Lisbon to Beja (8 miles)

After a restless night dealing with jet lag and stuffed sinuses, we enjoyed breakfast, loaded our bikes for the first time, explored more of Lisbon, and found the train to Beja. Far more train miles than bike miles.

First Ride

Our hotel offered an excellent buffet breakfast, geared to tourists from the UK (scrambled eggs & baked beans), Northern Europe (sliced meats, cheeses, and bread), USA (cereal, yoghurt, pastries, pizza), as well as Portugal & Spain. 

John needed another hour to refit his 5 bags (2 panniers, frame bag, long bar bag, and short top bar bag). The first day is always cumbersome, relearning where everything goes. 

We coasted down steep, cobblestone/tile surfaced streets, found a bike lane to the river, then rode up river to the Santa Apolonia Station to purchase a ticket to Beja. Instead of taking the train to the Intendente station, we rode the riverside bike path, located the correct departure platform, then purchased take-out sushi and beer for the train. After a short ride to Hotel Bejense in Beja, we had cycled a grand total of 8 miles.

Bejense Hotel was excellent, we washed and hung out our travel and riding clothes on the sunny balcony to dry, only to have the hotel manager knock on our door and ask us to take them to the 3rd floor roof. My jersey and travel shirt were dripping on the people entering the hotel.

We walked about a half mile through the upper Beja center to the historic castle, sipped beer street side, then found a restaurant for dinner before returning to our hotel. Tomorrow the cycling commences.

Only 5 Bags!

Ready to Ride

Roger Connolly from Hamilton, Canada. We met Roger the night before in our Hotel lobby, along with his small group from Canada. Nice man, very talkative.

Not much room to pass. Cars or trams, repeatedly passing in the narrow Alfama District streets.

Another Cathedral, showing fire-damaged columns. 

Monument to the millions of persecuted Jews. The Inquisition prompted many Jews living in Spain to move to the relative safety of Portugal. However, a condition of the marriage of the Portuguese King to a Spanish princess was to expel the Jews from Lisbon, resulting in the 1506 massacre. This memorial refers to the 1506 massacre through WWII.

Lisbon Plaza

Praca do Comercio. Largest central plaza, central Lisbon riverfront.


Transfer point on the train to Beja.

Beja Train Station Tile Mural.

Dog of the Day

Beja Castle

Roman Arch

Beja Castle Tower. Tallest on the Iberian Peninsula.

Hair Salon Wall Mural

Our Beja Hotel









Comments

  1. Anne ChenSeptember 29, 2022 at 9:23 AM

    Thanks so much Larry for this blog. I did the Lighthouse last Saturday and saw Tim Rich there - he gave me the link so I am catching up on your adventure. I love seeing your photos -- so entertaining! the one of John wearing the Echelon SB jersey makes me smile. I'm his sister from Santa Barbara.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Porto to Agueda (58 miles; 435 total)

Image
 After a rest day, we both had life in our legs. The exit from Porto was about 85% downhill, rough street surfaces, and lots of traffic. Once we cleared Porto's suburbs, we enjoyed a light tail wind, bike lanes on the many roads, or separated bike lanes. That didn't mean smooth surfaces, and there were lots of patches, cracks, and bulges in the surface from tree roots. Overall very pleasant riding, mostly south down the Atlantic coast, then southeast to Agueda.  Hotels in large European cities are often not obvious. Reception is via the red door and all rooms are access by the door to the right, leading to the elevator with rooms on multiple floors. Serene Departure. Porto, looking northwest from the upper level of the pedestrian/cyclist/metro rail bridge. Team memorial to a former athlete. Many miles of separate bike paths along the Portuguese Coast. Miles of board walks over the beach sand and among tall reeds. Dog of the Day #1. Sitting outside the Lidl Store, the dog ...
Read more

Coimbra to Averio (40 miles; 327 total)

Image
 Our route today was northwest to Averio, on the Atlantic coast south of Porto, tomorrow's destination. The initial route out of Coimbra was on a bike path, then small roads. The river bottom fields of corn and bamboo transitioned to eucalyptus forest. Many more small villages today and the grape harvest is in full swing. Perhaps because it was Saturday, many of the harvesting crews seemed to comprise family and friends helping each other on their day off from work. Maria, Our Olive Street Guest House Host, Coimbra.   Coimbra cycling group encountered as we left town. One rider fixing a flat, 2 offering advice, 1 stand-off observing, and 4 uninterested. Typical. Everyone seems to have a plot of this type of kale going. They remove the older lower leaves, leaving tall, slender stalks with fresh stalks on top. A universal dish found in many restaurants comprises cooked kale leaves, black-eyed peas, and toasted break chunks cooked in olive oil or some other fat. Mixed harvest of...
Read more

Figuera da Foz to Marinha Grande (42 miles; 525 total)

Image
Today was a pleasant day of riding south on Portugal's Atlantic Coast, often following Euro Velo Route 1 (EV1), mostly a separated, roadside bike path. Rain was forecast but the probabilities kept dropping as morning approached. We stopped to chat with 4 members of a bike touring group, all from Belgium on e-bikes. We encountered a larger group the prior day, all on high-end Trek bikes, but they did not show any interest is talking to us. We encountered some mist but never rain. The prevailing 8-15 mph tail wind out to the northwest continued. The land was generally open, a mix of pine and eucalyptus forest, low shrubs, and large sand dunes along the coast. Figuera da Foz Beach on an overcast morning. Figuera da Foz is a busy container port. Our route south was over this long bridge, fortunately, with a separate pedestrian/bike way. The approach on the road was via a narrow shoulder, which ended. I stopped, unhooked my panniers, lifted the bike and panniers over the guard rail, and...
Read more