Well not quite the end of the world, but the end of Europe. Sagres, Portugal is the most south westerly point of Europe for those interested in such trivia. Sagres is also the name of one of the most popular beers in Portugal, which I include for the same reason. Our escape from Lisbon was pretty hairy. New bike, new group, wrong side of the road etc. Traffic was cut and thrust but we crossed the Tagus over a monstrous suspension bridge, then off down the coast heading south. The country was dry, harsh anď basically boring, and the Atlantic was mostly out of sight. However, there is plenty of surf along the coast, and Sagres is a bit of a surf mecca. It also has an old fort on a prominent point jutting into the sea, built by Henry the Navigator some 500 years ago. Distinguished alumni from this learning academy include no less than Vasco da Gama and Ferdinand Magellan. Only a few years before, people thought that the earth was flat, so it was a time of rapid advance.
Speaking of rapid advance, we did a bit of this ourselves as we left Sagres and headed for Tavira, a coastal resort town further to the east. We detoured through the twisty back roads in the hinterland instead of the heavily trafficked coastal highways. It was hot and thirsty work, and the pool and a few of the chilled articles were on everyone's mind. Followed by dinner at a riverside bar where the meat dishes came out on a vertical skewer/tower thing and were ceremonially delivered with great flourish. Reminded me of seeing a haggis piped in to a formal dinner in Scotland!
In the morning it was back to work as we crossed the Spanish border into the Andalusian region to our next night's accommodation at a hacienda at Arcos de la Frontera. This place has been in the same family for over 500 years and they know how to treat guests. The roads around here are terrific riding, and not far from the famous Jerez racetrack. Couldn't resist dusting off the old Spanish at fuel and coffee stops. It was pretty pathetic though because boy they speak it fast. At the hacienda, I presented one of the staff ladies with a few little toy koalas for their hospitality, telling her what they were called. She was quite excited and disappeared inside. Next minute a rapidfire stream of Spanish floated out the window, punctuated by a definite KOO- ARLA and peals of laughter. This is one of my favourite things to do when I'm travelling and is always genuinely appreciated.
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