Gudiana River valley

Fri 30^th Jan

A bit overcast when we set off but it soon cleared to a sunny, blustery day. We were headed for Foz de Odeleite on the Gudiana River so that I could cycle up to Alcoutim and back. It is mentoned in our guide as a popular cycle route so I had to see for myself why. Once at Mertola the road surface was much better and when on the IC27 it was wonderful! The views across the Gudiana river valley and into Spain were lovely, with lots of open space as far as the eye could see. All the wind turbines we could see were only in Spain – wonder why ?  As we turned off the IC27, the coast was visible 20 miles away shimmering in the heat. The road dropped steeply down to the river and we parked up at a viewing point just out of Foz. It was possibly the windiest point on the river but with great views.

Quick coffee, bike out and cycle kit on I set off for Alcoutim 10 miles up the river into the wind. The river valley is almost like a scaled down Mosel in Germany as it gracefully curves north but with no grape vines. There were lots of boats moored in the river and really nice little villages with a quay and café alongside. There seemed to be lots of Brits who were living the dream in riverside small holdings, complete with goats, dogs and a few JCBs ! I even saw 2 American RVs firmly settled in a plot named “RV Heaven”. The head wind was fierce but it meant I would be wind assisted on the return. It was relatively flat with only one big climb up to a viewing point where I stopped to take some pics. Beautiful.

Alcoutim in distance, Spain on left 

I stopped about ¾ mile shy of Alcoutim as the wind was now so strong it almost stopped me a few times. I took a pic then headed back to the van and lunch. I flew back averaging 20 mph – apart from the climb! A good workout, with stunning views, well worthwhile doing.

plenty of sheep, few people

downhill back to van

After lunch it was supermarket time, as we had virtually nothing in the fridge or cupboards. Lidl in Villa Real on the coast soon had us restocked, my now favourite Lidl Vanilla Bourbon ice cream safely in the freezer. The aire at Manta Rota was our choice for the last 2 nights in Portugal, but when we arrived it looked full to bursting. We were allowed to drive around for 10 mins without paying to try and squeeze in. I did squeeze in the only remaining spot (much to the amazement of some Brits watching – no pressure then) but with only 6 “ between our front and back to the other vans we elected to leave. We are just not used to being cramped in after weeks free camping, so we moved all of 500m to a beach side carpark where there were another 20 vans parked up! Much more like it, with lots of space between the vans. It was nice to be back in Manta Rota as we had really enjoyed here in early December.