This morning we had a leisurely breakfast and checked out of
the luxury hotel in Pinhao. After loading
bikes we headed down the N222 towards Regua.
When we got to the dam across the Douro River we stopped to watch a
river cruise ship going through a lock.
It was a very interesting operation as the lock drops the ship
approximately 30 meters. After the water
has drained from the lock and the ship lowered the door to the lock lifts
vertically rather than having the normal horizontal doors which I have seen on
every other lock.
Driving down the Douro Valley was really amazing as you see
the extent of the hill side terracing and grape growing and the wine making
industry.
The drive back south was quite uneventful which is exactly
how you want to have a big car ride.
Sitting in the back seat in a warm comfortable seat with the swaying of
the car enabled me to have a nice snooze. I think the only times I woke up was when we
went through toll booths. Portugal has
tolls on most of the freeways. It seems
to me like the tolls are quite high, however as I am not use to having tolls on
the freeways I am probably not a good judge of this.
Tomorrow is a big ride day.
Liam has a 100 plus kms route planned which will have close to 2000
meters of climb.
Terry
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