Algarve Cycle Touring – Through Lagos to Luz

We got on the road a little earlier than previous days, as we knew we had a bit further to ride and a few more hills to negotiate. Getting about of the yard turned out to be the crux of the day as a very big dog needed to be wrestled in order to reach the gate and the safety of the road! We left a little flustered, but unscathed…

The town we stayed in (Armco de Pera) was billed as a cute fishing village, but we didn’t see much to confirm this as we rode away through the concrete towers.

Away from the sky rises, it suddenly became rural again, with large areas of unkept land, with rough sandy tracks.

When we reached the little port of Ferragudo, it felt like we got to see a little bit of the original Portugal, before all the package holiday firms arrived. There was a little square where a guy was busking and a couple of cafes and a shop where we bought supplies.

The streets were narrow, shady and detailed, compared to the whitewash walls of the hotel complexes.

We had to ride north up a great river to get to the (long!) bridge which crosses to Portimão.

From there, the trail went through all parts of town, some industrial, some residential and everything in between. To cross the main road, we had to use an elaborate bridge that gained us the required height via many zig-zags!

To get across to Lagos, involved riding alongside some pretty big main roads. With the wind behind us, we pumped our way along the hard shoulder at an average speed of 30km/h to get through it and back onto the safety of a bike trail. Happily, once we pulled on the tarmac, we chanced upon a welcome bench that overlooked the oyster beds of the estuary, where we stopped for some late lunch.

The trail then took us along the coast, past a few golf courses, towards Lagos town.

We stopped briefly at the Marina, but decided to continue to the beach for a break, rather than one of the smart waterfront cafes.

Just outside the old fort and harbour wall was a sheltered sandy beach, where to took our shoes off and had a rest, knowing that the end of the days ride wasn’t far away.