39.5 miles, 696 metres climbed, 1060 descended, average speed 12.68mph. A cooler start with high cloud which cleared as the morning progressed.
Unfortunately the WIFI is very poor in the hotel so I am not able to post any photos at the moment. I may have to do an update tomorrow.
After I finished yesterday’s post I took a walk up through the narrow, very steep streets of the town to the ruined castle at the very top. The views from there were magnificent.
This morning we headed down from Monsanto at 9am. The route to the brew stop, at 19 miles, was undulating with none of the steeper climbs of the previous days. There was a smell of eucalyptus in the air from the many trees lining the early sections of the route. After coffee we enjoyed some faster sections with nice sweeping descents.
As we bypassed the town of Segura we descended to a bridge crossing the river Erges which marks the border between Spain and Portugal. This was now a two country tour!
As we neared Alcantara there was a long descent to the river at the base of a large dam. Crossing the river there we climbed up to Alcantara and lunch.
A very welcome short day with more descending than climbing. Time to rest before we go again tomorrow.
Thanks for your comments and I hope to be able post photos tomorrow.
Looks absolutely incredible scenery and a great achievement.
In the “Tour de France”, an easier stage is called “transition stage”. It allows to find strength for the next days, maybe more difficult…
As far as I am concerned, I ran the 20km of Paris on Sunday 9 October… with a cold…! It wasn’t easy either…!