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