This post recounts the eighth day of my Portugal End to End cycle tour with Peak Tours in May 2023. Read Day 7: Alcántara to Marvão

This was the view that greeted me as I drew back the curtains in Marvão this morning. A glorious, misty vista over the borderlands between Portugal and Spain.

Leaving Marvão was effortless, once we were clear of the cobbles. It was a pleasure passing through the town walls, before the easy descent. What a contrast to the climb yesterday afternoon!

Today was the longest day of the tour, and one of the hottest. On paper, it looked one of our easier days, despite the distance, yet I was strangely listless this morning. Initially, I rode with a number of other riders including Dave, Keith and Jane, but in time felt the pace too high and settled back into my own rhythm. After the brew stop at 16 miles, Dave was the only rider anywhere near me.

One of my favourite moments was seeing a man and woman tending their bucolic land beside the road. I almost took a photo, but decided to respect their privacy. By this stage I realised I’d be cycling on my own a lot, so put on my Shokz headphones to listen to the playlist I created at Alcántara.

At one turn, I found Dave waiting for me. He was kindly checking that I hadn’t come to grief and was about to turn back to look for me. I appreciated his thoughtfulness. By this point we had crossed into Spain again, and would spend another 19 miles before returning to Portugal.

We had a short but steep climb in Spain – although I suspect it wouldn’t have made such an impression if the weather was cooler. I marvelled at the perfectly smooth road surface – what a contrast to our potholed and pitted roads in Britain. (But I concede that most Iberian roads don’t take the same punishment from winter ice and frost.) As I crossed back into Portugal, I was amused to see the time on my Garmin switch from 13:19 to 12:19. Curiously the road surface wasn’t as smooth on the Portuguese side of the border.

I enjoyed this section of the ride, especially the views of yet another hilltop town, not far from our lunchtime destination, Campo Maior. The Peak Tours brew van overtook me between here and lunch on a lovely stretch of road.

I was ready for lunch, but didn’t linger long over the meal, as I was conscious that we had a further 33 hot and hilly miles to go. After yesterday’s navigational blunder I was paranoid not to miss turns, and regularly took out the route notes to double check. (It would have been useful having a map holder on my handlebars, as on my 1990s and 2000s tours.) Later in the afternoon I nearly did miss a turn, but a sixth sense told me to check – I was 50 feet beyond the turning! A lucky escape. Garmin turn notifications seem very hit and miss in Portugal and Spain.

The route wound past the city of Elvas. Our first sight of it was this factory on the outskirts – one of the only times the tour went through an industrial area. The road twisted past the railway station – less sylvan that the former stations on the Tâmega trail on the first two days – before climbing towards the magnificent da Amorera aqueduct in the historic centre of Elvas. As I toiled uphill in the heat towards the aqueduct I was overtaken at speed by a young girl on an e-scooter…

As I cycled up to the aqueduct, a voice shouted out to me: the afternoon brew stop was in the shadow of the structure. Another inspired Peak Tours location for a drink and snack.

I was intrigued by this imposing structure. I assumed it was Roman, but it was actually completed in 1622. Within a few years its future was in doubt as Portugal’s King John IV proposed demolishing it to build new fortifications. Happily, it survived to provide a dramatic backdrop to my reviving mug of mint tea.

Steve, Penny and the others invited me to join them on the last session, but I took a little longer before setting off. The final 20 miles were hot and hilly, and I took my time. I was delighted to reach our destination of Vila Viçosa, and passing the inevitable castle quickly decided this town merited a tour before dinner.

We stayed at the lovely, modern hotel Solar Dos Mascarenhas, and I had a room with a sitting area and balcony overlooking a central courtyard. I didn’t do any sitting, but the balcony was very helpful for drying clothes!

Vila Viçosa is a handsome town, reflecting its history as the seat of the Dukes of Braganza, the heirs to the Portuguese crown for almost 300 years until the country became a republic in the early 20th century. You can see more of the sights on the day’s highlights video at the end of this post. Vila Viçosa was a contrast to many of our overnight stops as it is obviously a bustling town rather than a historic time capsule like Morvão and Monsanto.

This was one of my favourite evenings of the tour. On my walk, I kept seeing Alison, who was also exploring. She told me that a man harvesting oranges from the trees gave her two of the fruit. You can see him at work above.

I happily joined other Peak Tours riders at a craft beer bar round the corner from the hotel. Penny kindly bought me a quinoa beer, which was very refreshing. I then took Julia and Janet on a quick tour of the town, jokingly pretending to be an expert on the town’s history. Later, the three of us, Tom and Bruce had a convivial meal at the restaurant opposite the hotel. (Most of the rest of our group were at the next table.) I had lasagne, which provided ample fuel for the following day’s ride. Tom and Bruce were tempted to follow the meal with grappa. We gracefully declined the invitation to follow suit!

Read Day 9: Vila Viçosa to Moura

The day’s stats

76.84 miles, 4,348 feet climbing, 6 hours 4 mins cycling, average speed 12.6 mph.

The day’s highlights video