Portugal

Nov. 18. Vigo Spain to Porto, Portugal 191 km

After the birthday weekend I am feeling like I need to start moving again. I had no idea where in Portugal to go, How far south, how much time, where I would stay.. I just went. Leaving Vigo I stopped at a cafe and had some coffee and Empanadas for breakfast. The lady who owned the shop was great to talk to but she wouldn't let me take a picture. She was in her fifties and kept showing me a picture of her self in her twenties. My Spanish is not very good but I think she was saying if she was in her 20s she wanted to come with. I stayed next to the ocean some then climbed on some secondary roads into the hills. By the afternoon I was crossing the river into Portugal and by the evening I was in Porto. I found a hostel near the center of town. I made friends with Frederico who had a bar across the street from the hostel. I only wanted a cup of coffee but he kept giving me beers. So after a handful of beers later with him and his friends he had to go. So I went to eat with a French guy who was a traveling DJ and another Portuguese bar owner. We all had francesinha and way to much wine. Francesinha is a rich sandwich (ham, cheese, chirizo, and roast beef) smothered in sauce like gravy. It was good and you should try it. I think there were to many flavors though.

Looking north toward Vigo

This place was purdy

Renato. Unfortunately he couldn't come to have a few with us. 

I forgot what this alcohol is called. But it was good. And the container is sweet. 

Frederico and the Frenchman 

Coolest bar ever? The lights are controlled by a computerized switch and can be changed with a number of different custom programs. 

Francesinha

Nov. 19. Porto to Peso da Régua, Portugal 165 km

The night before, Frederico said I should go to the family farm in eastern Portugal where his brother lives. This was the new plan. I saw the town quickly on the way out and I now realize I need to spend more time in Porto. The people were amazing. The food was good and cheap, so was the alcohol. I rode east along the Rio Douro and found some great trail on the south side of the river. I wasn't lost but I came out on small landing strip.. not really in the plan. A dude in his 20s was flying a model airplane and we had a good chat. His dog would chase the plane until it could not even run anymore. Days are really getting short now. If I don't get an early start I am always riding in shadows. When the sun goes behind the mountains it gets very cold. I stayed the night in Peso da Régua in a hotel.

Porto Main square

High road or low road?

Getting technical

Mmmm.. wet rock.. my favorite.

People burning brush from the vineyards 

Nov. 20. Peso da Régua to Almedra 173 km

I found some more great roads on the way to Almedra. Twisty dirt/rock/mud tracks in the vineyards. I found it amazing that the leaves of the vineyards change color also. It seems I have been in fall colors since Poland. I arrived at the farm in the evening and met my new friends. The plan was to stay for one night and go further south but I ended up staying a lot longer. No regrets.

Great roads!

As I rode along the ridgeline I spotted this Castle. 

This guy! 

Joanna and Vera with fresh fungi.

Me, Joanna, Diogo, Pedro and Alex

Nov. 21 and 22


There were 5 people at the farm when I got there. Diogo ( Frederico's brother), Vera (Diogo's girlfriend), Alex (a freind with a WR250), Joana (Vera's friend from Lisbon) and Pedro (traveling one man band from Spain). We spent the days exploring on motos, exploring by foot, or picking almonds. I worked on the KTM, fixed some stuff on their land rover and installed some outlets in their house. In the evenings we would all eat together then play music and drink wine until the late hours of the night. I think it is easy to see why it was hard to leave. I will definitely have to return to see my new friends again. On the last night we went out to a restaurant and ate some amazing traditional Portuguese food.

Going down a steep hill in the land rover to get to the river. 

We didn't eat this one. It was probably poisonous. 

Very good memories. 

Almonds

Crushing fresh almond shells with rocks. 

Joanna's cartwheel. 

Mine.. slightly less graceful!

An old bread oven. 

Alex making some good photo ops. 

  
The next morning they all signed Portugal on my bike and I had a bagpipe serenade when I left. It was pretty epic. 

Obligato!