Cascais and Cycling to the Beach

Cascais is a seaside town west of Lisbon. Gates's seatmate on the plane recommended it. Our goal was to rent bikes (an electric one for me) and cycle along the ten mile round trip bike path which overlooks the beach. This area is also good for surfing with its large waves, so we were hoping to see that, too. We had packed our helmets in case they wouldn't be available.

Gates is a huge cycling fan, so he had done copious research. Unfortunately, the first bike shop was sold out of electrics, so we moved on. Close by was Vitor's bike shop, located on the first floor of an apartment building. He had a full stock including baskets and a very complicated locking system installed on each bike. 

There was a learning curve with the electric bike despite the fact that I had ridden one in Alaska. But that was a long time ago. The balance is different because of the weight of the bike. However, it didn’t take too long before I was moving right along. The bike was an electric assist without a throttle, so as you pedal, it learns how fast you are moving. There are 5 speeds. I mostly stayed on the first speed, which was fast enough. (I can’t imagine what 5 would have been like!)

Sights at the marina

Beautiful wildflowers grew along the roadside and in the dunes.

Cascais is stop on the Camino near a much-needed water refilling station.

The bike path was quite narrow and ran along the side of a busy road (many others were also intent on a day at the beach), but the views were magnificent, so we stopped a few times to take pictures.

 

Boca do Inferno (Portuguese for Hell's Mouth) is a chasm located in the seaside cliffs along the bike path. The water has access to the deep bottom of the chasm and vigorously strikes its rocky walls, making it a popular tourist attraction. It was quite dramatic.

 

 

 Some of the bike path was paved; some was a boardwalk; some had quite a bit of sand from the wind.

The boardwalk to the beach was long, but once we reached the beach it was beautiful. 

 

First stop was to plunge my feet into the surf. It was freezing! We had brought along a blanket, so I got comfy and laid down for a quick nap. When I awoke, there was sand everywhere – blanket, clothes, hair, neck, skin, etc. from the wind. Oh well, nothing a good shower couldn't handle.


A few surfers were enjoying the big waves, but they were farther out and harder to see.