A trip to San Marinho by car and a bit of cycling

We bought our bikes from OLX, which is a website in Portugal where second hand goods are sold. The buyer was advertising one bike but on exchange of e mails he said that he could sell us two.  We  bought them both, once again something we achieved more easily  with Dody's help. Once bought, we needed to find a cycle shop for a pump and a puncture repair kit as well as something to cover them with to protect them from the rain. Dody to the rescue again.

She drove us to Familicao, a nearby small town and we soon had all we needed. Then she had a treat in store for us. We have not been travelling far afield due to Covid and our reluctance to use public transport so when she suggested a drive to Sao Marinho we were really pleased. This was a lovely little town surrounding a sheltered bay, very picturesque. Firstly we went to a viewpoint where, despite the lack of bright sunshine, we saw the amazing coloured cliffs and fantastic views of the coastline

After this we drove into town and up to the lighthouse for even better views,

Back in town again we went through a tunnel (something we would never have found on our own) to look out on the other side of the bay.

Even if we had stumbled across it by chance we  now know that we would have been drenched had Dody not told us to run when a wave crashed in and ran down the tunnel. When the swell really gets up one could have a great game of beat the wave.

After a light lunch overlooking the bay it was time to return on the coat road with stops every now and again to appreciate the views.

So now, having bought he bikes, it was time to try them out We had a few short rides into town and then took them for free up the furnacular railway from whence we rode along some woodland tracks above north beach,

We had explored these tracks on a couple of walks and had discovered a strange stone structure which appeared to go down like a well deep into the ground.

 

 We had no idea what this was and , despite showing the photos to various Portuguese friends we are still none the wiser.

Later in the ride we left the tracks and discovered the cycle path that runs right alongside the coast road. 

As it was getting late by then we decided to revisit this cycle path after our move to our winter quarters in Sitio at the end of December. This was to be our last cycling adventure for a few weeks, although we did go for a spin along the farm roads in the nearby valley. Apparently the only cars that are allowed to use them are farm vehicles so they are very quiet and very safe for cyclists, which really suits us. We were surprised at the numbers and varieties of apples grown locally and as for cabbages ,,,,,,,,,,,

I think we may need to wrap up more warmly by the time we take the bikes for their next spin.