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Othello day 33 - final day into Porto

It is surreal that after nearly 5 weeks this is the last day of our Othello adventure. I forgot to mention that Sam arrived last night so had dinner with the group and will be with us now to Porto and I should say is responsible for the great drone shots of the Douro Valley. Actually most of today’s photos are courtesy of Sam, Jose and Adrian.

A beautiful sunny day as we rolled out of our winery and straight into the first of 22 climbs of the day. I think to qualify as a climb on the Hammerhead it needs to be at least 0.5km. So today I did the whole ride and got just under 1600m of elevation (I did walk the last steep hill up to our accommodation in Porto).

So for most of the day we were rolling through the Douro Valley following the Douro river to Porto. It is absolutely stunning so all the climbing was definitely worth it for the glorious views.

Lunch came at about 85km and just before we reached lunch the wind started to pick up. Thankfully it was on the nose so I just managed not to lose my nerve and keep riding. If it had been gusting or on the side I’m not sure I could have finished the ride.

At lunch 2 of 4 Hammerheads ran out of battery so we were on the Jose train into Porto which also helped a bit with the wind as I was tucked behind Jose and Charlie with Jonathan bringing up the rear. By the time we reached Porto I think we were down to one device and it didn’t have much juice left either. Having said that it was a very straight forward run into Porto, we really stayed on the one road and then crossed the foot bridge and we’re nearly there. I was very happy to be able to do the whole ride into Porto - 117km.

Our accommodation as I mentioned is way up the top of the winery side of Porto and has incredible views back across to the old town across the river. Dinner tonight was in a private room from the 2 Michelin star restaurant here at the hotel. It was amazing and all the courses were matched with Portuguese wine and port. We started with a dry white port which was a delicious aperitif.

It was very sad tonight knowing this is our last time all together. It’s been a great group and we’ve enjoyed hanging out together. Jose even did a very good awards speech (he’d had a lot of time alone on his bike to think about it).

So adiós from our amazing Othello adventure. For our regular readers we’ll be back on Where in the World from tomorrow.

[jandjmoor]

Today’s ride

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Into Porto and views from our hotel

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Othello day 32 - Manteigas to the Douro Valley

Happy Easter! We awoke to a beautiful sunrise. An early start today as it was one of our longest rides. I set off early given my gimpy state, the first 10km we retraced our route from two days ago which meant a little bit of a climb and then a descent. The whole descent went for about 35km and it was a beautiful descent.

The roads were in good condition and very quiet except for a few other cyclists. It wasn’t too cold and you could see low lying clouds in the valley. After that we started a pinchy climb with lots of cobbles. Thankfully coffee came about half way through the climb and that’s where I ended the first part of my ride.

The climb got steeper from there and still more cobbles but through lovely villages. I wasn’t however sorry to be in the van.

Our last picnic lunch today. The weather today was spectacular again so it was nice to have a picnic lunch. We set up just outside the town of Lapa. It would have been nice to set up in the square but there seemed to be a market and lots of activity as we drove through so we opted for a park just outside the main part of town.

After lunch I hopped back on the bike for the last 51 km to our accommodation. In total today I rode 96km and had about 1000m of elevation but also descended about 1800m. Jose and I were really keen to ride into the Douro Valley together as we know how spectacular it is having been here 3 years ago.

Before we descended into the Douro Valley we passed heaps of apple orchards and the trees were in full bloom, beautiful. As the afternoon wore on the wind was picking up, but that it was consistent rather than gusty and pretty much on the nose most of the time.

Something I keep forgetting to mention, bizarre as this may seem, from the moment we crossed the border into Portugal we’ve had heaps of bugs. That first day within minutes they were stuck to my arm warmers. Since then I’ve had heaps fly into or bounce off my helmet, spat a few out and had them crawling over my sunglasses 😖

Tonight we are staying in a vineyard - Quinta da Pacheca. It is a beautiful spot, surrounded by vines and our accommodation is very quirky, made to look like a wine barrel and everything is fitted precisely inside, tiny homes style. Fun for a night but I like space.

We arrived and watched the highlights of Paris Roubaix before a quick shower then out for our winery tour and tasting. You can tell we’re at the end of the trip as I think we all bought some port. Dinner tonight was also at our accommodation and so now after a good meal and lots of wine and port it’s time to sleep 😴

[jandjmoor]

The sunrise this morning

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This morning’s ride

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From coffee to lunch

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This afternoon’s ride

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Tonight’s accommodation

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Tonight’s wine tour and tasting

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Othello day 31 - Manteigas

A beautiful sunny day today. Honestly you could be forgiven for thinking you were in Switzerland looking out at the view from the hotel. A very chilled morning before a trip down to have a look around the town. It’s a beautiful area and the hiking from here looks amazing.

Surprise, surprise we all ended up having a drink soaking up the sun in the same cafe before heading to the van to be shuttled back to the hotel.

A lazy afternoon watching the Femme Paris Roubaix, finishing up the washing and otherwise chilling out. But of course we were back in the restaurant ready for afternoon tea! I am seriously going to have to go on a diet when we get back to L’Escala - I’m eating almost as much as those riding 3 times as far as me 🙄

After afternoon tea we went down to the pool for a little while (and one of our group snuck a photo 😂). Then of course 7:30pm time for apéritifs.

Another very nice meal but the service was a bit slow. To be fair everyone else is in holiday mode, while our group has a big day on the bike tomorrow.

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Some photos from last night’s dinner and shag pile on the ceiling in the corridor of our accommodation

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Manteigas

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Pool time and the balconies of our hotel with our washing 😗

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Othello day 30 - Covilha to Manteigas

I got up early this morning for a FaceTime call with Mum and her friend Judy in Albury. It was lovely to see and talk to them both. Jose also spoke to his Mum and Angela while he was having a coffee in Covilha, giving the group a head start.

So today was an epic day for the riders, they tackled the biggest climb in Portugal - Capela da Torre. It’s a brute at 24km up hill right from the front door of our hotel. It averages 7% but the first part through the town of Covilha was brutal with steep sections some on cobbles and the odd red traffic light thrown in for good measure. So out of town you’d be thinking you could relax but then the gradient went up again. The first 10km averages 8.5%.

It was a glorious day, sunshine and a deep blue sky and the scenery was majestic. First through a forest and then into the granite. All our brave warriors made it, a fantastic effort.

It was very cold at the top and there was still a little bit of snow on the ground. It is one of the few (maybe only) Portuguese ski fields. On the way down the other side they had a small kids sky run with a magic carpet - very cute.

From the top it was a 20km descent to lunch. I hopped on the bike for the last 3km of the descent. Unfortunately our lunch town, Sabugeuro, was on a steep ascent, but thankfully Jose managed to find the flat part of town for lunch. And what a great lunch we had. It was a really quirky shop, huge inside with all manner of stuff for sale. But they also had a deli at the front that did lunch. You could just go in a choose what you wanted on your sandwich. Because I couldn’t eat the bread the lovely man did us a platter of meats and cheese, and Jose and Charlie had bread with it. It was only later in at our accommodation that I realised my Good Friday blunder, but to be honest I really didn’t have a choice. A lunch of just cheese I don’t think would have been too good.

The rest of the ride to our accommodation was mostly climbing and some steep pinches. The knee held out and I didn’t even use lefty today. Spectacular scenery with big boulders everywhere, like giant marbles.

Tonight’s accommodation is stunning! It’s on a hairpin bend on the way down to the town of Manteigas. It has the most stunning views down the valley and of the town. It caters a lot to hikers so as you arrive you select a pair of felt slippers. Honestly we will be going home with about 20+ pairs of slippers, only one of which we actually bought.

As is our usual routine it was straight to the bar for a rose or two. I’m so glad we did because at 4pm they laid out a magnificent afternoon tea, which is part of the deal when you stay here. The message was quickly sent out to the rest of the group that free food was on offer.

Our room has a balcony with the same stunning views (also great for the washing). Whenever we arrive at amazing accommodation we quickly take photos before we turn it into a Chinese laundry and cycling gear strewn everywhere.

We met for a pre dinner drink and then found at 7:30pm they offer free apperitivo - white port, red port or bubbles. You can tell we’re getting close to Porto. Theresa said last night and we repeated it again tonight, that we are a drinking group with a cycling problem 😂

A lovely dinner (no more meat for me) followed by a small bottle of port for the table. Thank goodness we’re not cycling tomorrow.

[jandjmoor]

The ride to Capela da Torre

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Lunch and this afternoon’s ride