Lisbon to Sesimbra

We have had a wonderful first day of cycling. We started by seeing some familiar sights in central Lisbon, including the Jardim de Estrela and St George's, the English church I used to attend.

We headed down towards the docks, passed my old rowing club, and went out to the Monument to the Discoveries and the Torre de Belém which Stephen had never visited before.

Associação Naval de Lisboa in the background

Then it was goodbye to Lisbon as we got the ferry across the Tejo to Porto Brando. We had been planning to continue to Trafaria but there was a bus replacement operating so we took the extra 5km of cycling to get back onto the route. 

From there we had a great run south away from the river, seeing some beautiful coastline with many people having surfing lessons. We stopped for a drink and a pastry at Fonte da Telha which was very welcome. (No photographic evidence of the chocolate bolo de berlim the size of my head, regretfully.)

The next couple of hours included a fair chunk of what cyclists call "technical" terrain, which in this case meant some very sandy patches, as well as plenty of gravel. This is particularly appropriate as we're using gravel bikes. We both really enjoyed a scenic track through a forest.

As the sun came out and the day heated up, we made more good progress southwards, including a fast stretch of about 10km on a properly paved road, which felt like something of a novelty. It remains to be seen how much of the route is off-road! We came to a promising lunch spot in the form of Aldeia do Meco and took the opportunity to refuel.

After that we had a mere 13km left, but this turned out to be one of the more challenging segments of the day, with variable road surfaces and some decent stretches of climbing. It was another hour until we arrived at our destination for the evening, just outside Sesimbra.

We enjoyed the spectacular castle views, a swim in the pool and a brief nap, before walking down into town for the final meal of the day. I wouldn't say that the whole point of the cycle tour is to enjoy more Portuguese food, but it may be a contributing factor!

Much carne de porco à alentejana was consumed by both.

With a solid day of around 63km and 900m of ascent complete, and no mishaps or misadventures to report, we are both ready for a good sleep and another day in the saddle.