes! 
 

My trip down started with masses of rain, although it was the 23rd of June! Portugal's Atlantic coast can be merciless and Summer means nothing to a good Atlantic Low Pressure System other than more rain needs to fall on the unsuspecting motorcyclist!! 

After 200 or so kms the heat from the South started intensifying and the layers started coming off and by the time I lect the motorway to join the EN2, it was properly hot. 

 

No, what is the EN2, I hear you ask?!  

It is a road, the longest road in Portugal at 738 kms, starting in Chaves, at the top of the country and finishing exactly in the center of Faro. It descends or ascends, depending how you are traveling, on a fairly straight line, right down the middle of Portugal, passing through a huge variety of landscapes: into mountains and over rivers, next to high cliffs and onto  totally flat expansions of land.

Many villages along the way are very picturesque and welcome the visitors to stamp the National Road 2 Passport! Yes it is a thing, you can get a passport to say you have done it! 

 

Stilized image of the arrival roundabout in Faro. Actually a cool way to celebrate this special road. 

In fairness this road is intertwined with the country's History, its layered with, literally, millenia of stone and earth,  parts of it are Roman. It has seen many civilizations use it to conquer and to escape and  in 1945 became  its current incarnation, after connecting all the little pieces that were missing, acquiring  the name “Estrada Nacional 2” 

There are points of major importance, like the Geodesic Center of Portugal or the Cabril dam, one of the highest constructions in Portugal at over 136m or several wine regions that have many well established wineries  ready to quench our thirst!! 

On a previous visit from Pedro, the absolute center of Portugal, the Geodesic Center! 

 

 

Like so many of these roads around the World, route 66 being one of, if not the most famous of all, it has become a bucket-list thing for many people, a good excuse to do something fairly well sign posted and with many amenities along the way. It is busy, with all forms of transportation, from bycicles to RVs, every one and his dog are very keen to do it and get the Passport stanped! 

The tourism of travellers that it has gathered have been great for the regions it crosses, bringing much needed revenue and increasing the relevance of the EN2, always overtaken by all the other routes closer to the coast when it comes to trade and fast deliveries for businesses.. 

 

Maybe because I don't like to go where everyone goes, or because I prefer the unknown, the feeling of venturing into places,  (normally lost !) where there is no certainty of human presence, doing this road top to bottom doesn't interest me much, BUT, some parts of it are epic and I have had the pleasure of riding bits of it along the years. It will not surprise you to know that this route is now a motorcycling meca, all the way to Faro, 

This was the perfect reason to leave the Motorway and enjoy the smooth tarmac between Almodover and Faro. It does not disappoint, ever! 

 

Checking the state of our tyres, mine had some chicken strips, Pedro's used to the rim!! 

 

 

 

In Faro Pedro was waiting and we spent 3 days only riding the bikes to go to the beach and mainly using the boat to reach the desert island. For that reason there aren´t many pictures of bikes, more of sand, sea and food!! A delightful couple of days were had. 

 

And this is how the bikes were used: 

 

 

 

 

The restaurant that exists on the island has to take the water by boat, together with all the other supplies, which surely makes their life a little harder, but does not stop them from cooking and serving the most delicious food.

 

 

 

 

We massively enjoyed it! Another amazing memory shared and treasured. 

 

[XTreme]

Superb Sofia!

[Sofia]

4 minutes ago, XTreme said:

Superb Sofia!

thank you!