Anaerobic climbs, the sea and detours

We arrived here, in Lisbon, on a hot Monday. Cycling 42km is by our standards an easily achievable objective for a day. Doing it in 40 degrees celsius, hasn't been our standards up until now. We went straight out west, to Cascais on the coast outside Lisbon. The tent stayed up for four days, a well deserved rest.

Let's start at the beginning.

We took a train to Portsmouth on Wednesday 21 of July, from where we took a 24 hour ferry to Santander. In Santander, on the north coast of Spain, we were informed we'd been misinformed; most trains in Spain do not in fact take bikes on board, only regional trains. We get on the 14:15 train to Valladolid, due to arrive at 18:11. It takes us up through the rocky, beautiful Basque country and so far going regional was great: it gave us more time to see the amazing views. Just as it starts to flatten out a bit, we start hearing a repetitive, hammering noise from just underneath our feet. Nevermind. Hmmm. We're slowing down. Full stop and not a platform (or any kind of building) in sight. The train driver comes stumbling down the side of the train, gets in under it a few times and it becomes clear to us, the witnesses, that he hasn't got a clue what he's doing. Waiting. Waiting. More waiting. After an hour or two in a very hot train carriage, another train engine comes along and picks us up. We get a lift to the next, completely desolate, station, where we get a ride with a coach to Valladolid. Thank you Mr Bus driver for not making the smallest amount of fuss about our gigantic bicycles.

Sneaky, stealth pitch by the river in Valladolid. In the morning we went to the tourist information where we recieved lots of help and camping information and with this we decided to get back in the saddle down to Salamanca. Getting out of Valladolid on the right road took us about two hours, including a road side puncture repair. Got on the road that took us a very, very long way around and then finally to Tordesillas, where the signs said a pathetic 22km to Valladolid, when we'd clearly cycled way over 60.

Next day, back in our own track, to go down, via Medina del Campo, to Salamanca. A quick look at a map would make you think: "Why? Why?". We arrive, 125 hot km later, in pitch black darkness, after asking half of spain for directions through crack alleys and over endless fields, to a camp site just outside of Salamanca. Check in. Pitch? Ehm no, bar's open for another 20 minutes, let's drink a lot of beer and eat crisps 'till it closes, then pitch. Since it certainly didn't get lighter, it took a while before the tent was up and we could go to sleep on top of a few too many ants nests.

Salamanca is, apparently, really famous for old buildings so it was a day of aah's and ooh's and clicks before we set off on yet another train journey at 4:34am, after a night on a station steel bench. Worth pointing out is that we yet again were told by the ticket office staff: "yes, yes, if you get the [expensive] cabin, you can take a bike on the train, without taking it apart and putting it in a bag" and just out-of-bed, sleep in our eyes, were told by the train guard: "No, no, no, you cannot take the bike on my train". Luckily, a guardian angel of ours was working the late shift and persuaded her boss it wasn't such a big deal. In five minutes two puppy eyed travellers got their bikes in pieces and into one of their beds and shared the other for the way to Lisbon. "Obrigado! Obrigada!" Miss carriage supervisor.

So, here we are. Well, back here. After four days and nights in Cascais, with a cycling day trip to Sintra (which included a painful climb up a small sized mountain) and all the million steps up to the Palace of Pena and the moorish castle, we returned to Lisbon. Work starts for Sal in two days and we have yet a whole capital to see.

No time to waste.

x

PS! If you expect pictures of the magnificent Palace of Pena and the stunning Moorish castle, forget it, Carl used up all the batteries on the camera on moderately amusing posing pictures on the way up there...