We were up even earlier today, at 05:30 for the 06:00 breakfast, plenty of choice with fruit, cereals, toast and pastries as well as the usual cooked stuff. We wheeled our bikes across to the airport and started preparing them for the flight. Christine couldn’t shift her pedal nut, having forgotten that her bike had been recently upgraded and the pedals refitted by the bike shop, it’s always a good idea to check they are not excessively tight before leaving home. After a lot of pressure I managed to budge them and we completed the task with plenty of time to spare.
We didn’t have long to wait for our bags and bikes in Portugal, all were in good order and the chains hadn’t even been dislodged. It started raining as we set off, becoming very heavy so we had to shelter in a cafe only a few minutes after leaving the terminal. When the rain eased, we continued into Faro and arrived just in time for a heavy downpour, sheltering under the awning of a pizzeria. It was only 16:00 but we elected for an early dinner inside rather than standing outside, an undistinguished pizza but it served its purpose. The rain eased and then ceased so we ventured out for a very long 8km to Olhao along a very busy but narrow main road and had to shelter part way when torrential rain, thunder and lightning made it too dangerous to continue. We were drenched by the time we arrived at the Pension Biculer, the rain continued for the rest of the day so we stayed inside.