Portugal Part 2 | Cycle Touring

18.11.2019 to 28.11.2019 From Braga, via Aviero to Fatima.
From Braga it was another couple of days in the beautiful hills of Northern Portugal before dropping down to the coast.
Flew along the flat coastal plains for a day before deciding to go back inland. Some glorious riding through beautiful countryside and into Fatima.

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i arrived in braga a little bit beaten cold and damp and i ended up staying at the hostel for two nights the building didn’t have any heating at all it was absolutely freezing in there i was also the only occupant so it was a little bit eerie my front brakes were totally destroyed from the constant braking i’d been doing on the hills so i did some bike maintenance walked around the city ate some grilled chicken and got some rest so a couple of nights later dawned bright and blue and crispy cold time to go [Music] from braga i wanted to get to the coast but i wanted to avoid the city porto i wasn’t interested in seeing cities at this point so i continued south but i veered slightly east to avoid the city’s outskirts that first day out of braga was icy cold but around me was a bright beautiful brilliant blue sky day the warm sun when i could find it was was brilliant at one point i stopped to have lunch i took off my socks and my shoes and one of the locals took pity on me and brought out a clean pair of white socks for me amazing go in shape while i slipped up on the hill at the end of that glorious day the clouds rolled in from the west bringing with them it was to become a theme for the following days these huge massive rolling storms off the atlantic heading inland i had never cycled to it in winter conditions before and to be honest i was not looking forward to it at all i’m not a cold weather person but i came prepared well mostly most of the rain fell overnight and my tent was excellent but it’s not only about the gear i always tried to stop before it got dark i tried to make sure i put my tent somewhere sheltered from the wind and somewhere that wouldn’t flood and by this these rules slept comfortably the roots continued to punish me but despite the relentless roller coaster nature of the trail i was bored by the raw beauty of the country around me there is something about this part of portugal that evoked in me a sense of wonder and adventure and nature is also amazing it was perfect timing every day i was feasting on oranges grapes persimmons and sometimes even passion fruit that i have simply foraged from trees alongside the road let’s change gear and finally i’ve done my last hill and it was all the way down down down to the coast time to fly i’d been told that the bombardos take in pilgrims so when i saw one on the side of the road just before it got dark i couldn’t resist i pulled in i asked if i could stay okay near rooney after a good night’s sleep the following morning i made my way to the atlantic after a cup of tea by the sea all my gear flying and drying in the sun i headed off and find myself in deep sand i thought i was in for a tough day but it didn’t last long not long after pushing out of the deep sand cycle lanes appeared and reveling in the flatness of it all my legs were spinning and i was [Music] grinning [Music] by the time i made it to aviero that evening where i stayed with a brilliant warm showers host i had already become bored of the coast it was completely different to just a few kilometers inland it was very flat very boring and much more developed as it was winter the beach towns were pretty much ghost towns i had already decided to go back inland and head to fatima [Music] [Applause] after leaving aviero i had it pretty much almost due east to intersect the kamino to fatima i found it in aguero washed some gear dried in the sun and then continued south towards coimbra it wasn’t the nicest stretch but after coimbra glorious it was the following nights and by pure chance i pulled up at ibon albergue as it started pouring i ended up staying for two nights and it’s a huge thank you to rose and steve for the warm bed amazing food from ebon the camino continued through beautiful countryside it was completely deserted and it was just me and the mud that night i camped in an olive grove just outside of fatima and for once it didn’t rain every year millions of pilgrims and tourists make the trip to fatima as it is one of the most important catholic shrines in the world dedicated to the virgin mary in 1917 three children witnessed several apparitions while tending the family sheep the apparitions are believed to be the virgin mary and these events are known as the miracle of fatima personally it was an awesome sight to see the platha is huge on one side the basilica of our lady of the rosary which rises over 60 meters high is flanked by two huge columned wings behind the wings of these huge ancient oak trees and across from the plata from the basilica is the even bigger basilica of the holy trinity [Music] once more it was time to rest eat and do some bites you