Winter was coming.

So what better way to make summer last longer than head off to Portugal? Lucky for me, I got accepted to a High Energy Physics summer school in Évora. That meant 2 weeks of lectures every day, plus outreach projects, plus networking with other young PhD students and lecturers. Fun, but exhausting and I felt a Portugal holiday afterwards was well-deserved. It so happened that Dan and Josh were attending a conference in the north of Portugal. I convinced them to join in on my plans to do a biking trip in Lisbon surroundings after.

I brought along my tent, a hammock, and a sleeping mat. I had rented out a mountain bike ahead of time (bro-tip: Bikeiberia headquartered in Lisbon is an awesome mountain bike rental company. I recommend it, as they take great care of their bikes and are very flexible. Just don’t pitch up with loads of luggage as their shop is tiny.). My plan was to just get on the bike and wing it from Lisbon out along the coast, aiming for campsites along the way. Three days later Dan and Josh would join me.

So come Thursday, after getting a good nights sleep in a dark and dodgy hostel room in Lisbon, I had the bike packed, took the ferry across to Seixal and started biking South. I was aiming for Setúbal.

The first day was harrowing at times: I took the highway straight to Parque Natural da Arrábida. I have only the best to say about Portuguese drivers, as they gave me a lot of space and were very patient. That didn’t mean having a truck blast by you whilst on a bike was any less stressful. I got to Sesimbra and started heading West in search of a place to have lunch (there were signs of a lighthouse). I soon realised that this may take too long as I still hoped to reach Setúbal. I instead turned around and headed to the park. Arràbida Park was seriously hilly. I had an epic energy crash whilst paddling up one hill. Arms shaking, I stopped and pulled my bike beneath the shade of a small tree, to chow some of my ‘emergency stash’ nuts.

Gliding down the other side towards the coast was glorious though!

Parque Natural da Arrábida. Gliding down to the coast was a thrill.

I stopped at a campsite on the coast there, Ecoparque Do Outão, thinking, wow, I was making good time. Turns out they only accept caravans these days. I instead got directions to the next nearest campsite. I worryingly glanced at the sun dipping closer to the horizon. I rode fast through Setúbal and onto another highway, hoping hard that this horrible road through an industrial area was the right route to the campsite. I was taking note of all the budget hotels I passed along the way. Suddenly, as skies were turning red, the industrial landscape splashed out into natural scenery. I finally got to the campsite, situated in the reserve de Gambia, very relieved I found a place to stay the night. Two elderly men greeted me there. The one was over the moon when he heard I was from South Africa, as it was close to his own home, Mozambique. He asked me everything from what I think of the current political situation of SA to what my future plans are. He himself is a photographer who gets around in his camper. He hoped to move to South America to travel around and teach photography.

I got to my campsite and happily pitched my tent. Camping next to me were two German girls. I felt very safe.

Having not had any time to get food anywhere, I again opened up my emergency stash and made a simple sandwich with slabs of chocolate. I got to chow it at sunset - good timing!

Sunset sandwich # 1: ‘emergency’ bread with a generous slab of chocolate. I dared use my mobile battery to whatsapp Josh and Dan at that point, gushing with relief. At the time they were feasting on conference food and wine, confused why I sounded so happy about having arrived somewhere to enjoy a sandwich.

It admittedly felt strange to find oneself suddenly so alone, after having been surrounded by summer school students for so long. It was also no wonder my stomach was whining in confusion, as it had been feasting on buffet meals for two weeks!

The next day I was off early to catch the ferry over to the Tróia Peninsula. Man, if I were to do this bike trip again I would take a train straight to this ferry, skipping the first day altogether. The scenery became a hundred fold more beautiful. The white dunes were breathtaking and the roads serene. On the ferry there I met a young Jupiter Traveller on his motorbike. Exciting people. It was a wonderful day riding steadily. Since I needed to turn back the day after to meet Dan and Josh, I knew I wasn’t going to reach Sines. Instead I decided to stop at a campsite in the afternoon so that I could finally jump into the ocean. I found the hippie haven, Santo André Lagoon.

Tent shot! I love my tent!

I love the Portuguese, but they are difficult to eat with: they seemingly eat no breakfast, and have late dinners. Starving, I ended up having another sandwich at sunset. This one was more extravagant - a fish paste sarmie.

Sunset sandwich # 2: fish paste, with a dab of ocean view.

The next day I rode back and treated myself to the fancy beach of the Tróia resort (I can’t believe this beach is free!)

Road scene on the way back to Tróia.

Me and my favourite stretch of road: just a spill of white dunes.

By the end of the day I was back in Lisbon, having the best meal of my trip.

saliva everywhere, still!

I won’t lie I was overjoyed to be with people again when I met Josh and Dan - on a BOAT in the Lisbon harbour!

On a boat!

It took us a day to get sorted and plan Part II of our trip: the Sintra-Cascais region.

The first day was a pleasant straightforward ride along the coast to the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park. We got lucky, as that day the roads had been closed off to cars, and access given to all bikers and pedestrians. Wonderful!

It seemed to me Joshie did not resist much when he toppled over. Does he not look rather content?

We arrived at our camp site, Orbitur Guincho, later that afternoon, with plenty of time to later ride a bit further and watch a fisherman skillfully reel in a fish from the waves crashing against the cliffs at Fort of Guincho.

The next day we crossed into the natural park. It’s a steady hilly challenge but enjoyable. We stopped to make some sandwiches that afternoon and started worrying about where we were going to sleep. It was astoundingly difficult to track down a campsite. We were met by a bolted gate at one and a confused Portuguese woman at another. We ended up getting as far as the town of Sintra itself when, after a hostel told us they and other hostels were fully booked out, we admitted defeat and ended up renting an apartment for the next 2 nights. That warm Portuguese evening found us doing the opposite of roughing it: standing on our balcony, sipping wine.

We hit a hill leading to the town of Sintras, still looking for a place to sleep that night.

The following day we decided we’ve been treating ourselves too well, and took a gruelling bike ride up to the mustard yellow palace of Sintra. We even ended up finding an off-road track to race back down on again.

The mustard palace of Sintras.

Just before dusk we managed to find a single pitch climbing area underneath Sintra’s Moorish castle. We still talk of Josh’s climbing move that involved basically plonking down - mid climbing struggle - on the cliff wall, as Josh tends to do everywhere, to take a rest.

Climbing below Sintra’s Moorish castle.

The sunset had weaved golden threads around the tree leaves and stone ruins.