Retirement trip - Days 9 and 10

 Day 9

Woke up at 06:00 and was on the road by 07:15. I knew this was going to be a long day, so waking up early was fortunate as it allowed for an early start. 

It was a bit of a cool, overcast day as I set off on deserted roads. Had a good run through the mountains which looked different in the early morning light.

Today's run was one of the most varied - mountains, rolling countryside, coastal roads, and as I ended up going through the city of Oviedo, busy urban traffic. The day varies from cool in the mountains (17C) to warm when the hazy sun came through (25C) Best of all was there was no rain at all. Although it was a long day I really got into the riding and I think this is the best riding day of the trip so far.

By late afternoon I had made my way to my destination for the night, the seaside town of A Coruña. I had a slight problem finding he hotel as it was in a pedestrian street, well patrolled by Police, so I had to park round the corner and carry my luggage. The hotel was in a 70s office block that contained a number of businesses, the reception was on the 5th floor and my room on the 7th. The room was a bit small and was clearly made out of a 70s office with 70s decor and furniture, but it was clean and tidy, and more important, cheap.

I dropped off my luggage, got changed and went for a walk. It was early evening, but there were still people sunbathing on the beach and the town had a number of interesting buildings.

Only problem I had was that my laptop wouldn't connect to the hotel's wifi, hence this report is a day late.

Day 10

A shorter and quicker day, so I didn't set out until 08:45. Again it was a bit cool and overcast when I left, and I rode through some mist early on. Not long after there were a few spots of rain but it didn't come much. Again a mixed day for scenery with rolling countryside and a number of hills. 

Today I crossed another border, this time into Portugal - a country I'd never been to before and who's language I can't speak at all. 

 You ride onto a 150 metre long bride and on the other side is another Portugal sign, borders are as easy as that!  Again a mixture of roads and going over one set of hills it got a lot brighter and the temperature got up to 32C, Lots of very pretty villages and town could be spotted along the way, thought these houses in a valley were particularly nice.

Once again I had some hot and busy urban riding in the outskirts of Braga and soon after arrived at my destination, Porto. Again I had a bit of difficulty finding my 'hotel' as it was in an apartment block. I found their name of the buzzer outside and it looks like they have made about 5 renting rooms out of a large apartment. Luckily I am able to park the bike in an underground carpark for 10 Euros a night. Parking in the street attracts a fine of 300 Euros!

I went for a walk into the city centre, a 15 minute walk away although if I could understand the system, I could get a tram from outside the hotel.

Porto is a very attractive city, but incredibly busy with tourists. Both sides of the river are full of bars and restaurants, and it is almost too busy to walk about in.

This aquatic tour bus seems to be built on a WW2 era DUKW amphibious vehicle. 

Views from the famous cast iron bridge you see in all photos of Porto

Cable car that goes alongside the river

You can get tours of the city in all sorts of interesting vehicles

The famous bridge, Ponte de Dom Luís I. The upper level carries trams and pedestrians and the lower, restricted road vehicles and pedestrians

I'm spending two nights in Porto so might visit the city centre again.