It's been already 4 years since our last long motorcycle tour, in Slovenia and Croatia, in 2018. Since then we had some small adventures to Cyprus and to the BMW Days in Garmisch, and I had my accident and the following purchase of a new motorcycle in Germany and a week bringing it to Israel, but nothing major, all our trips were from long 4-day weekends to one week.
During all this time, we have been planning and expecting that COVID would let us go out and have some motorcycle fun.
Scotland?
Our first plans were regarding Scotland. We wanted to spend 2 weeks there, do the NC500 and the highlands. We planned the whole trip up to the details of in which hotel we should sleep. But then we fell into problems: first, we couldn't rent the bikes that we wanted, and even if we compromised on that, renting a 650cc there costs nearly 2000 Euro per week. Renting in London would add another 4 days to the trip which we did not have. So, we decided to go to another location and leave Scotland to the future, whenever either the rental of motorcycles gets cheaper, or whenever we decide to do it by car.
At this point, our doubt became Portugal or Switzerland. I had draft itineraries for both, and at the end we decided for Portugal.
During all this time, we have been planning and expecting that COVID would let us go out and have some motorcycle fun.
Scotland?
Our first plans were regarding Scotland. We wanted to spend 2 weeks there, do the NC500 and the highlands. We planned the whole trip up to the details of in which hotel we should sleep. But then we fell into problems: first, we couldn't rent the bikes that we wanted, and even if we compromised on that, renting a 650cc there costs nearly 2000 Euro per week. Renting in London would add another 4 days to the trip which we did not have. So, we decided to go to another location and leave Scotland to the future, whenever either the rental of motorcycles gets cheaper, or whenever we decide to do it by car.
At this point, our doubt became Portugal or Switzerland. I had draft itineraries for both, and at the end we decided for Portugal.
The map above represents approximately the plan, without all the details. Arriving in Lisbon and taking the bikes there, then travelling North near the litoral until Porto, from where we would continue East along the Douro river for some 180 Km and then South, via Serra da Estrela and the historical road EN2 until Faro. From Faro, East to Sagres, and then North back to Lisbon.
The Group
Who do I mean when I say "we"? First of all, Louisa and Shmil, our partners of so many trips, who were part of all the planning and the doubts with us. After the decision was taken and we had a plan, we also invited Anat and Eitan, who were also our partners in three trips in the past: the Pyrenees in 2014, the trip to Greece when I bought my first motorcycle in Germany in 2015, and Romania in 2017.
So, on May 27th 2022 at 1:30 AM, the three couples were at the Ben Gurion airport, ready to take the plane to Lisbon.
We arrived in Lisbon around 13:00, and went to the hotel to get our rooms. After that, we all went to the Motocard shop at the UBBO center, to fill up some equipment we needed. We left the UBBO center around 16:15, in two cabs, one with the girls to the hotel, and one with the boys to the rental company IMTBIKE, where we received our bikes. The bikes, as we ordered, were two BMW R1250RT and one R1250GS.
The hotel was the Turim Deluxe Hotel in Lisbon. The team there was good and helpful, but the hotel was very old, the rooms were very small, air-conditioning did not work properly, in summary, not a hotel I would recommend.
In the evening, we ate some fast food (Donner Kebab) in a nearby place.
The Group
Who do I mean when I say "we"? First of all, Louisa and Shmil, our partners of so many trips, who were part of all the planning and the doubts with us. After the decision was taken and we had a plan, we also invited Anat and Eitan, who were also our partners in three trips in the past: the Pyrenees in 2014, the trip to Greece when I bought my first motorcycle in Germany in 2015, and Romania in 2017.
So, on May 27th 2022 at 1:30 AM, the three couples were at the Ben Gurion airport, ready to take the plane to Lisbon.
We arrived in Lisbon around 13:00, and went to the hotel to get our rooms. After that, we all went to the Motocard shop at the UBBO center, to fill up some equipment we needed. We left the UBBO center around 16:15, in two cabs, one with the girls to the hotel, and one with the boys to the rental company IMTBIKE, where we received our bikes. The bikes, as we ordered, were two BMW R1250RT and one R1250GS.
The hotel was the Turim Deluxe Hotel in Lisbon. The team there was good and helpful, but the hotel was very old, the rooms were very small, air-conditioning did not work properly, in summary, not a hotel I would recommend.
In the evening, we ate some fast food (Donner Kebab) in a nearby place.
From Lisbon to Nazaré
We began our first day of the trip by going back to IMTbike in order to solve problems with two of the bikes. Eitan's GS had a warning of low oil quantity, while my RT had an intermitent error of a malfunctioning headlight. With oil filled in Eitan's bike and the malfunctioning headlight error in my bike was a false alarm. We saw that even with the error message, the light was alive and kicking, so I only had to learn how to get the message out of the dashboard and continue. I was told that many RTs are presenting this false alarm and that I can continue without fear.
After that, out of Lisbon. The first part of the trip was a little annoying. First, there was a BMW event at the Estoril circuit, and we wanted to get there and see what was happening. By mistake we programmed the GPS to take us to Estoril, something that took us to the Estoril village, and we could not find the circuit. Days later I learned that the Estoril circuit is half way from Estoril to Sintra, and this is why we couldn't find it.
From there we took our way to Cascais, which I remembered as a beautiful town, and proved to be exactly like that. You can click the images below to see them at bigger size.
From there we took our way to Cascais, which I remembered as a beautiful town, and proved to be exactly like that. You can click the images below to see them at bigger size.
From Cascais we went to the culprit of motorcyclists in center Portugal, which is Cabo da Roca. Cabo da Roca is the most western point of Europe, and not only the place is beautiful, but the road to there is stunning. Nice turns, beautiful views, all that a rider may want.
From Cabo da Roca, our way was to Peniche and Óbidos.
Going through secondary roads is sometimes tricky, especially from the GPS point of view. At one small village on the way, the GPS decided that we had to go through the cemetery of the village to continue to Peniche. Since the cemetery was closed, we had to turn back on our way and find a way to continue. After asking some people, they gave us the way. Around 16:00, we were already at Óbidos, in which we took our time to visit.
Óbidos is a beautiful historical village, with monuments and old houses. In one of the pictures below, you will be able to read about the history of the town. In Óbidos, we had the opportunity to see a dance rehearsal, probably for an event that was about to happen in the following days. Simply breathtaking. You can see a little of it in the video besides the pictures..
Going through secondary roads is sometimes tricky, especially from the GPS point of view. At one small village on the way, the GPS decided that we had to go through the cemetery of the village to continue to Peniche. Since the cemetery was closed, we had to turn back on our way and find a way to continue. After asking some people, they gave us the way. Around 16:00, we were already at Óbidos, in which we took our time to visit.
Óbidos is a beautiful historical village, with monuments and old houses. In one of the pictures below, you will be able to read about the history of the town. In Óbidos, we had the opportunity to see a dance rehearsal, probably for an event that was about to happen in the following days. Simply breathtaking. You can see a little of it in the video besides the pictures..
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We left Óbidos around 19:00, and did our way to our first night on our way, in the town of Nazaré. We arrived already in the evening, very tired, and just went out for an icecream and to bed.
I can say that this day was beautiful in terms of the places we visited, but the most annoying day in terms of the ways. Until Cascais, it was a big traffic jam, you couldn't travel at a speed of more than 50 Km/h. After there, all the roads had a speed limit of 70 Km/h, and every time we passed a little village it went down to 50 Km/h, and sometimes to 30 Km/h. But no problem, we could live with this, in light of the beauty of the places we've seen.
Nazaré to Aveiro (aka Monasteries Day)
We woke up to a beautiful day in Nazaré and after breakfast we went out on our way. We were heading to Aveiro today, but doing it not through the regular way. Instead, we went a little to the inside of the country to see some places that were supposed to be interesting to see.
I can say that this day was beautiful in terms of the places we visited, but the most annoying day in terms of the ways. Until Cascais, it was a big traffic jam, you couldn't travel at a speed of more than 50 Km/h. After there, all the roads had a speed limit of 70 Km/h, and every time we passed a little village it went down to 50 Km/h, and sometimes to 30 Km/h. But no problem, we could live with this, in light of the beauty of the places we've seen.
Nazaré to Aveiro (aka Monasteries Day)
We woke up to a beautiful day in Nazaré and after breakfast we went out on our way. We were heading to Aveiro today, but doing it not through the regular way. Instead, we went a little to the inside of the country to see some places that were supposed to be interesting to see.
We began by visiting the famous Church of Nazaré. From the top of the neighboring mountain, one can see the whole town from there. A really beautiful view. We were intending to go up with the tram thant climbs up the mountain, but then we decided it would be faster and more fun to do it with the motorcycles, and that was quite right.
From there, our next stop was the Alcobaça Monastery, which is quite close to Nazaré. A very beautiful monastery which also hosts the tomb of D. Pedro I, one of the Portuguese emperors. This was also one coffee stop in our way.
From Alcobaça, we continued to the Batalha Monastery. This is a Gothic Monastery, very beautiful, but unfortunately it was closed for visitation. But near the monastery there was a kind of a street fair and a plaza with shops and cafes, so Shmil and I sat down for a beer, while the girls and Eitan were busy with visiting the shops around the place.
Our next stop was the Sanctuary of Fátima. This place is a very big complex of the Christian Church, consisting of three buildings. Sometimes people come to there on their knees to "pay their promises" (for example, if someone was very sick or had a very sick relative and promised to go there on their knees if the person is cured). It is a very impressive compound, and from time to time a priest comes out and do some prayers outside, through a microphone, together with the people that are there.
Although it was not in our plans, since our timing was good on this day, we decided to add to the plan a visit to the Templar City of Tomar. This is a kind of a fortress that holds almost a full city inside it. There is a church, a sinagogue, many gardens, everything built in the 12th century, and used by the templars until the 15th century when the order was dissolved, and through the 15th and 16th century by the Portuguese branch of the order that during the dissolution time received the name of Knights of the Order of Christ.
The place is very beautiful, as you can see from the pictures below, and very well kept. At the time we were there, some parts were under restoration. One can enter the city bounds and visit the gardens, but the cost of the visit of the church is 6 Euros, and it is worth every cent of the price.
The place is very beautiful, as you can see from the pictures below, and very well kept. At the time we were there, some parts were under restoration. One can enter the city bounds and visit the gardens, but the cost of the visit of the church is 6 Euros, and it is worth every cent of the price.
We spent quite a long time in Tomar - much longer than we expected. Tired and happy, we took our way to Aveiro, where we would spend the night at Farol beach.
The first six pictures above are from the evening well spent there, including two very good jars of Sangria, and the four remaining ones are from the following morning. Aveiro has some sort of canals made of water coming from the Atlantic Ocean, and you see these colorful gondolas around the canals - I don't know if they are used for tourism or for fishing, but they have a great effect on the scenery.
Aveiro to Porto
Aveiro to Porto
We left Aveiro for our next riding day, and the destination was Porto. As in the previous day, our way was very different than the direct way. We wanted to visit two viewpoints that were very recommended by my Portuguese friends, Frecha da Mizarela and Miradouro do Detrelo da Malhada. For this purpose, we needed again to leave the Atlantic Ocean behind and go East to the inwards of the country, returning west at the end of the day to Porto.
You can see the way up to Frecha da Mizarela in the video below (4 minutes) it will give a nice idea of how it was. It was a beautiful road. At the top of it, there was the Frecha da Mizarela viepoint, a scenic spot very worth seeing.
You can see the way up to Frecha da Mizarela in the video below (4 minutes) it will give a nice idea of how it was. It was a beautiful road. At the top of it, there was the Frecha da Mizarela viepoint, a scenic spot very worth seeing.
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From that point, things began a little weird. But that was my fault. I will explain.
From Frecha da Mizarela to the Detrelo da Malhada, the GPS seemed to find a faster way than the way I had planned, but the way went through a very small and steep clay track, so I didn't want to do it. So, I decided to do a U-turn and go back down as we came up, and then go up again to the viewpoint, as in my original plan.
What I didn't notice was that I came from road N-224 and I thought that I had to go back down to this road, but actually that was not true, a little after Vinha Pé I left that road and went onto the M-511 and later right to the M-621. At the junction of the M-621 with M-511, suddently the GPS turned me right to the M-511 in the opposite direction of the N-224. I went with it and we were for about 1.5 hours thinking that we were lost in the woods, at a time that we were doing exactly the way I planned. If you take a look at my original map here, you will see that the N224 and the M-511 (that later becomes CM1251) go exactly in parallel, some kilometers one from the other, until they join each other near Castelo de Paiva. I did not have printed maps to check that (for the first time I decided not to take printed maps because in my last 6 trips I never used them), what caused those 1.5 hours to be nerve-wracking.
So, note to myself: next time take printed maps with you.
After checking the maps, I also noticed. The exact point of the beginning or the clay track was the Detrelo da Malhada. It was around 1Km from us. We were there and we didn't know. Google Maps told us to walk there, but the GPS found that track, that could be done with the bikes. So actually, we have seen the same view from a higher point, but didn't get to the prepared viewpoint as you can see in the picture.
From Frecha da Mizarela to the Detrelo da Malhada, the GPS seemed to find a faster way than the way I had planned, but the way went through a very small and steep clay track, so I didn't want to do it. So, I decided to do a U-turn and go back down as we came up, and then go up again to the viewpoint, as in my original plan.
What I didn't notice was that I came from road N-224 and I thought that I had to go back down to this road, but actually that was not true, a little after Vinha Pé I left that road and went onto the M-511 and later right to the M-621. At the junction of the M-621 with M-511, suddently the GPS turned me right to the M-511 in the opposite direction of the N-224. I went with it and we were for about 1.5 hours thinking that we were lost in the woods, at a time that we were doing exactly the way I planned. If you take a look at my original map here, you will see that the N224 and the M-511 (that later becomes CM1251) go exactly in parallel, some kilometers one from the other, until they join each other near Castelo de Paiva. I did not have printed maps to check that (for the first time I decided not to take printed maps because in my last 6 trips I never used them), what caused those 1.5 hours to be nerve-wracking.
So, note to myself: next time take printed maps with you.
After checking the maps, I also noticed. The exact point of the beginning or the clay track was the Detrelo da Malhada. It was around 1Km from us. We were there and we didn't know. Google Maps told us to walk there, but the GPS found that track, that could be done with the bikes. So actually, we have seen the same view from a higher point, but didn't get to the prepared viewpoint as you can see in the picture.
Well, during those nerve-wracking times that we did not know where we were, we set our GPSs to the hotel in Porto, and followed it. Only when we passed through the entry of Castelo de Paiva, did I understand that we probably were on the right track all the time, but was still not sure. It took me some days to understand that it was true.
At the end, all we can say is that that we had a beautiful time riding a gorgeous road during this day. It was tiring, but it was worth every minute of the way.
You can see in the vídeo below the point where we arrived at Detrelo da Malhada and a little of the beautiful riding on the M511. Note in the first minutes how close we were. The point in which I turned back is exactly the end of the blue line in the picture above from Google Maps. While I am turning back, you can see the tower which has the roof that we see in the picture above. We were 100m from it and couldn't find it. What a pity.
At the end, all we can say is that that we had a beautiful time riding a gorgeous road during this day. It was tiring, but it was worth every minute of the way.
You can see in the vídeo below the point where we arrived at Detrelo da Malhada and a little of the beautiful riding on the M511. Note in the first minutes how close we were. The point in which I turned back is exactly the end of the blue line in the picture above from Google Maps. While I am turning back, you can see the tower which has the roof that we see in the picture above. We were 100m from it and couldn't find it. What a pity.
Porto
We arrived in Porto around 19:30. We should have daylight until 21:15 approximately, so we took our rooms at the hotel and went to find somewhere to eat dinner and an automatic laundry shop for cleaning our clothes. We had two nights in Porto, so we left the sightseeing for the next day.
The OCA Porto Hotel was a very good hotel. We were happy to be in it. For some reason we decided to have our breakfast in one of the cafes nearby, but in the end, it was really good. We were happy to have two nights there.
Before continuing, I must say that I am sorry that I did not add a third night to our Porto stay. We had two nights there, and there is much more to do in Porto, that for time limitations, we missed.
We began the morning travelling to the Douro River estuary. On our way we stopped at the Arrábida bridge to do the famous Arrábida Bridge Climbing, but we were unlucky and it was closed. It would open only at 14:30, something that didn't exactly fit our plans. So, we decided to give it up, and continued to the estuary, where we spent some time enjoying the place and taking pictures. The estuary is the spot in which the Douro River pours its waters into the Atlantic Ocean.
We arrived in Porto around 19:30. We should have daylight until 21:15 approximately, so we took our rooms at the hotel and went to find somewhere to eat dinner and an automatic laundry shop for cleaning our clothes. We had two nights in Porto, so we left the sightseeing for the next day.
The OCA Porto Hotel was a very good hotel. We were happy to be in it. For some reason we decided to have our breakfast in one of the cafes nearby, but in the end, it was really good. We were happy to have two nights there.
Before continuing, I must say that I am sorry that I did not add a third night to our Porto stay. We had two nights there, and there is much more to do in Porto, that for time limitations, we missed.
We began the morning travelling to the Douro River estuary. On our way we stopped at the Arrábida bridge to do the famous Arrábida Bridge Climbing, but we were unlucky and it was closed. It would open only at 14:30, something that didn't exactly fit our plans. So, we decided to give it up, and continued to the estuary, where we spent some time enjoying the place and taking pictures. The estuary is the spot in which the Douro River pours its waters into the Atlantic Ocean.
After that, we continued to the historical center of Porto. We had some time walking there. We began walking at the center from high ground, and ended at the Douro River banks, from which we could see all the movement at the other side, Vila Nova de Gaia. At this moment, a very heavy rain began falling, and we took shelter in a cafe in the region.
After lunch, it was time to cross to the other side of the Douro, and experience some Port wine tasting at Vila Nova de Gaia.
After that, we went up to the bridge that crosses the river, to take some pictures from its top. We continued to walk around for some time, and then returned to the hotel for a good shower, dinner, and sleep.
Travelling along the Douro
Travelling along the Douro
The Douro River makes a great impression on everyone that visits Porto. There is no discussion about that. Today was the day on which we were supposed to discover if it would do the same also out of Porto, in the countryside.
We woke up late this morning, and left Porto in the direction of Penafiel. In Penafiel, we had a target in mind: the Parlatório, a café-bar opened by Portuguese celebrity motorcyclist João Luis. Shmil and I already knew João Luís. I met him for the first time around 2016, in one of his visits to Israel. Since then, we kept in touch on Facebook, and met almost every time he came to Israel. In one of these times, he rented a motorcycle, and when we decided to make a small 1-day tour together, I called Shmil and another friend to accompany him. It was a fun day, and both Shmil and me wanted to meet him in Portugal.
Since then, he opened the Parlatório in Penafiel, and since it was on our way, or almost on our way, we decided to take the detour and meet him there to get to know the place. It is a great place, very relaxing, where you can meet him, hear his stories, and see not only documentation of the trip, but different motorcycles he owns. For the first time we met his wife, too.
We woke up late this morning, and left Porto in the direction of Penafiel. In Penafiel, we had a target in mind: the Parlatório, a café-bar opened by Portuguese celebrity motorcyclist João Luis. Shmil and I already knew João Luís. I met him for the first time around 2016, in one of his visits to Israel. Since then, we kept in touch on Facebook, and met almost every time he came to Israel. In one of these times, he rented a motorcycle, and when we decided to make a small 1-day tour together, I called Shmil and another friend to accompany him. It was a fun day, and both Shmil and me wanted to meet him in Portugal.
Since then, he opened the Parlatório in Penafiel, and since it was on our way, or almost on our way, we decided to take the detour and meet him there to get to know the place. It is a great place, very relaxing, where you can meet him, hear his stories, and see not only documentation of the trip, but different motorcycles he owns. For the first time we met his wife, too.
It was good to see him, especially because in his last trip to Israel I wasn't able to meet him, due to a misunderstanding regarding on which dates he would be in Tel Aviv. We left Penafiel around 13:00, and took the path of the Douro. Our initial plan had changed a little, due to some recommendations we received from João Luís about roads that would be more interesting. And indeed, they were!
We took the way to the Douro River and encountered the river near Santa Cruz do Douro. From there, we continued travelling along the river, a great experience, passed through Mesão Frio, where we visited a little, and continued, again along the river, until Peso da Régua. There we crossed the river, and took the N226-1 to Lamego. We stopped in Lamego for a coffee, and continued until Tarouca, where our hotel was set to be. The hotel was gorgeous, it was called Quinta da Vinha Morta and was set in an old house within a vineyard. From the hotel we took a walk of around 30 minutes to a nearby restaurant to eat dinner, and returned already after 22:00 to sleep.
We took the way to the Douro River and encountered the river near Santa Cruz do Douro. From there, we continued travelling along the river, a great experience, passed through Mesão Frio, where we visited a little, and continued, again along the river, until Peso da Régua. There we crossed the river, and took the N226-1 to Lamego. We stopped in Lamego for a coffee, and continued until Tarouca, where our hotel was set to be. The hotel was gorgeous, it was called Quinta da Vinha Morta and was set in an old house within a vineyard. From the hotel we took a walk of around 30 minutes to a nearby restaurant to eat dinner, and returned already after 22:00 to sleep.
Vale do Douro is a very special place to ride. You go along the river; on one side, the beautiful and almost huge Douro River, and on the other side of the road, mountains, all covered with vineyards. If you look to the other side of the river, the scenery is the same: vineyards that go up the mountain. And due to this format, the road is twisty, curve after curve, making it a great place to ride a motorcycle. I went to sleep thinking about the curves and the scenery, but knowing that when morning breaks, another day is waiting for us, and this is a day that will be also filled with curves and beautiful scenery.
Serra da Estrela
Serra da Estrela
We left Tarouca around 9:00, heading Southeast to Belmonte. On this day, we were expecting to pass through the culprit of Portuguese motorcycling experience, and we did. We are talking about Serra da Estrela, or Star Pass. You can see it on the map, it is the area inside the red rectangle. Actually, all the dark green in this area is the Natural Park of Serra da Estrela.
If you have the time, you can spend 3-4 days in Serra da Estrela, and ride a different road every day at the park. For example, we decided to arrive in Belmonte by crossing the park up and down the pass, to see Vale do Rossim, a dam that created a lake in the park, Manteigas and Poço do Inferno, a beautiful - but small - waterfall near Manteigas. We could reach the same destination by travelling via Celorico da Beira and Vale de Estrela, or via some other smaller roads inside the park. We chose this one because it goes up and down, on the map it seemed to have nice curves, and had some beautiful spots to visit (the dam and the waterfall). And it definitely proved to be beautiful.
Below you will see some footage about riding the Serra da Estrela and some photos of the way to Belmonte through the pass.
If you have the time, you can spend 3-4 days in Serra da Estrela, and ride a different road every day at the park. For example, we decided to arrive in Belmonte by crossing the park up and down the pass, to see Vale do Rossim, a dam that created a lake in the park, Manteigas and Poço do Inferno, a beautiful - but small - waterfall near Manteigas. We could reach the same destination by travelling via Celorico da Beira and Vale de Estrela, or via some other smaller roads inside the park. We chose this one because it goes up and down, on the map it seemed to have nice curves, and had some beautiful spots to visit (the dam and the waterfall). And it definitely proved to be beautiful.
Below you will see some footage about riding the Serra da Estrela and some photos of the way to Belmonte through the pass.
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We arrived to Belmonte around 19:00, took our rooms at Hotel Convento de Belmonte, and due to the time went out to visit as much of the city as we could, since we had only this evening to visit it.
Belmonte is the town that was home for one of Portugal's most distinguished ancient Jewish communities. This community was forced by Inquisition to convert to Christianism, and a big part of them converted only externally, keeping their Jewish tradition inside of their homes for hundreds of years, and being known as the marranos. In the late 1970s, they officially returned to Judaism, and opened a synagogue in the 90s.
Belmonte is also the hometown of Pedro Álvares Cabral, the discoverer of Brazil - another personal connection. His presence is felt there all over, beginning with the street in his name that crosses the town from North to South, his name in one of the main schools of town, and his statue in a central square.
Most of the landmarks were already closed due to the time. We could only see the Belmonte Castle and the Jewish Museum from the outside. But we could go into the synagogue, hear a short lecture from the local rabbi and synagogue manager about the community and what is being done for reviving Jewry in town. We also participated in the Maariv prayer, since we were requested to stay in order to complete the minimum of 10 people needed to begin the prayer.
After leaving the synagogue, we went to look for somewhere to eat dinner, and found this excellent restaurant called Farol da Esperança. Then we returned to the hotel.
Hotel Convento de Belmonte is a very interesting thematic hotel, built as an old monastery of the 16th century. It is very interesting to walk through its different public areas. Rooms are not numbered, but named, each room reminding of the name of one of the priests that allegedly used to stay there. The rooms are very comfortable, and we were sorry that we would sleep there only one night.
At all, we were sorry that we haven't dedicated one more day to Belmonte. Like in Porto, we could have seen much more of this beautiful place if we had had one more day there.
Belmonte is the town that was home for one of Portugal's most distinguished ancient Jewish communities. This community was forced by Inquisition to convert to Christianism, and a big part of them converted only externally, keeping their Jewish tradition inside of their homes for hundreds of years, and being known as the marranos. In the late 1970s, they officially returned to Judaism, and opened a synagogue in the 90s.
Belmonte is also the hometown of Pedro Álvares Cabral, the discoverer of Brazil - another personal connection. His presence is felt there all over, beginning with the street in his name that crosses the town from North to South, his name in one of the main schools of town, and his statue in a central square.
Most of the landmarks were already closed due to the time. We could only see the Belmonte Castle and the Jewish Museum from the outside. But we could go into the synagogue, hear a short lecture from the local rabbi and synagogue manager about the community and what is being done for reviving Jewry in town. We also participated in the Maariv prayer, since we were requested to stay in order to complete the minimum of 10 people needed to begin the prayer.
After leaving the synagogue, we went to look for somewhere to eat dinner, and found this excellent restaurant called Farol da Esperança. Then we returned to the hotel.
Hotel Convento de Belmonte is a very interesting thematic hotel, built as an old monastery of the 16th century. It is very interesting to walk through its different public areas. Rooms are not numbered, but named, each room reminding of the name of one of the priests that allegedly used to stay there. The rooms are very comfortable, and we were sorry that we would sleep there only one night.
At all, we were sorry that we haven't dedicated one more day to Belmonte. Like in Porto, we could have seen much more of this beautiful place if we had had one more day there.
The N2 or EN2
The EN2 (abbreviation for Estrada Nacional 2 or in English National Road 2) is one of the oldest roads in Portugal, and the first to connect the country completely from the North in Chaves (Km 0) and to the South in Faro (Km 738). The road has 738 Km from end to end. Today we were on our way to do the first segment of it in our trip. It is the Portuguese historical road, something comparable to the Route 66 in the USA. The road has been deactivated and reactivated over the years, and nowadays is more of a touristic road than a real service road.
The EN2 (abbreviation for Estrada Nacional 2 or in English National Road 2) is one of the oldest roads in Portugal, and the first to connect the country completely from the North in Chaves (Km 0) and to the South in Faro (Km 738). The road has 738 Km from end to end. Today we were on our way to do the first segment of it in our trip. It is the Portuguese historical road, something comparable to the Route 66 in the USA. The road has been deactivated and reactivated over the years, and nowadays is more of a touristic road than a real service road.
We left Belmonte around 9 in the morning, and our first stop was supposed to be the Tower of Serra da Estrela in Covilhã. Unfortunately, we had heavy rain this morning. The bedrock road leading there felt like soap, and looking up we could see that the tower was completely covered by clouds, and even if we managed to get up there in one piece, we wouldn't see anything. So, we decided to give up on it and continue to the N2.
We joined the N2 at the point marked in the map with the red arrow, at a village called Ponte de Sor. From there we continued on the historical road for quite a long time, passing through many small villages along the way, and many different sceneries. Among the different villages and sceneries, the Montargil dam stands out, with a big lake near the village that changes the scenery quite a lot. We crossed the dam as part of the road, and continued with the road to the South until Montemor-o-Novo, where we stopped for a very late lunch, around 16:00. At this stop, and at this point in the N2, we were talking among the group that we were disappointed with the N2. A quite monotonous road, no curves, etc, with quite monotonous and almost desertic scenery. We were expecting more. Even the villages around the road were not as beautiful as we expected. But we knew that the next day we were continuing with the N2, and we had no idea what that day would bring to us.
After the late lunch at Montemor-o-Novo, we left the N2 and continued East to Évora, where we were supposed to sleep.
Évora is a beautiful town, with a historical center that is simply gorgeous, and surrounded by old walls. Our hotel, Templo Boutique Hotel, was in the middle of the historical center. It was a small but very comfortable hotel, and we enjoyed it much. After getting settled and showering, we went out for a walk around the historical center. It was beautiful, and we walked for hours there. At night, we divided the group. Anat and Eitan, who were in the mood for a dinner, went to find something to eat, while Louiza, Shmil, Lily and myself went to have an ice-cream. At the end, I ordered a Belgian Waffle which was bigger than every meal I could think of.
We joined the N2 at the point marked in the map with the red arrow, at a village called Ponte de Sor. From there we continued on the historical road for quite a long time, passing through many small villages along the way, and many different sceneries. Among the different villages and sceneries, the Montargil dam stands out, with a big lake near the village that changes the scenery quite a lot. We crossed the dam as part of the road, and continued with the road to the South until Montemor-o-Novo, where we stopped for a very late lunch, around 16:00. At this stop, and at this point in the N2, we were talking among the group that we were disappointed with the N2. A quite monotonous road, no curves, etc, with quite monotonous and almost desertic scenery. We were expecting more. Even the villages around the road were not as beautiful as we expected. But we knew that the next day we were continuing with the N2, and we had no idea what that day would bring to us.
After the late lunch at Montemor-o-Novo, we left the N2 and continued East to Évora, where we were supposed to sleep.
Évora is a beautiful town, with a historical center that is simply gorgeous, and surrounded by old walls. Our hotel, Templo Boutique Hotel, was in the middle of the historical center. It was a small but very comfortable hotel, and we enjoyed it much. After getting settled and showering, we went out for a walk around the historical center. It was beautiful, and we walked for hours there. At night, we divided the group. Anat and Eitan, who were in the mood for a dinner, went to find something to eat, while Louiza, Shmil, Lily and myself went to have an ice-cream. At the end, I ordered a Belgian Waffle which was bigger than every meal I could think of.
N2 - Let's give it another chance
We woke up in the morning, and during breakfast, Anat asked me if we could take a fast road to Faro instead of the N2, because she was tired. I answered that I intended to ride the N2, but I could help them find on the map a fast road and we could meet at the hotel in Faro. At the end, talking to the whole group, Eitan and her decided to give another chance to the N2 and ride with us, and in case they were too tired, to separate from us and take a fast road. So, we went out on our way, the three motorcycles together.
We woke up in the morning, and during breakfast, Anat asked me if we could take a fast road to Faro instead of the N2, because she was tired. I answered that I intended to ride the N2, but I could help them find on the map a fast road and we could meet at the hotel in Faro. At the end, talking to the whole group, Eitan and her decided to give another chance to the N2 and ride with us, and in case they were too tired, to separate from us and take a fast road. So, we went out on our way, the three motorcycles together.
We re-joined the N2 at Alcáçovas, and continued to the South. In the beginning, it was the good old N2 that we knew from the previous day - boring, but with one difference: the villages were more beautiful, and in the entrance of almost every village there was a roundabout with some kind of statue or a commemorative sign of the N2. Then we arrived in Almodôvar, and after that village, things changed. The reason: Almodôvar has an altitude of almost 500m, and from there you begin going down to sea level. In the beginning, this is a mild descent, with mild curves, but beautiful and interesting. After you pass through Ameixial, it becomes steeper and windier. That road segment from Ameixial to Estói was definitely one of the best rides I had in Portugal. I came out of it with a big smile on my face.
You can see some moments of the ride in the video below, aside the picture gallery. Unfortunately, I have recorded video up to Almodovar, after that the battery of the camera dried up and I was not aware of it.
Arriving in Faro, we went to get our rooms in our hotel. The hotel we had chosen there was not a really successful choice. It was somehow far from the city and near the airport, and like most airport hotels, it was built for people that come just for a few hours between connections. The rooms were small and did not even have a closet. They were made for people that wanted only a bed and a place to have a shower. So, we decided to spend the minimum possible time at the hotel.
When we left the hotel, we first went to the Algarve Forum, a place where we ate lunch, and the girls went to see the shops. While they did that, I looked for a place where I can find a place which could change the screen of Lily's phone, since she managed to break it during the stop, we did two days before at Montemor-o-Novo. I couldn't find where to fix it, so at the end I bought her a new cheap phone which she could use temporarily until we got back and her company sent it for fixing.
We spent around 2.5 hours at the Algarve Forum, and then proceeded to the center of the city, not before stopping at the famous Km 738 of the N2, at the entrance to Faro, to take pictures there. We rode to the center of the city until we got to a street from where, at the corners, we could already see the seashore. There we parked the bikes and continued on foot. We walked the center of the city until night came, and then went to the area of the restaurants in order to eat something. From there to the hotel, for a good and happy night of sleep and beautiful dreams of the curves of the N2.
You can see some moments of the ride in the video below, aside the picture gallery. Unfortunately, I have recorded video up to Almodovar, after that the battery of the camera dried up and I was not aware of it.
Arriving in Faro, we went to get our rooms in our hotel. The hotel we had chosen there was not a really successful choice. It was somehow far from the city and near the airport, and like most airport hotels, it was built for people that come just for a few hours between connections. The rooms were small and did not even have a closet. They were made for people that wanted only a bed and a place to have a shower. So, we decided to spend the minimum possible time at the hotel.
When we left the hotel, we first went to the Algarve Forum, a place where we ate lunch, and the girls went to see the shops. While they did that, I looked for a place where I can find a place which could change the screen of Lily's phone, since she managed to break it during the stop, we did two days before at Montemor-o-Novo. I couldn't find where to fix it, so at the end I bought her a new cheap phone which she could use temporarily until we got back and her company sent it for fixing.
We spent around 2.5 hours at the Algarve Forum, and then proceeded to the center of the city, not before stopping at the famous Km 738 of the N2, at the entrance to Faro, to take pictures there. We rode to the center of the city until we got to a street from where, at the corners, we could already see the seashore. There we parked the bikes and continued on foot. We walked the center of the city until night came, and then went to the area of the restaurants in order to eat something. From there to the hotel, for a good and happy night of sleep and beautiful dreams of the curves of the N2.
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From Faro to Praia da Luz via Fóia
After the lovely afternoon and evening in Faro, which included a dinner in a great Italian restaurant, in the morning the winds and the roads began taking us to the direction of Sagres. We left Faro as usual at 09:00, taking our way to the West.
After the lovely afternoon and evening in Faro, which included a dinner in a great Italian restaurant, in the morning the winds and the roads began taking us to the direction of Sagres. We left Faro as usual at 09:00, taking our way to the West.
This was supposed to be our itinerary in this day, but at the end it came out a little different, as you will be able to see in the continuation of this story.
Our first stop was, as expected, in Albufeira, a lovely beach town in which we spent nearly two hours.
Albufeira has beautiful beaches, a beautiful tourist area with shops, monuments, etc., and attracts people of all nationalities to stay there or at least visit the place with some time to spend there. It was a surprise for us, since it was only marked in our itinerary as a "via" place. When we saw how it looked, we decided to park the motorcycles and enjoy a little of the place, walking around, sitting in a cafe in front of the sea, and so on.
Our first stop was, as expected, in Albufeira, a lovely beach town in which we spent nearly two hours.
Albufeira has beautiful beaches, a beautiful tourist area with shops, monuments, etc., and attracts people of all nationalities to stay there or at least visit the place with some time to spend there. It was a surprise for us, since it was only marked in our itinerary as a "via" place. When we saw how it looked, we decided to park the motorcycles and enjoy a little of the place, walking around, sitting in a cafe in front of the sea, and so on.
After the time we spent in Albufeira, we did enter Portimão, but decided not to park there, because we couldn't see anything of interest there. I knew that there were some interesting places holding river estuaries to the Atlantic Ocean, and we saw them from the motorcycle, but it didn't look like being worth stopping. Maybe it was a mistake, but we still have a long way to go, and the surprise experience we had later on was worth the loss, even if we didn't know it by that time.
Our next destination was Fóia. Fóia is a high mountain peak, at 902m, and due to its height and placement, I have heard from some people that in really clear days you can see from there even Gibraltar, the point in which the Atlantic Ocean joins its waters with the Mediterranean Sea. But let's talk about that later.
We missed the entry to Monchique, the town nearby Fóia, and didn't understand that we had made a mistake. We came to that understanding 20Km later, when refueling the bikes. Then we took the 20Km back and began climbing to Monchique, and from there even higher to Fóia. On our way, we saw a nice tavern at the side of the road (actually there were some of them, we just chose one), and stopped to have lunch.
We continued climbing (with the motorcycles, sure) to Fóia, and came up to the first viewpoint stop when we were almost there. The view was beautiful. But we wanted to get to the very top, so we stayed there for around 10 minutes and continued. It was only 5 minutes later that we arrived to the main and highest point.
Our next destination was Fóia. Fóia is a high mountain peak, at 902m, and due to its height and placement, I have heard from some people that in really clear days you can see from there even Gibraltar, the point in which the Atlantic Ocean joins its waters with the Mediterranean Sea. But let's talk about that later.
We missed the entry to Monchique, the town nearby Fóia, and didn't understand that we had made a mistake. We came to that understanding 20Km later, when refueling the bikes. Then we took the 20Km back and began climbing to Monchique, and from there even higher to Fóia. On our way, we saw a nice tavern at the side of the road (actually there were some of them, we just chose one), and stopped to have lunch.
We continued climbing (with the motorcycles, sure) to Fóia, and came up to the first viewpoint stop when we were almost there. The view was beautiful. But we wanted to get to the very top, so we stayed there for around 10 minutes and continued. It was only 5 minutes later that we arrived to the main and highest point.
At Fóia we met a tour of a club of female motorcyclists called Petrolettes. There were around 50-60 motorcyclists there, all women. They told us that they are an international group, and that was the Algarve branch of the group going out for a tour.
We took some pictures of/with them, and during our way down, we had the chance of riding with them a little. It was interesting, because we were planning to go down from the other side of Fóia, but began going down from Monchique, the same way we came up, and met them again on the way, which made it an "interesting" ride, as you will be able to see in the video that is just besides the pictures of the meeting at the top of the mountain.
We took some pictures of/with them, and during our way down, we had the chance of riding with them a little. It was interesting, because we were planning to go down from the other side of Fóia, but began going down from Monchique, the same way we came up, and met them again on the way, which made it an "interesting" ride, as you will be able to see in the video that is just besides the pictures of the meeting at the top of the mountain.
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We came down from Fóia, and due to the hour decided to take the highway as our way to our hotel in Praia da Luz. We couldn't find a hotel in Sagres, since the only hotels there with free rooms were charging incredibly high prices for the season. So we took a hotel at the road, just at the entry to Praia da Luz (25 Km from Sagres), called Vilamar, which was a kind of a country lodge with cabins that were built a long time ago, but very well conserved. The first thing we did after leaving our things there was to take the bikes and go to a supermarket at Praia da Luz, which we found. We wanted to buy goods for our dinners, since we had two nights there, and wanted to be free to eat at the hotel.
Our rooms were nice, though in an old building. Three rooms, one beside the other, in a row, and with a special place for parking our motorcycles at the side of the rooms, inside the gate. A balcony that was great for meals, facing a garden and the swimming pool, at the side of which I took a good nap to rest from that long riding day.
Sagres
Our next day was dedicated to Sagres.
Our rooms were nice, though in an old building. Three rooms, one beside the other, in a row, and with a special place for parking our motorcycles at the side of the rooms, inside the gate. A balcony that was great for meals, facing a garden and the swimming pool, at the side of which I took a good nap to rest from that long riding day.
Sagres
Our next day was dedicated to Sagres.
Upon the recommendation of the reception of the hotel, instead of taking the N125 to Sagres, we took the Burgau road, that was definitely much more beautiful, running part of the time along the sea, and at the end joining the N125 at Vila do Bispo. You will get a feeling of the ride in the video below, near the pictures.
Our first 1.5 hours in Sagres was at the Intermarché doing some automatic laundry. While the laundry machines worked, we took a seat at a cafe and enjoyed ourselves with some coffee and pastries.
Our next stop was the Sagres Fortress. A very big place, with a lot to see, and even more to photograph. We spent there between one hour and one hour and a half. This place is a great fortress, built in the 15th century by the Infante D. Henrique, the ruler of Portugal at the time. He stayed there until he died in 1460. From this fortress left most of the fleets responsible for Portugal's discoveries in America, the new continent, in the 16th century.
After the fortress, we went to eat at a restaurant that was a mix of a restaurant, a cafe, a bar and a tatoo and piercing center. The name of the place was The Hangout, and we recommend it much. We had great spaghetti with different sauces there, and it was probably one of the best pastas I have ever eaten.
Happy about our meals, we went to visit other parts of Sagres, this time only with the motorcycles, without really stopping: praia da Baleeira and its marina (or port), praia do Tonel... and surely, riding the streets of the town. Around the end of the afternoon/beginning of the evening, we were back at our hotel. Still in time to catch some mild sun at the swimming pool and relax. BTW, the only problem with sitting at the beach or at the poolside in this area is the wind. There is a wind that doesn't stop for even one minute, and sometimes it makes it difficult to feel warm even in the summer.
Below you can find pictures of Sagres, and a video with moments of the ride to there.
Our first 1.5 hours in Sagres was at the Intermarché doing some automatic laundry. While the laundry machines worked, we took a seat at a cafe and enjoyed ourselves with some coffee and pastries.
Our next stop was the Sagres Fortress. A very big place, with a lot to see, and even more to photograph. We spent there between one hour and one hour and a half. This place is a great fortress, built in the 15th century by the Infante D. Henrique, the ruler of Portugal at the time. He stayed there until he died in 1460. From this fortress left most of the fleets responsible for Portugal's discoveries in America, the new continent, in the 16th century.
After the fortress, we went to eat at a restaurant that was a mix of a restaurant, a cafe, a bar and a tatoo and piercing center. The name of the place was The Hangout, and we recommend it much. We had great spaghetti with different sauces there, and it was probably one of the best pastas I have ever eaten.
Happy about our meals, we went to visit other parts of Sagres, this time only with the motorcycles, without really stopping: praia da Baleeira and its marina (or port), praia do Tonel... and surely, riding the streets of the town. Around the end of the afternoon/beginning of the evening, we were back at our hotel. Still in time to catch some mild sun at the swimming pool and relax. BTW, the only problem with sitting at the beach or at the poolside in this area is the wind. There is a wind that doesn't stop for even one minute, and sometimes it makes it difficult to feel warm even in the summer.
Below you can find pictures of Sagres, and a video with moments of the ride to there.
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Lisbon
Well, time has arrived for us to begin returning to Lisbon.
Well, time has arrived for us to begin returning to Lisbon.
We left Praia da Luz after breakfast, and according to some recommendations we got, took the N120 to the North, a road that goes side-by-side with the Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa, and immediately after that, at S. Teotônio, take a left to the N120-1 and A26-1 that goes along another park, the Reservas Naturais das Lagoas de Santo André, and then the N261 and E1/A2 which would take us to Lisbon bordering the Parque Natural da Arrábida and through the 25th of April bridge (Ponte 25 de Abril).
The road was beautiful, but nothing special. When I thought about passing through a natural park, I imagined dense vegetation, a kind of a forest. In practice, what we saw was similar to the vegetation we had at the N2. Isolated trees separated by 10-20 meters one from the other. I can't say we did not enjoy the way: we enjoyed. But there are roads that you don't want them to finish, and those that you are happy when you arrive at your destination, and this road was of the last kind.
We arrived in Lisbon, went to our hotel, got our things that stored there, and left to have dinner in one of the restaurants at the Doca de Alcantara. We chose a restaurant called Doca de Santo which specialized in Portuguese food, and had a joint balcony with another restaurant from the same group, Lat.A, where they were featuring Latin American music. It was perfect! The food was very good and we could enjoy the show from the neighbor restaurant, at a very acceptable price.
The road was beautiful, but nothing special. When I thought about passing through a natural park, I imagined dense vegetation, a kind of a forest. In practice, what we saw was similar to the vegetation we had at the N2. Isolated trees separated by 10-20 meters one from the other. I can't say we did not enjoy the way: we enjoyed. But there are roads that you don't want them to finish, and those that you are happy when you arrive at your destination, and this road was of the last kind.
We arrived in Lisbon, went to our hotel, got our things that stored there, and left to have dinner in one of the restaurants at the Doca de Alcantara. We chose a restaurant called Doca de Santo which specialized in Portuguese food, and had a joint balcony with another restaurant from the same group, Lat.A, where they were featuring Latin American music. It was perfect! The food was very good and we could enjoy the show from the neighbor restaurant, at a very acceptable price.
On the next day, we began the day by leaving the Turim Deluxe Hotel and moving to the Holiday Inn Lisbon Continental, a hotel that is quite new and known for having big rooms. We were in the last days of a very tiring trip, and the Turim with its very small rooms couldn't give us the comfort we wanted.
After moving to the new hotel, the group broke apart: Anat and Eitan went to see some markets in the Baixa quarter of the city, Lily and Louiza went to a shopping center, and Shmil and me went back to Motocard - he wanted to install the Bluetooth headset in Louiza's new helmet that he bought there in the first day of the trip, and I wanted to buy a new visor to my helmet.
We both went out disappointed from Motocard, since the technician was not there to install the bluetoth headset, and they did not have the visor in stock. So we went to meet the girls at the shopping center.
In the afternoon, we went to visit the Belém Tower (Torre de Belém) and the discoveries monument (Padrão dos Descobrimentos) with its compass card (Rosa-dos-ventos) at the walkway. We stayed there at the area until before dark, and then took the motorcycles and rode to the Sanctuary of Christ the King to see the statue. Unfortunately it was already too late, and we could only take some pictures from the back of the statue. There we decided that we would have dinner at the ALTA quarter of Lisbon, and rode to there to find a restaurant. At the end we found a Middle-Eastern/Mediterranean restaurant called Tantura, which belonged to two Israelis, and decided to eat there. I must say that the meal was excellent for us, and that I am sure that someone from other countries would also enjoy it very much. Another very interesting thing to do is to walk around Alto and see the movement of youngsters and all the nightlife there. The only thing that is not very recommendable to do (and we did for lack of knowledge) is to ride motorcycles there. The streets are narrow, unlevelled and paved with paving stones, and if all this wasn't enough, there are also tram tracks in all directions, for trams that transit the area all the day. These tracks make the streets even less unlevelled, and you have to be crossing lines all the time.
After moving to the new hotel, the group broke apart: Anat and Eitan went to see some markets in the Baixa quarter of the city, Lily and Louiza went to a shopping center, and Shmil and me went back to Motocard - he wanted to install the Bluetooth headset in Louiza's new helmet that he bought there in the first day of the trip, and I wanted to buy a new visor to my helmet.
We both went out disappointed from Motocard, since the technician was not there to install the bluetoth headset, and they did not have the visor in stock. So we went to meet the girls at the shopping center.
In the afternoon, we went to visit the Belém Tower (Torre de Belém) and the discoveries monument (Padrão dos Descobrimentos) with its compass card (Rosa-dos-ventos) at the walkway. We stayed there at the area until before dark, and then took the motorcycles and rode to the Sanctuary of Christ the King to see the statue. Unfortunately it was already too late, and we could only take some pictures from the back of the statue. There we decided that we would have dinner at the ALTA quarter of Lisbon, and rode to there to find a restaurant. At the end we found a Middle-Eastern/Mediterranean restaurant called Tantura, which belonged to two Israelis, and decided to eat there. I must say that the meal was excellent for us, and that I am sure that someone from other countries would also enjoy it very much. Another very interesting thing to do is to walk around Alto and see the movement of youngsters and all the nightlife there. The only thing that is not very recommendable to do (and we did for lack of knowledge) is to ride motorcycles there. The streets are narrow, unlevelled and paved with paving stones, and if all this wasn't enough, there are also tram tracks in all directions, for trams that transit the area all the day. These tracks make the streets even less unlevelled, and you have to be crossing lines all the time.
he next day was a Thursday, and was also a Lisbon day. Lily, Louiza, Shmil and me began the day by visiting the BAIXA. Anat and Eitan, that had already been there, went to a different place.
We parked the motorcycles on a small street, Rua da Prata, close to the Arco da Rua Augusta, and went to visit all the Baixa quarter, taking a direction opposite to the sea. We visited the whole quarter, Av. da Liberdade, Rossio, Praça dos Restauradores, etc, through its squares, monuments, shops, everything. We gave up on the Santa Justa Lift, since both Louiza/Shmil and Lily/me had already been there in the past, and decided it was not worth waiting in line for it. But if it is your first time in Lisbon, I recommend you do it.
After some hours of walking around there, we took the Rua Augusta in the direction of the sea, to go under the Rua Augusta Arch and arrive to Praça do Comércio, the main touristic square in Lisbon. This part of Lisbon was not new to us, but we enjoyed being there. It is just beautiful. We decided to choose a restaurant there and have lunch before continuing, and we chose an Italian restaurant, Squisito. Usually when we are talking about touristic landmarks, meals are bad and expensive, so we sat there without much expectations. At the end, we had excellent pasta and pizzas for a very reasonable price, and we finished our meal very happy.
We parked the motorcycles on a small street, Rua da Prata, close to the Arco da Rua Augusta, and went to visit all the Baixa quarter, taking a direction opposite to the sea. We visited the whole quarter, Av. da Liberdade, Rossio, Praça dos Restauradores, etc, through its squares, monuments, shops, everything. We gave up on the Santa Justa Lift, since both Louiza/Shmil and Lily/me had already been there in the past, and decided it was not worth waiting in line for it. But if it is your first time in Lisbon, I recommend you do it.
After some hours of walking around there, we took the Rua Augusta in the direction of the sea, to go under the Rua Augusta Arch and arrive to Praça do Comércio, the main touristic square in Lisbon. This part of Lisbon was not new to us, but we enjoyed being there. It is just beautiful. We decided to choose a restaurant there and have lunch before continuing, and we chose an Italian restaurant, Squisito. Usually when we are talking about touristic landmarks, meals are bad and expensive, so we sat there without much expectations. At the end, we had excellent pasta and pizzas for a very reasonable price, and we finished our meal very happy.
From Baixa we rode to Alfama. Lily and me knew Alfama at night, with all the Fado clubs, but we were told that it was very recommended to go to Alfama during the day.
We were definitely NOT disappointed. Alfama during the day is full of life, with people (locals and tourists) walking around in all directions, eating in the restaurants, sitting in bars and cafes, looking at the sea from two very beautiful viewpoints, etc. Anat and Eitan joined us there, but they were still before lunch, so they decided to sit at a restaurant and have lunch while we walked through the beautiful neighborhood.
After finishing the walk, we took the motorcycles and rode back to the hotel.
We were definitely NOT disappointed. Alfama during the day is full of life, with people (locals and tourists) walking around in all directions, eating in the restaurants, sitting in bars and cafes, looking at the sea from two very beautiful viewpoints, etc. Anat and Eitan joined us there, but they were still before lunch, so they decided to sit at a restaurant and have lunch while we walked through the beautiful neighborhood.
After finishing the walk, we took the motorcycles and rode back to the hotel.
Shmil and me had a meeting in the evening, with a local BMW Motorrad club. It was Thursday, day of the TAD (Thursday After Dinner) of the BMW Motorrad Fans Club, and we had set with the organizer that we would go. The meeting was great! This time it was at Gandalata, a cafe at the Belem-Transtejo Fluvial Station. This time there were only some 10 people, because a number of them were at a tour in Morocco, and another group was in the first day of their Lés-a-Lés ride across Portugal, from South to North, and were in the Algarve region at this time. We had a great talk to the people there, absorbed a little of the Portuguese riding culture, were presented with stickers of the club. Around 22:30 we returned to the hotel. I can only say to the people there that it was a very enjoyable meeting, we were VERY WELL received, and went back very happy. I hope that some day I have a chance to meet these people again.
This was our last day with the motorcycles, a Friday and a holiday.
We decided that we would take the day to see a part of Portugal that we hadn't been able to see properly when we passed through there in the first day of the tour - it was Sintra day!!!
After breakfast, we took our motorcycles and travelled to Sintra. Again, from the entrance of the historical area we could already see how full of life this place was.
We parked the motorcycles near the train station, and began to walk in the historical area. On our way, we found one of those touristic electric tuk-tuks that offered his services to take us to visit the castles. It was a steep way up, so after some price negotiations we took his service. It was worth it. For about one hour he took us to the castles, explained a little of the story of each castle. There was only one castle that was open for visitation inside, but it required a walk up to the castle, paid tickets, and a long time back. Well, we gave it up. Instead, we went to walk all the streets of historical Sintra and enjoy the atmosphere. It was great!!!
We decided that we would take the day to see a part of Portugal that we hadn't been able to see properly when we passed through there in the first day of the tour - it was Sintra day!!!
After breakfast, we took our motorcycles and travelled to Sintra. Again, from the entrance of the historical area we could already see how full of life this place was.
We parked the motorcycles near the train station, and began to walk in the historical area. On our way, we found one of those touristic electric tuk-tuks that offered his services to take us to visit the castles. It was a steep way up, so after some price negotiations we took his service. It was worth it. For about one hour he took us to the castles, explained a little of the story of each castle. There was only one castle that was open for visitation inside, but it required a walk up to the castle, paid tickets, and a long time back. Well, we gave it up. Instead, we went to walk all the streets of historical Sintra and enjoy the atmosphere. It was great!!!
At the end of the afternoon, around 17:00, we were back at the hotel. We left the girls at the hotel and went to return the motorcycles.
In the evening, we returned to the ALTA, where we had a reservation for dinner with a Fado show at the Café Luso. Café Luso is a traditional Fado house, with 92 years of existence, and combines beautiful Fado show with and exquisite cuisine. Amalia Rodrigues has been in the past a prominent singer in this club, and today's artistic director Elsa Laboreiro told us, at a conversation near the end of the show, that she had had the pleasure to sing with Amalia many years before.
We had an excellent dinner, and an even better show. At the end, when most of the people began to leave, the curtains of a small part of the big room were closed, creating a cozy ambient, in which Elsa Laboreiro did a short show to a small group of people, showing us how beautiful the traditional Fado is.
I must say, I have been in some Fado shows in the past, including some famous houses in Alfama like Clube do Fado, but this was the best one by far. You can see some pictures and two very short videos of the show.
In the evening, we returned to the ALTA, where we had a reservation for dinner with a Fado show at the Café Luso. Café Luso is a traditional Fado house, with 92 years of existence, and combines beautiful Fado show with and exquisite cuisine. Amalia Rodrigues has been in the past a prominent singer in this club, and today's artistic director Elsa Laboreiro told us, at a conversation near the end of the show, that she had had the pleasure to sing with Amalia many years before.
We had an excellent dinner, and an even better show. At the end, when most of the people began to leave, the curtains of a small part of the big room were closed, creating a cozy ambient, in which Elsa Laboreiro did a short show to a small group of people, showing us how beautiful the traditional Fado is.
I must say, I have been in some Fado shows in the past, including some famous houses in Alfama like Clube do Fado, but this was the best one by far. You can see some pictures and two very short videos of the show.
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Well, Saturday came, and it was time to say goodbye to Lisbon and Portugal and take the plane back home.
It was a great vacation, I must say. We came back home tired to the extreme, but also very happy for doing it.
Conclusions:
Some conclusions I took from this trip:
About Portugal and some of its regions:
1. Portugal is a great country to visit: not only the cities are very beautiful, but also the countryside is perfect. The people are the friendliest I have ever met in another country. The weather was perfect during our trip, maybe we were just lucky, but we couldn't request better.
2. Porto is a place that deserves 3 nights and 2.5 days. We gave only 2 nights and 1.5 days, and it wasn't enough. So I would suggest planning it for 1 night more than we did.
3. Same with Belmonte. I would add one night to the one we stayed there, and make it 2 nights. There is a lot to see and enjoy in this small town, and I am sorry that I didn't have the time. If you want to explore other sides of Serra da Estrela, you can even plan 3 nights, or plan a third night at a different village in the region.
4. Serra da Estrela is beautiful. It is not without reasons that this is the preferred place for the Portuguese riders and all the riders that come to visit Portugal. And I can say that all that we did was a little part of it. The roads, the views, the rocks, the vegetation, everything is set to make this the perfect place to ride.
5. However, the place where I enjoyed riding most was the last segment of the N2, from Almodovar to Faro. Maybe because it was unexpected, I wasn't expecting all those curves there. But this was a perfect road and I am just sorry that my camera battery went down and I lost part of the footage that I recorded there.
About the new BMW R1250RT (2021+):
1. The new R1250RT is a great bike, but it has some changes that I preferred in the 2019-2020 models: the engine seems to be a little weaker (it seems to me that this is because of the Euro5 compliance), so the gears are also a little less flexible.
2. They also changed the mechanism of shutting down the cruise control with the clutch lever: if in the past you had to touch the clutch lever for the cruise control to be released, now you have to press the lever its complete way and hold it for around 2 seconds for it to release cruise control, otherwise at the moment you release the clutch the motorcycle will accelerate to regain its speed. This seems to me not only worse than before, but even dangerous. So be careful if you are renting a 2021+ RT.
About the BMW Connected App:
1. It is the crappiest software I have ever seen. Not only it doesn't work properly and has a lot of flaws, as you will see in the next lines, but the application is "user hostile". Things like "where is the search bar for you to chose an ad-hoc destination" are so well hidden that took me 3 days to find. Instead of putting everything together in one page like every navigation software, in this app every single thing is in a different page.
2. It takes 2-3 minutes for the app to connect to the bike every time you turn the bike on. When it connects.
3. Then, if you turn the bike of even for 1 second, you have to wait the 2-3 minutes again.
4. When you go into map mode, sometimes it displays the map at the dashboard, and sometimes it doesn't and you only see arrows. Even worse, sometimes in the middle of the ride the map disappears and you only get the arrows telling you to turn left or right.
5. Before the trip, I have imported the full day-plans for the 12 days. Created them on Google Maps, exported them to GPX using the site mapstogpx.com, and imported into the application. All the maps looked OK and could be loaded. Then one day, when leaving Tarouca do Serra da Estrela, I couldn't get a map and got a message such as "desired path cannot be found" - meaning that the software couldn't find a path to go to all the waypoints I had chosen. I tried it in Google Maps and Waze, and it was available. Then I remembered that I had imported the same files into my Garmin Zumo 660LM, which I brought as a backup. Well, the Zumo could also find the path, and the BMW Connected was the ONLY ONE THAT COULD NOT. At that moment I decided to mount the Zumo at the motorcycle bar and use it for the navigation. What a pity that I didn't do it before.
In the next lines, you will see two versions of the video that covers all our trip: a short version, of around 20 minutes, and a full version of around 1 hour. I hope you enjoy.
It was a great vacation, I must say. We came back home tired to the extreme, but also very happy for doing it.
Conclusions:
Some conclusions I took from this trip:
About Portugal and some of its regions:
1. Portugal is a great country to visit: not only the cities are very beautiful, but also the countryside is perfect. The people are the friendliest I have ever met in another country. The weather was perfect during our trip, maybe we were just lucky, but we couldn't request better.
2. Porto is a place that deserves 3 nights and 2.5 days. We gave only 2 nights and 1.5 days, and it wasn't enough. So I would suggest planning it for 1 night more than we did.
3. Same with Belmonte. I would add one night to the one we stayed there, and make it 2 nights. There is a lot to see and enjoy in this small town, and I am sorry that I didn't have the time. If you want to explore other sides of Serra da Estrela, you can even plan 3 nights, or plan a third night at a different village in the region.
4. Serra da Estrela is beautiful. It is not without reasons that this is the preferred place for the Portuguese riders and all the riders that come to visit Portugal. And I can say that all that we did was a little part of it. The roads, the views, the rocks, the vegetation, everything is set to make this the perfect place to ride.
5. However, the place where I enjoyed riding most was the last segment of the N2, from Almodovar to Faro. Maybe because it was unexpected, I wasn't expecting all those curves there. But this was a perfect road and I am just sorry that my camera battery went down and I lost part of the footage that I recorded there.
About the new BMW R1250RT (2021+):
1. The new R1250RT is a great bike, but it has some changes that I preferred in the 2019-2020 models: the engine seems to be a little weaker (it seems to me that this is because of the Euro5 compliance), so the gears are also a little less flexible.
2. They also changed the mechanism of shutting down the cruise control with the clutch lever: if in the past you had to touch the clutch lever for the cruise control to be released, now you have to press the lever its complete way and hold it for around 2 seconds for it to release cruise control, otherwise at the moment you release the clutch the motorcycle will accelerate to regain its speed. This seems to me not only worse than before, but even dangerous. So be careful if you are renting a 2021+ RT.
About the BMW Connected App:
1. It is the crappiest software I have ever seen. Not only it doesn't work properly and has a lot of flaws, as you will see in the next lines, but the application is "user hostile". Things like "where is the search bar for you to chose an ad-hoc destination" are so well hidden that took me 3 days to find. Instead of putting everything together in one page like every navigation software, in this app every single thing is in a different page.
2. It takes 2-3 minutes for the app to connect to the bike every time you turn the bike on. When it connects.
3. Then, if you turn the bike of even for 1 second, you have to wait the 2-3 minutes again.
4. When you go into map mode, sometimes it displays the map at the dashboard, and sometimes it doesn't and you only see arrows. Even worse, sometimes in the middle of the ride the map disappears and you only get the arrows telling you to turn left or right.
5. Before the trip, I have imported the full day-plans for the 12 days. Created them on Google Maps, exported them to GPX using the site mapstogpx.com, and imported into the application. All the maps looked OK and could be loaded. Then one day, when leaving Tarouca do Serra da Estrela, I couldn't get a map and got a message such as "desired path cannot be found" - meaning that the software couldn't find a path to go to all the waypoints I had chosen. I tried it in Google Maps and Waze, and it was available. Then I remembered that I had imported the same files into my Garmin Zumo 660LM, which I brought as a backup. Well, the Zumo could also find the path, and the BMW Connected was the ONLY ONE THAT COULD NOT. At that moment I decided to mount the Zumo at the motorcycle bar and use it for the navigation. What a pity that I didn't do it before.
In the next lines, you will see two versions of the video that covers all our trip: a short version, of around 20 minutes, and a full version of around 1 hour. I hope you enjoy.
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