This post recounts the ninth day of my Portugal End to End cycle tour with Peak Tours in May 2023. Read Day 8: Marvão to Vila Viçosa

This was probably my favourite day of the tour. I felt on top form throughout, and I’m sure the lasagne last night helped fuel me through the day. It was a day full of interest, too.

It was a pleasure cycling through Vila Viçosa, with its splendid architecture and historical sights.

We maintained a brisk pace out of town, and were intrigued by the marble quarries that line the road to Bencatel. Like the factory at Elvas yesterday, this was a rare example of industry on the Peak Tours Portugal tour. (One reason we dipped into Spain over the past couple of days was to avoid an industrial centre in Portugal.)

At one point the road was diverted and became an uneven mix of gravel and larger stones. Penny and Steve powered ahead on their gravel bikes, but I joined the others in wheeling my own gravel bike to avoid any risk of punctures or mechanical issues. We were soon back on tarmac.

After just seven miles, we stopped for photos at Alandroal castle. Unfortunately I forgot to restart my Garmin after the photo opportunity, so today’s stats are a little under the true total.

This morning’s brew stop was at this striking church at Rosario.

It was an easy morning’s cycling under bright skies and through contrasting landscapes. We had a few climbs, but the big climb of the day was to our lunch stop, the historic hill village of Monsaraz. On the day’s elevation profile, below, the climb to Monsaraz looked like a church spire. I later realised that was because we descended from Monsaraz’s lofty heights straight away after lunch.

The climb itself was similar to that to Monsanto, although we were undertaking it in the midday heat. We took our time, and I followed Julia’s example in walking the final yards, not least because tourists were weaving all over the road. (A contrast to tranquil Monsanto and Marvâo.)

We were grateful to guide Sam, pictured above, who looked after our bikes as we had a leisurely lunch inside the walled village. He and Gilda did very well to park the Peak Tours vans at the gates of the village. They, and fellow guide Fernando, have played a crucial role in making this such a successful tour.

It was lovely walking around Monsaraz before we chose a spot for lunch. We had amazing views back down the hill, a regular feature of this tour, as seen below.

Everywhere we looked we saw fellow cyclists – with Libby, above, striking a pose.

We struck lucky with our lunch venue, with tables in the shade and views over the lakes in the far distance, which we would pass this afternoon. (Similar to the view below.) It was a delightful interlude. You can see more on the day’s highlights video at the end of this post.

Before leaving Monsaraz, we explored the castle, savouring the wonderful views over the countryside. I should have taken the advice to bring a pair of non-cycling shoes for this tourist outing.

We saw some of our fellow Peak Tours cyclists racing down the hill from Monsaraz, most likely including Alec and Simon. We were soon to follow, and thrilled to lose height far quicker than we had gained it before lunch, as seen below.

We were now threading our way through a very different landscape, which seemed more Nordic than Iberian, with its lakes and bridges. We made good progress although I had to change my SRAM derailleur battery before the afternoon was out. This was well before the expected 500 miles, although I have been changing gear constantly over the past eight days.

The last ten miles were hot and hilly, especially to the last brew stop, and on to Moura. This last section was full of interest, crossing river bridges and then ascending to Moura. I was pleased to get to the hotel, Hotel de Moura, another fascinating, attractive old building. I was intrigued by what looked like shutters on the wall of my bedroom, and opened the adjacent door to find a sitting room! As always I wasn’t there long enough to take advantage.

Moura was full of sights, including this stork atop a church bell tower next to our hotel.

Julia, Janet and I went exploring before dinner. We found it hard to establish our bearings, but eventually found a bar that the early crew had already colonised. As always, conversation was accompanied by birdsong – housemartins in Moura. We had a beer here before following the others, who had arranged a table at a nearby restaurant. By the time we joined them, it was clear that all was not going to plan, with a shortage of food and staff. We finished the drinks we had ordered, and found a wonderful tapas restaurant. It proved an inspiring choice.

When we got back from dinner, we discovered our fellow riders in the bar drinking port and other nightcaps. Tempting though it was to join them, for a second night running we resisted.

Read Day 10: Maura to Mértola

The day’s stats

63.9 miles, 3,451 feet climbing, 4 hours 51 mins cycling, average speed 13 mph. (I did miss recording a few miles between the castle and morning brew.)

The day’s highlights video