{"id":3625,"date":"2012-05-30T20:59:01","date_gmt":"2012-05-31T00:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=3625"},"modified":"2015-07-02T15:01:54","modified_gmt":"2015-07-02T19:01:54","slug":"day-4-wednesday-may-30-aljezur-to-sagres-portugal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=3625","title":{"rendered":"Day 4, Wednesday, May 30 – Aljezur to Sagres, Portugal"},"content":{"rendered":"

We were greeted at breakfast by blooming cactus, that had been closed tightly last evening.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It was much warmer today at 75, but then we got a much later start since the breakfast did not begin until 9 am; and we were not ready to give up the fresh baked bread and delicious coffee. \u00a0The hills we knew we’d run into today, began right away\"\"<\/a> and were with us our entire ride, but it was a glorious morning. \u00a0\"\"<\/a>The topography of rolling hills filled with lush green trees was beautiful.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It was not long into the ride when we knew we had turned toward to the coast;\u00a0the unmistakable wind from the Atlantic and a 10 degree drop in temperature. \u00a0We couldn’t really see the sea, but we knew it was there in the distance.\"\"<\/a> The rest of the ride remained cool from the ocean breeze at our back :-). \u00a0As we crested one hill the vista changed dramtically;\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

gone was the lush vegetation but the hills remained.\"\"<\/a>The sky has been incredible all day, so one shot dedicated to the clouds in the sky.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Just before we reached Vila do Bispo, we dropped from the hills and had an incredible wind assisted <\/em>8K to Sagres; we are SO<\/em> going to suffer biking into this wind tomorrow, but that’s a long way away from right now.<\/p>\n

The terrain on our five mile whip to the end was very wind worn,\"\"<\/a>obvious in town as well.\"\"<\/a>A quick ride around the center circle and we found a nice place to stay and our bikes to rest.\"\"<\/a>Though the view from our room was spectacular, \"\"<\/a>we had purposely made our ride short today as we wanted to see the other sites of the southwestern most point of Europe;\"\"<\/a> the beginning of the famed Algarve! \u00a0Since the lighthouse (Rota Ste. Vicente) was four miles away, we jumped on our bikes and slowly fought the headwind out to the point.\"\"<\/a>Incredible views\"\"<\/a>well worth the struggle.\"\"<\/a>On the ride back we caught a glimpse of one of the many spectacular beaches in this area.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>We made a quick stop at an incredible Portugal artesian pottery shop,\u00a0\"\"<\/a>but since I’d already purchased my Portugal souvenir from this nice couple<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>there was no more shopping to be done, not to mention the weight of carrying pottery the rest of the trip. \u00a0The only thing left to do was a couple shots the town\"\"<\/a>then dinner. \u00a0Italian tonight, followed by one<\/em> very delicious piece of chocolate cake.\"\"<\/a>And though we cannot see the sun set directly, we can capture it’s glow on the cliffside.\"\"<\/a>Tomorrow after our five mile backtrack, we head east for our trek through the Algarve.\n\t\t