Port...

Another day of hairpin bends through stunning countryside. A few snakes slither into the undergrowth, and then we come across an enormous one, dead on the road. The predominant colour in the fields is the golden yellow of broom and big daisies. A few cork oaks and cherry trees interrupt the olives, and the smell of pine and rosemary fills the air. We pass our first touring cyclists! They have quite thin wheels, so we don't know how they manage with all the village cobbles. Every roundabout now is a mini-vineyard.
We are heading south again now and in the final 10 miles we drop 2000 feet, with bend after bend providing stunning views into the vineyards of the Douro valley. Only a few cars pass.



If we were fitter we would have turned around and cycled back to the top to do it all again - one of the most fabulous roads we have ever ridden. At the bottom, on a picturesque bend in the river, we stop in Pinhão (on more cobbles!) outside the hotel recommended by Lonely Planet. The lady from the bar next door spots us and waves me over. "Ha um quarto?" I try, and sure enough she has a cosy room to let, overlooking the river, for a lot less than the hotel next door advertises. Our bikes are safely stowed in the kitchen.
We have a stroll through the town, and find the metal bridge we will use tomorrow to cross the Douro, and then inspect the charming little railway station, decorated with tiled pictures of local scenes (a bit different to the Pinhoe Station in Exeter).



Dinner at the bar where we have our room is a very local affair. There is no choice, starting with a glass of port and dish of olives, a second course of pork marinated in port, with pork and bean cassoulet, followed by honey cake soaked in port, washed down with a fine bottle of the local red. We have no trouble sleeping!
We can now take a river side route all the way west, over the next two days, into Porto, and the Atlantic coast.



Miles to date:- 488

Location: Macedo to Pinhão