Bike and kayak in Lisbon and Arrábida
— Lisbon is great to visit by bike - provided you start at the top of a hill. And when you're done with the city, the beautiful coastline awaits!”
Such was the pleasure we derived from seeing Madrid by bike and such was the shortness of memory over the saddle discomfort we suffered that we decided to do it again in Lisbon.
Having planned the whole trip in secret, J booked a couple of excursions with Lisbon Bike Tour, an adventure company run by the delectable Filipe Palma.
Arrábida
The first day was split between a mountain bike ride along the tracks and (quieter) roads of the Parque Natural da Arrábida.
The parcours ran from the vineyard village of Vila Fresca de Azeitão to the slender beach at Portinho da Arrábida, where we enjoyed a fresh fish lunch.
During the afternoon, we headed out from the beach in our kayaks as far as a sand spit off the coast of Outão. The return journey was much easier thanks to a favourable wind!
Lisbon
On the second day we picked up the bikes again, this time at the Miradouro do Parque Eduardo VII, whence Filipe took us on a tour of Lisbon.
The ride was not particularly difficult, with the first half being downhill all the way from the Parque Eduardo VII to Praça do Comércio, with intermittent stops for historical background. Even so, negotiating paths shared with pedestrians and traffic crossings did require a certain amount of caution and coolheadedness.
We stopped briefly for a little glass of ginjinha and some classic pastéis de nata at Martinho da Arcada, a café frequented by intellectuals, artists and writers. Both Fernando Pessoa and more recently José Saramago had reserved seats there.
After refreshments, we headed out along the riverside through Cais do Sodré and the dockyards, under the Ponte 25 de Abril to Belém. The tour ended splendidly at the Torre de Belém, from which point we picked up our own itinerary by heading to the Museu Berardo, the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos and of course the “official” Pastéis de Belém shop for another (well-earned) dose of pastéis.
Boa viagem!
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