I owed you a somewhat longer description of our last day to Santiago de Compostela. A day, literally, with a number of highs and lows, but ending with the biggest high: biking into Cathedral square. What satisfaction and happiness. In moments Like this, I have to contain myself to not start openly crying. Not just a tier, but really crying. The three of us embraced which felt great. Lots of pilgrims on the square, most utterly tired but happy-faced. The effort paid off; we made it! Back to our day: this was probably the heaviest day of our journey, with steep climbs from the moment we left the hotel. Since the clock had advanced 1 hour the day before, at our regular hour of starting our rides, 8.00, it was still semi-dark with a temperature of ... read more

Ponte de Lima to Vilaboa 80.36 km A day dominated by batteries. It started with finding out that my battery had not charged entirely during the night. My USA battery charger cable requires an adapter to connect to the European electrical outlets. Apparently, the adapter had slid out of the outlet during the night and had stopped the battery from charging. A major issue, but not fatal. We had to stop more frequently to make sure I did not run out of battery. At a critical moment at the end of our today's ride on our way to the hotel, which resulted to be farther away than we anticipated, we were barred from charging in a restaurant. Something unusual that had not happened to us before. We were all running out of charge and had to ... read more

Águeda to Porto 86.96 km A day to be careful with the battery… We have made it a habit to have breakfast at 7.30 and to get on the road by 8.00. Why 7.30? Because that is the time kitchens seem to open here. Fortunately for me, kitchens do not open earlier!! The day proved to be a heavy one with a lot of climbing. In total, we climbed almost 1.300 m. As I explained in previous notes, climbing generally requires more battery usage. Today that certainly was true. One of our batteries (Jaap's) run out out of power. Miraculously, this happened 150 meters from the corner of a restaurant where we could eat and recharge. I almost run out of battery getting to Porto. Just one of 5 bars of charge left. Does not feel ... read more

Chamusca to Ansião 81,81 km A different day. I had a great night's sleep that helped me pass tiredness and still some lingering jet lag. We had an easy drive going to Tomar a town created inside the walls of the Convento de Cristo, constructed, according to Wikipedia, under the orders of Gualdim de Pais, the fourth Grand Master of the Knights Templar of Portugal in the late 12th century. A very worthwhile visit. Contrary to many old buildings (convents, churches and grand houses. etc. ) we have seen along the way, this convent, a world heritage site, is being well maintained and restored. Stopping and visiting historic sites was not something I did when I walked the Camino. My main objective then was to get from A to B in the shortest possible time. I ... read more

Odemira to Lisbon 86.37 km An interesting day with some cheating… The day started as regularly. Breakfast was very decent and the sky was looking to rain. Although we started out riding dry, the rain came quite quickly. Fortunately, the rain did not last. Little weather problems for the rest of the day. Some decisions were made to shorten our ride. Instead of biking around the bay close to Setubal, we decided to take a ferry, shortening the ride significantly. Getting off the ferry, we met a german couple that recommended us not to drive through Lisbon, but to take the train. As it turned out an excellent recommendation. Driving on a bicycle with luggage through a busy town is not recommendable. Too dangerous. An interesting note on the train: crossing the river the train is ... read more