A bad day and a bad ride

T2 E7 – Alcácer do Sal>>Casebres

Today was a bad day and a bad ride. It started right outside the city, where a beacon told to go to the left and the yellow arrow above said to go to the right.

Eventually, still in Alcácer do Sal, we lost the yellow arrows and followed the Way via GPS. And we only found the blessed arrows again almost at the end of the section.

The twenty-three (23!) kilometers planned included almost a kilometer on the edges of the IC1, with rough trucks passing by and then another twelve (12!) kilometers of the municipal road to Casebres.

It was a road beating, I think tonight I'll dream about the white line in front of my nose. It was very uninteresting, the only fun was counting the cars that were passing by (97, but some went there and then came here), reflecting on the mania of car drivers to throw all kinds of rubbish on the side of the road, take pictures from the various types of traffic signs that were appearing and, from time to time, to the Alentejo meat (that which is still alive).

After this outburst, let's talk about the curiosities of Alcácer do Sal. It was difficult to find a restaurant for dinner, they were almost all closed. But we got one with comfort food, at “Arrisca e Petisca”.

It was difficult to get a taxi, one of the taxi drivers was even at the rice harvest and couldn't, but we got Mr. Fernando. At the accommodation, at “Valentina Place”, where we stayed, it was interesting to talk to the owner about current trends. He told us that a few years ago cyclists began to appear. Now, he's become interested in this walker thing, which he hopes will become a new niche market.

On the good part of the way, at the beginning, we met Mr. Manuel Tavares, very upset about the caterpillars and the animals that were destroying his vegetable garden. We lost/gained some time talking to him.

When he heard that we were going to Casebres on foot, he must have thought that these people must not be in the right frame of mind, but even so, he gave us a series of advice on the best way forward. This human dimension is one of the good parts of the Path. When we told him that we were from the Algarve, he remembered his best friend when he was in Guinea, in the army, who was an Algarve and a cook.

One of the advices he gave us was that “pass the irrigation channel, pass a broken harvester and follow”. In a few days, perhaps, this tip will no longer be, as some men were very busy repairing it. We were already a bit ahead when we heard the noise of the engines. Another operational machine!

Arriving in Casebres, very tired and looking at the tarred road, we tried to find a place to eat and drink something there. It wasn't easy, but we went to a kind of cafe/grocery/curiosity store/antique shop, which got us bread, cheese, beer and some cookies… We managed to survive!