Lot to Like about Loulé

Spain-Portugal Stage 5 – Mon 16th May 2016 – Tavira to Loulé (60 Km)

Weather: 18⁰C min – 25⁰C max, fine, partially cloudy

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” Stop being afraid of what could go wrong, and focus on what could go right “ ~ Unknown

Hoping for another magical ride like yesterday I continued westward on the Ecovia do Litoral cycle path along the Algarve coast as far as Faro about 24 Km away. But the section of the cycle path today was mainly on rough, rocky paths and roads, bouncing my poor bike (and its rider) all over the place. I therefore had to keep checking that no nuts and bolts had worked loose and that my pannier bags were still secure. Another problem was that the trail petered out in a couple of places – it was not exactly as the map showed it to be. At one stage I had to walk the bike through long grass and thorny briars, through a creek, and lift it up over the railway line to another dirt track I could see on the other side. Apart from a few scratches on my legs I got through OK …all part of the adventure.

There was some nice scenery along the coast on the way to the airport town of Faro, in particular the charming fishing village of Fuseta and the Eastern Algarve’s principal fishing port of Olhão. Some roadworks near Faro made navigation a bit tricky, but I managed to skirt around the city and head in a northerly direction. Just north of Faro I passed through some very classy streets with magnificent houses before once again finding myself on bone shattering dirt roads most of the way to Loulé. At least the dirt roads took me through some nice pine forests with an abundance of beautiful wild flowers, even wild irises.

For the last 5 Km I was confronted with a reasonably steep climb of about 170 m, not something I appreciated much after having ridden 55 Km.  Finally I entered the old market town of Loulé and was in for a surprise. Although Loulé is older and lacks the lustre of Tavira it has its own charm, with narrow cobbled streets leading off the central Avenida, tiny shops and hidden away bars and restaurants. It turned out to be an explorer’s haven …I found lots of interesting little shops as I meandered around aimlessly, particularly Teresa’s Pottery. She paints all the pottery and mosaic tiles herself and did not mind me taking a couple of photos of her creations.

My hotel is right in the centre of town, with several cafes and restaurants nearby, so I am off to find something to eat now and then prepare for my ride to São Bartolomeu de Messines tomorrow.