Our first big day on the bikes heading west to the tip of Portugal. And what a place to start!

Up and out of bed at sunrise to watch the birds at the waters edge, just a few paces from our bed.

A beautiful spot indeed to begin a cycle journey from. Luckily, the water wasn’t quite warm enough for a good swim, otherwise we might never have got going!

A quick breakfast, followed by a pannier pack and we were ready to depart…

We set out into a quiet road that led past the ‘inland’ lighthouse. Apparently the sand was too soft to build it at the tip of the country!

Our trail, which roughly follows the ‘EuroVelo 1’ long distance cycle route, took us through town then along the coast past some enormous hotels, most of which were closed.

It was actually quite a troubled first few kilometres. Firstly I fumbled my phone and dropped it in the middle of the road while cycling. Luckily, the traffic was slow and it didn’t get run over. Soon after, Clare’s bike slipped on some smooth cobbles as she tried to get up a curb and before she could do anything about it, she crashed down, with both knees taking a bit of a hit. After taking a few minutes sat in a wall to recover, and with purple bruises coming on strong, we cautiously carried onwards to the beach.

Out of town, away from traffic and slippery cobbles, we rode through the quiet pine forests.

And were delighted to finally find an old sign signifying the ‘EuroVelo Exovia’ bike route, although the sign was so old most of the writing had faded away in the sun!

We passed a few other bikers during the day as well as some long distance hikers. We stopped here and there when things caught our eye. Like this Egrit, standing on the back of a sheep!

The landscape kept changing. Rough forest could suddenly change to pristine golf courses.

And the same was true under foot. Tarmac, cobbles, dirt, sand and mud were all encountered.

We found a lovely bench with a view to stop for lunch, just before Tavira. A little shop nearby provided fresh rolls, cheese and some fruit which satisfied and sustained us for the rest of the afternoon.

Here’s a few views from the road as we moved on into the afternoon…

We passed by several coastal salt pan areas and stopped off by a small mountain of salt to give it a taste test!

We stopped again at Santa Luzia, where the promise of a coffee shop didn’t materialise, so we settled for an apple by the waters edge instead.

Neither of us fancied the detour into the bigger town of Tavira, so we viewed it from the bridge that spans the town and continued onward, to where more excitement awaited! The first was a small ford crossing!

Luckily, it wasn’t as deep as it looked on the approach.

A kilometre later, the track became too muddy to ride and we were forced to push a short section through the squelching mud!

But once through, all became good again and we could sense the end of the days ride nearing.

On the edge of Fuseta, where we are staying tonight, we found a supermarket. I stayed with the bikes, while Clare sourced some food to cook later.

All we had to do then was locate the apartment, which we did after an extra accidental lap of town!

It turns out we have a private swimming pool! The only thing it lacks is water in it! Ha ha! Off season travellers…

But we do have access to a roof top terrace where it was recommended we watch the sun set. So we did. Then after a big frittata meal, went back up to look at the stars.

Total Ride: 50.2km