run for your life

Today Matilda and I would be heading to my home-away-from-home, the city of Caldas da Rainha, where I have visited, and even lived in, during the past 12 or so years. To get there, we would briefly revisit both Nazaré and Sao Martinho do Porto, after an early start from Marinha Grande. It was going to be a warm and sunny day, and with only some 56km to cover, it would also be a great opportunity for us to enjoy an easy, as well as nostalgic roll, back into our home shire.

The opening stage to Nazaré was pretty uneventful, as the day started to heat up. We took a moment to take in some spectacular views from the top of the headland, which overlooks the beach and boulevarde below, before continuing our journey southward. On the final stretch into São Martinho do Porto, it was rather nice to move at a faster than usual speed as we paced behind a local mountain biker for the final 3km to the centre. Obrigado meu amigo!

My mum had contacted an old friend of hers ahead of time to arrange a lunch date at our old neighbourhood café, the Pastelaria Malhoa in Caldas da Rainha. It was so wonderful to be able to catch up with Adelina, as well as the owner, Pedro, while also having my mum join in via video chat. It felt like we’d never been away! Prior to heading to our accommodation for the night, we took some time to soak in the vibes of a regular weekday afternoon, with a visit to Parque Dom Carlos I, the city’s beautifully tranquil central park. We made our way there via the long main pedestrian street, which opens out at the bustling Praça da Fruta.

Her presence brings calm,
before from here, now from there.
Rest in Peace, Dear One.

‘Adelina’ by Jyri Manninen


I really wished that we’d had more time to stay in Caldas, simply just ‘to be’ in a place that continues to feel like truly being home. Alas, how prophetic that sentiment would become, as only a little over half a year later, we would receive the very sad news that my mum’s friend, whom we had met for lunch on this day, had passed away; and in her honour, I will complete this story about our penultimate day on this bicycle tour, with a simple prayer, ‘Adelina, we miss you. Rest in Peace.’

Be blessed,
Jyri

Over the 11th and 12th days of our Portugal’s Northern Coastline and Peneda-Geres cycling tour, Matilda and I would ride a total of 148km to reach Marinha Grande, via Figueira da Foz, where we’d overnight at Hostel 402, as we’d already done on the outward leg. As we headed out from Torreira, there really wasn’t much to think about. It was basically just going to be a day of head down and bum up, to pretty much retrace the same route as we’d taken on the outbound leg. However, we did start the day with a relaxing roll down the Aveiro Lagoon on our way to São Jacinto to catch the morning ferry. As I had plenty of time, before departure, I even tucked in to a second breakfast at a waterfront café, while chatting with a retired, holidaying couple from Holland, who happened to be sitting at an adjacent table.

After thoroughly enjoying a simple, yet utterly superb Portuguese breakfast of champions, which consisted of a strong coffee, Sagres and a pastel de nata, it was time for the short ferry over to Praia do Cabedelo, which was way easier than having to, once again, navigate the stressful crossing of the Mondego River via the main traffic bridge. From there, we followed the Eurovelo 1 bike route before deviating inland at Lagoa da Ervedeira. From there Matilda and I proceeded on to our destination of Marinha Grande via some wonderful, quiet country roads, which were mostly free of any traffic.

Expectations lead,
to sometimes good, sometimes bad.
With new eyes I see.

‘New Eyes’ by Jyri Manninen

We stayed at the Wood, Steel and Glass hostel; and while I won’t go into any greater details, I’ll just say that I was quite unpleasantly surprised at the quality of this place, including the service provided. Despite the good expectations I’d had, at least based on the pictures I’d seen of the place when booking, I was rather underwhelmed, to say the least. I’ll also add that spending the night sharing a dormitory with half a dozen rough and rowdy Spanish laborers, who were working in the area, added an extra twist that I could have very well done without after a long day in the saddle. I suppose when traveling on a budget, you have to be prepared for anything; and I guess that’s what, ultimately, develops one’s ability to accept uncomfortable situations, and via that, the resilience to meeting the wide range of challenges that life can throw at you. So, in the end, it was all good!

Be blessed,
Jyri

After the past two super easy days, during which I focused mainly on sightseeing in the historic old cities of Guimarães and Amarante, it was now time, on this 10th day of my Portugal’s Northern Coastline and Peneda-Geres cycling tour, once again, to spend a long day in the saddle, as I began my homeward leg.

This day’s ride of 115km would first see Matilda and I head back west to reconnect with Porto. From there, we’d continue southward down the coastline to our day’s destination of Torreira, where we had already stayed on the way up. As we could have easily just retraced the same route from Porto back to our starting point in Peniche, the additional challenge now was to try and find some new roads and pathways to explore, even if we’d be riding through, and overnighting in, the same areas.

As Amarante is nestled at the bottom of a river valley, our pre-dawn departure started with a rather solid climb, which would account for a huge chunk of the 1275mof  total vertical climb that we would do over the course of the morning; but what a reward we earned when we reached the first saddle, an absolutely glorious sunrise that instantly cured my heavy breathing and heavy legs. Matilda and I had found, once again, our happy place, and so we would remain for the remainder of the day, only being briefly interrupted by a couple of snack and beer breaks in the afternoon. It was definitely go-time!

When we reached Porto, this time I decided to cross back over the D’Ouro River via the Ponte Infante Dom Henrique, instead of the more famous and touristic Luis I Bridge, which we had used on the outbound leg. It also saved a lot of time not having to fight the traffic congestion in that area. Once we’d cut diagonally down to reach the coastal bicycle route in Espinho, it was smooth rolling all the way to Torreira.

The rays of life shine,
from the other side of hell.
Wonder awakens.

*Lifelight’ by Jyri Manninen

After having set up camp at the now familiar Torreira Camping, I took a late evening stroll to Praia da Torreira, located on the ocean side of the isthmus; and if the spectacular sunrise over Amarante in the morning wasn’t enough, the deep calm and serenity of the extended sunset over the Atlantic’s horizon would crown what had manifested into one of the best bicycle touring day’s that I’d ever experienced. It was as if, over the course of the entire day, the sun’s light had, by first bridging the empty coldness of space in between us, brought my body, mind and spirit back to full charge.

Be blessed,
Jyri