We can't leave Portugal without a dedicated post and celebration of Pastel de Nata, Portugal's national pastry, which we found in each and every place we went, even the smallest town cafe.

We were spoiled in Sintra, tasting the 'Cup of Kindness' in January at the sweet little cafe Nata Pura, owned by Artur Baptista - the Portuguese Jags - and his daughter serving delicious coffees and their unique Nata creations. Sol was especially thrilled to find Huckleberries in one version. Lief preferred the caramel version and I must say their dark chocolate version is out of this world!

To bite into a well-made and fresh Pastel de Nata is a sensory feast, as the crispy, flaky, buttery pastry on the outside makes way for the creamy, golden rich, sweet custard on the inside. To complete the feast for the tastebuds add a sprinkle of cinnamon! Together with an espresso this is more than a 'Cup of Kindness', I would call it more a merging of 'Divine Cups of Goodness'.

​The history of these delicacies goes back to divine devotion indeed, as in the aftermath of the Liberal Revolution of 1820 the monks at the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos (Hieronymites Monastery) in the civil parish of Santa Maria de Belem (Saint Mary of Bethlehem) in Lisbon started creating these pastries as a way to use the many leftover egg yolks and to bring in some revenue. When the monastery closed, they sold the recipe to the sugar refinery, whose owners in 1837 opened the 'Fabrica de Pasteis de Belem'. The descendants own the business to this day and we it was our main destination on our last day of biking through Lisbon, which happened to be 'Portugal Day' (see following blogpost). 

​We will miss these delicacies when we return home! We may need to attempt to create our own.... 

We spent nearly a week, taking care of business, and truly enjoying the marvellous city of Lisbon (or Lisboa, to the Portuguese). Most of the larger stores were still closed and there were more COVID restrictions, with ubiquitous hand santizers and masking. We were careful to keep our distance and mostly stick to biking. We found an apartment sandwiched between Benfica Stadium and a small city park, the Parque Bensaúde (closed, unfortunately). 

Magic day on the bikes out to Sintra, Cabo da Roca, then back along the cost to Lisbon. Unfortunately, in the last 15km, we had a plague of flats, so had to train back to Lisbon. Sintra was bittersweet, having been our first home in Portugal in January. So nice to see it in late spring, lush and green, and nearly devoid of visitors - a plus for us. Businesses were grateful to see us.  

Special shout out to the sublime Nata Pura in Sintra, who make a version of Pastel de Nata with caramel, chocolate and mixed berries. Kiki and the boys visited this place regularly in January, and they managed to survive the shutdown by remaining open for take out and by having such amazing natas! They remembered us too.

Our last time on the bikes was around Lisbon, which happened to be on Portugal Day (a national holiday commemorating the life of Luís de Camões, a poet and national literary icon). We arrived in Belém for pastel de natas only to see heavy security around the Monastery. The President and Prime Minister made a brief statement about the pandemic. It was a somber affair. 

After this, it was pack, pack, pack. We made a decision about the bikes - to only bring Kiki and Lief's back. Sol's and mine were left in Portugal. Mine was left on the street, and Sol's was given to the son of the owners (who is 8y/o) of the apartment we rented. Maybe his enthusiasm and energy will inspire a young Portuguese to adventure and biking!

Aljezur; Zambujeira do Mar; Vila Nova de Milfontes.

From Sagres, we blitzed north through to three coastal villages. All brilliant white buildings with adobe roofs perched on hillsides overlooking a sandy beach. Big rolling waves crashing into most of these beaches. Surfing a big pastime. 

Southern Portugal was ruled by the Moors for 500 years, so many names come from this time. There are Moorish castles in many of the cities. Any city beginning with "Al" was established (or at least named by the Moors). Amazingly, the wind was at our backs the entire time, making for some great riding. For the most part, we traveled on a level plateau. But every stream or river crossing to delta at the ocean meant a descent and yes, a hill. The boys are getting truly stronger, with less complaints, and less need for pushes from parents. The biking days follow a similar pattern:

1. Up for breakfast
2. Pack - Sol is always, always done first, then sits around bored while his fretting parents try not to forget anything and clean up the place
3. Hit the bikes
4. Coffee - I'm hesitant to use the word addiction, but well, it applies for each of us. We ALWAYS hit a cafe for an espresso prior to hitting the road
5. Ride! Morning snack is usually a pastry at one of the nearly ubiquitous cafes. Pastel de nata is the daily treat for Kiki, Lief and me. We forever will associate Portugal with this unique custard treat. 
6. Late lunch, hoping to find something suited to our picky palate. Sol doesn't do dairy or meat or most fish. Kiki and I don't eat meat and the fish is super duper fishy, for the most part. Lief will eat most anything. God bless him. We usually have a complex negotiation in Portuguese and sign language to get an order in. Things like "omelet" and "batata frites" and "salada" help. We are.not starving. 
7. More riding.

The original plan was to ride all the way up to Lisbon, but we had a deep fatigue set in and we wanted to stay put and prepare fully for the trip back. Many last minute details to look after. Emails to write, food delivery to arrange, notification of Haida Gwaii authorities of our trip back, ground transport to arrange, bikes to package, souvenirs to buy, Lisbon to explore, home schooling to continue, confirmation of all flight segments, isolation plan to create, last few bike rides to ride, last minute shopping, blogging, truck insurance to arrange. Fortunately, we were able to find a nice place near the Benfica soccer stadium (boys love that) for the week prior to our departure. All while avoiding COVID infection!! Next up, Lisbon...

For better or worse, we made a decision to ride out the pandemic in Portugal, a decision we don't regret. The trip back in the throws of early lockdown was daunting and would have had a panicked feel. We did an impressive amount of school in our sanctuary in Ponte da Barca and had a very special time as a family. We dealt with the mounting fear by focusing on what we could control - our time with each other. It became especially difficult (for Tracy especially), to ignore both the urging of his parents ("Trace, um, when are you guys coming home?!") and the Government of Canada. The boys did not want to return. Kiki was still hoping to make it to Holland, maybe her last chance to see her 94-year old grandmother. Keep in mind, we didn't know in March just how bad things would get. And we did have the luxury of more than 3 months prior to having to fly home. 

Our original plan was to overland to Holland over the course of our time here, and fly home from Amsterdam. Every few weeks, we received notice of changes. With the pandemic deepening and borders closing, it became clear we would be staying in Portugal, and we would have to revise our way home. First were the canceling of Haida Gwaii flights. Second were Air Canada's changes (too many to list here). Bottom line is we fly from Lisbon to Amsterdam on June 12, overnight at the airport. On June 13, we fly to Frankfurt, then Toronto, then Vancouver, overnighting at the airport there. It is our last leg - to Haida Gwaii - that presents the most challenge. The ferry is still running, but this isn't a realistic option. In the end, we've found a private flight that will bring us home on June 14, where we begin our isolation. Haida Gwaii, as of writing, is COVID-19 free, and we do not want to be the index case that changes that, a lesson painfully learned recently in Campbellton, New Brunswick. Kudos to the CHN and local leaders at creating policy that has kept the population healthy through limitations on non-resident travel to Haida Gwaii. 

Now time to enjoy our last time here and hope this fragile plan doesn't fall apart. We still have to manage our bikes. We still have to get back to Lisbon. And most importantly, we need to be vigilant to not become infected with COVID. 

From Lagos, we found ourselves back on the bikes again, off to Sagres, a town in the farthest SW corner of the country. The Cabo de Sāo Vicente is the farthest SW point of the country and of continental Europe, so has significance for mariner history. Sagres, in fact, was the home of a famous early Portuguese explorer, Henry the Explorer. Prior to Henry, there was little exploration of the ocean. Mediterranean yes, Atlantic no. The Atlantic was felt to be full of monsters and storms, and ships and skills hadn't developed to permit any oceanic voyages. Beginning with the exploration of the African coast using the famed "caravel", he led more than a dozen expeditions to faraway places, "discovering" the Cape Verde and Canary Islands, Madeira and the Azores. He established a sailing school in Sagres, and Portugal became the major early power of the Age of Discovery, producing explorers such as Bartolomeu Dias (made it to the Cape of Good Hope) and Vasco de Gama (first to make it to India). One sees statues of Henry the Explorer all over Portugal. 

Sagres has a surf beach feel with surf shops and a ton of cafes. Kiki is happy to find very nice coffee. We had a full day to explore the area, choosing to head to the stunning Cabo de Sāo Vicente - translated means Cape of Saint Vincent. It's a 7km ride along gorgeous cliffs interspersed with sandy beaches to get there. A lookout, museum and lighthouse sits on the Cape. An old monastery existed here prior to conversion to the museum. 

On our way back to Sagres, we made a stop at Praia do Beliche, a sublime beach, nearly deserted, surrounded by cliffs and bizarre rock formations. 

Next up is the trip up the west coast, the area called Costa Vicentina (again, named after the Saint). This is a coastal dune ecosystem with cliffs and beaches, with little surf towns and strong winds. We'll see how far we get. Our days are passing by, and we have Lisbon in our sites for June 8. 

We are in Sagres, where the beer originated. We have a rest day here as yesterday was very hilly. Today, Sol and I went out of our house for a 2 hour walk and ended up taking over 120 photos. Below we have 20 of our best photos to show you.

So Lief wants to go to the Algarve to continue our biking pilgrimage. His brother concurs, even with the prospect of an early morning rise for a 14km bike ride at 6am to catch the 7:30 train from Caldas da Rainha. The first of four trains to get us to Lagos on the south coast of the Algarve....  So we abandoned our plans to go to Cascais and set this train in motion the very next day. Big day on trains, 7 hours. 

We are blessed by the friendly train manager of Caldas da Rainha who allows four bikes on his train, instead of the usual limit of two. We are so relieved and grateful, as otherwise it would mean splitting up and two of us arriving six hours later on our destination, if lucky...

This blessing allows us to travel by train to Sintra, but he warns us that it depends on the train managers in Lisbon whether we can continue to Lagos. Three more trains, three more train managers to navigate, buying tickets for each train at each station and getting to the right platform in time....hm... ​feel the nervous system at high alert.... BREATHE DEEPLY behind your face mask and breathe some more. Trust, pray, live in the moment and look out the window at the scenery and incredible tile work at passing train stations, or have a nap, and/or read your book on your app... 

The helpful Comboios de Portugal website (and app) makes everything straightforward and all the trains run on time. ​The website even gives a helpful breakdown of the amount of carbon saved traveling by train vs a private car. Wish this kind of carbon feedback were given for traveling in Canada, with its bigger distances to cover and generally bigger vehicles. 

We pull into Lagos station at around 2:30pm. A much hotter, sunnier and drier place. The environment is sandy, with fewer trees, more cactus and low shrubs. Wild and windy coast with big cliffs and sandy beaches. 

In Lagos, Lief and Sol found a true sportsman haven with football (soccer) pitch, tennis court, trampoline and a swimming pool all within walking distance of the house we were staying. Not surprisingly, they were out for most of the day. Sol said: "Mom, I'm so busy here, there is so much to do!" The owner of the house also is a big football fan and they were shown his collection of soccer jerseys and scarfs.... even a Canada flag was among his collection. 

To my surprise, next to the house was a beautiful little chapel, full of original artworks by local Portuguese artist Tina Goncalves. I especially enjoyed the Baptist Cove, with unique depictions in Aquamarine Blue. 

Lagos has a very different feel from the northern beach towns we have been to. Not only is the temperature higher and its nature quite different, there are so many expats here and stores and places are geared towards this population. We found many Dutch and British specialty treats at Intermarche supermarket, and English books and magazines at the FNAC and Tobacco store. At the stores and on the streets we have seen the largest amounts of non-Portuguese people, we assume they have been here since before the lockdown.  

We are heading west along the coast to Sagres next, which is more out of the way on one of the most southern parts of Portugal. TBC

The road from Nazare to Sao Martinho do Porto was a sweet sunny ride and thank the Goddess: it was all flat!! That's my kind of biking, reminding me of the Dutch biking paths. Google Maps is our go-to for quick trail finding while on the bike, but sometimes this leads to paths that do not exist and this day we ended up at a dead end in the fields. Sol picked up quite a bit of grass in his chain in the process, but once that was cleared we quickly found a better route. 

Much like Nazare, Sao Martinho, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, was packed with Portuguese people, strolling along the boulevard, sitting at cafes, and laying on the beach. It was a bit of a shock after having been in mostly quiet places, devoid of people. Aside from wearing masks in stores and the antibacterial gel placed at the entrance of stores, the place didn't have the same "COVID-vibe". 

The next day, Monday, brought a whole different vibe. Grey skies and the streets empty of the people who had gone back to their towns and likely back to work - the party is over. Sao Martinho do Porto is located in a bay shaped like a scallop with calm waters. It is surrounded by steep cliffs covered with hardy little flowers and we climbed up to have a closer look at the entrance of the bay. 

Originally our plan was to continue south along the coast towards Sintra and Cascais to spend our last two weeks before flying out of Lisbon. This would have likely taken us two more days of biking, but Lief expressed he does not want to stop biking. He wants to continue biking and to explore new places, so he proposed we would go to the Algarve instead... To be continued.... 

Day 4 and 5 of the return trip to Lisbon. We're back in high gear, putting on miles for the way home.
First day: Aveiro to Figueira da Foz - 72km
Second: Figueira to Leiria - 58km

Back on the road to Lisbon after a week in Régua (land of vineyards) and a few days in Aveiro (fishing village). These were big ride days, with the boys sure they would not be able to make it. Our longest day riding till now was 54km, so asking them to do 72km was a stretch, admittedly. 

Big tailwinds for both days, fortunately, made all the difference. Most cafes and restaurants are now open, but many aren't, probably casualties of COVID, and maybe can't. Many business owners we speak to are stressed and put on a brave face. They are grateful for our business and everyone is very welcoming. We haven't had a single encounter with anyone who was unpleasant or cranky. Remarkable really. 

We spent the night in Figueira da Foz, a very cool beach city at the mouth of the Mondego River. Had a great vegetarian meal at Volta e Meia, and spent the night at a very bike friendly guesthouse called Bike Suite. There were surprisingly a lot of people staying there, many letting us know they were awake throughout the night and early morning. It was a long night... Leiria was up next. 

Things have the feeling of wrapping up our time here. Much attention now on what is going on in Canada and the mechanics of our trip back. We are working hard to find a way to make it from Lisbon to Haida Gwaii with as few stops as possible. ​More on that later...