A hard start to my cycle ride home - A straight froward ride up to Sao bartolomeu where I turned onto a dusty road to pass a huge reservoir (Baragem do Funcho) and after only 17 miles I stopped for lunch by the scenic lake.
I had to ride 4 miles on the IC1 up to Sao Marcos da Serra and alrhough the road was busy it was dead straight with a decent verge so I felt safe. I turned onto a small road right through the middle of the Eastern Algarve, passing Cork Farms and green fields on my way to Odemira. It was getting hot and the undulations made it tough going.
There was little sign of life except the very odd farmhouse for 25 miles until I reached Odemira where I stopped at a cafe for a coffee and a snack. Then it was on to Vilanova de Milfontes which I would have liked to have visited but due to the time and distance to cover I sped straight across a bridge spanning the river Mira then it was a hard 15 miles northwards up the coast to the edge of Sines where I joined a nasty, busy road with heavy traffic and lots of wagins heading to a huge Oil Storage plant and port. I was glad to pass the huge Industrial sprawl and reach what was a lovely clifftop town with great views from my Hotel across the Atlantic Coast.