Aveiro to Figueira da Foz

       Or accurately it should be Sao Jacinto to Quiamos. We had camped in the municipal campground in Sao Jacinto and headed off for an early start. First stop? Coffee. Portugal has the finest coffee in an array of styles. We have had everything from gelao ( tall glass of milky coffee) to cafe com leite (short with a little milk) to espresso. All good, all motivating and accompanied by a huge array of breads and pastries.

On the ferry from Sao Jacinto to Aviero

     Lowell had checked the ferry schedule but wanted a recheck so in the middle of our slow, relaxing breakfast I rode down the the ferry dock finding an older gentleman in traditional dress. But as I was riding up he signaled for me to enter the ferry and that it was leaving.      
     Turning my bicycle around I hollered over my shoulder that I had to get my husband and for the first time I was passing other cyclists instead of the other way around. Lowell loaded up in a split second and we were racing back to the ferry, again being waved on by the gentleman. As we rode up they lowered the ramp for us, having been ready to take off! Another lucky moment and again demonstrating how wonderful the people of Portugal are.
     A short ride across for €3 and we arrived in Aveiro. I had wanted to visit an area in Aveiro but we had decided against it. After evaluating distance covered vs. quality of experience we have learned that we need to skip some places in orderto have more time to see those things that are important to us. In Aveiro I had wanted to visit an area of brightly striped houses and once again luck intervened.
     We had come to a crossroads and did not know which of the ways was better in order to follow the coast line but, lo and behold, the gentleman that we had recently passed caught up with us and so Joao became our tour guide heading to Costa Nova. This would also put us on the direct path to Figueira da Foz. And Costa Nova was the area that I had wanted to visit!

Costa Nova by Aveiro

Passing out of Costa Nova and it´s brightly stripped houses we bid our guide Joao goodbye with a ringing of bicycle bells and were off on on way. We made our way into Praia Mira where inquiring at the tourism site, yes you guessed it, another lucky moment. A Lucky Moment shall now be referred to as LM!. We had decided to travel via the coast to F. da Foz but found out that the section from Praia Mira to Praia Tocha, while noted as a rural road on the map, is actually a wide deep sand path. Pushing loaded bicycles through kilometers of sand is definately something to be missed. We were placed on first a long shady road to the roundabout with the boat heading to the N109 and then onto the N109 with wide cycling shoulders where we ended up having a lunch in a turnout with shade. Frequently we are seeing rest areas with picnic tables and shade but have yet to stop.
     Our goal was to actually camp in F. da Foz but upon arrival to Quiamos we were hot, tired and ready to stop. We loaded up at a cafe\ mercado and headed down the the Orbitur camp at Quiamos, being met by a fabulously friendly hostess. A huge change from our last Orbitur meeting. Hot showers and Super Bock after 48 miles.