Saturday (5.11) morning we continued going up the hill we had ended the night with. When we reached the top we were welcomed with a beautiful view and so we decided to enjoy it while we had a quick breakfast. Today our plan was riding just a bit over 115 km to Domenicos house, and because there were still a few hundred height meters ahead of us we didn't want to stop for too long.

After some time we passed Óbidos and were impressed by the incredibly long city wall which surrounds the city, which we thankfully were able to see just from down the hill as we cruised along the nearby river.
In the second picture you can see the wall from one side to the other!

And all the while, we were texting Marvin, who had been chasing us since our departure from Figueira da Foz and was just 20 to 25 km behind us, with information on where the EV was rideable, which sections to avoid, where drinking water was available and all other kind of information that makes a cyclists life easier. In one of the rare sections where the EV actually was not only rideable but also saved a few height meters, we met Eszter and her boyfriend who were touring together for a week before she would continue on her way while he had to get back to work.
And as the sun was setting and we were mentally preparing for our last climb of the day and for an hour of night riding, (bad?) luck struck. As we started the climb I saw that the luggage behind us was moving a bit more than usual, and after a quick inspection pause the cause was readily apparent: our luggage rack had broken again, and on the same spot as the last one!
But we quickly hatched a plan and so we called Marvin to see if we could motivate him to ride till our location, organize a change of luggage (with him getting the heavier stuff) and then push together through the last 30 km to Domenicos place through the darkness. And as riding together is way more fun than riding alone, he decided that he would join us. So we prepared to wait for him, put on sweaters as it was getting cold, and danced on the parking spot where we were stranded to keep warm. While we waited, we were greeted by two pairs of cyclists. First a couple who had met Daniel before and had recognized us from his Instagram stories, and then Eszter and her boyfriend who caught up to us and were looking forward to getting to the next camping place for a good nights sleep.
After some time we were wondering where Marvin was and just when we were about to call him, he texted us: his low riders had broken off his fork and he wasn't able to continue himself... Thankfully, we had an emergency solution at hand: Ida had insured our bike, and among the services where pick up and transport to the next location in case of damage to the bike which made continue riding impossible. And as we were not able to continue riding, as we were just one tube away from all our luggage being between our spokes we called the insurance to ask them to send a transport for our luggage, while we rode our bike to Domenicos as it seemed the easier solution than moving our 3m bike in any kind of vehicle. Sadly the person on the other side of the line didn't seem to know neither what a luggage rack was nor why it could be dangerous to ride with 30 kg on a broken one (more so in Portugal where falling on the street could mean a car driving over you), and so it took a bit of patience for Ida to explain our situation. When they finally agreed to help us and after taking our coordinates and our destination, they relayed us to their Spanish counterparts. As Ida was preparing to light our little stove to heat some water because it was getting cold, I knocked on a restaurant which seemed to be closed but still had just turned on the light. Daniela from Projecto84 (https://www.projecto-84.pt/en/home) opened the door and after I explained our situation in my broken Portuguese, she let us into the location which was currently closed for renovation.

And when the towing service contacted us (and asked for our location and where we wanted to go) we realized we were probably not riding the last few km, but were about to place our bike on a tow truck... And while we waited again, Daniela offered to get us a pizza as she was getting some for the workers who were pulling a night shift, because the restaurant was to open next week. The universe takes and gives as it pleases.
When we finally got a call from the driver of the tow truck (asking us where we were and where we wanted to go), we were really happy that something was finally happening after more than 4 hours waiting. The driver was a bit surprised himself, and told us he had never had to transport anything like this before. All of us were a bit confused as to why the promised taxi hadn't been synchronized with the tow, and I guess you know where this is going...

After waiting for a few more minutes, we called the insurance, and they told us no taxi was coming as the towing was an obligingness because the bike was still in a rideable state. They told us that they were sorry we were stranded without our bike, and that we should just walk through the night (with our 30kg luggage) to the destination. Thankfully we finally reached Domenico, who had been on a party before, and he agreed to pick us up with his car. And when midnight approached, we thanked Daniela for her patience with us, waved her goodbye as she left and started dancing again while the single digit cold (which feels horrible with the high humidity) tried to make our wait as unpleasant as possible. When we finally arrived at Domenicos place at 1 in the morning we just had one thing in mind, and just fell asleep as soon as we saw the bed.

So now we're stranded again, having to repair our bike, so what do you do on a Sunday (6.12)? You sleep long. Very very long. And afterwards you take a small walk with your host along the beach to visit the local roman temple.

At night, and due to an empty fridge, Marvin and I decided to take a short 11km bike ride (with a 200m climb) to the next supermarket. So we borrowed two bikes, put the panniers on and rode through the darkness, with Marvin in the front due to his bike having a front light, and me in the back with the back light. At some point Marvins light failed, but by now we were so used to the lawlessness of Portuguese traffic, that we didn't care. More so because of the pleasant outside temperature which made us enjoy the nightly adventure so much more.

Monday (7.12) we all cleaned our new Santiago-flat 2.0 together, as Domenico had just came back himself. And while hanging up the clothes, a pair of underwear fell of the balcony onto the neighbors clothes line prompting us to have a fishing competition as to could use a DIY hook to pull it back up.

Tuesday (8.12) we finally came around to organizing a replacement. We ordered our third luggage rack (with the insurance hopefully covering that order) and asked Tim to ship my trailer in hopes of relieving a bit of the weight from the rack. Thanks again Tim not only for taking my stuff in while I'm on the road, but also for shipping so quickly!
And so with all that hard work out of the way, we more than deserved going to the beach and enjoying the fresh sea air.

By now, you probably think we got lazy, chilling with caipirinhas on the beach all day! But on Wednesday (9.12) we had plans. And so we hiked the 8km to Farol Cabo da Roca along cliffs and beaches.

The lighthouse is the westernmost lighthouse of continental Europe and was amongst the first three goals we had set for this trip, along with Slettnes fyr and faro de Punta de Tarifa.

On the way back, we took a slightly different route and were even able to see parts of the EV1, which we now know, we will definitely not ride!

But what is life without a bike we thought, and so on Thursday (10.12) we once again borrowed two bikes and rode to Castelo dos Mouros in Sintra. On our way there we realized, that we just had been using the wrong kind of bike for our trip in Portugal. All the bumps on the street were there in order to make it a perfect trail for a mountain bike!

This was also Idas first e-bike ride, and she more than enjoyed it, sometimes using the turbo mode and racing past us and up the last 2km and their average 10% slope. And after some getting used to it, Ida even was brave enough to jump down some stairs on the bike!

And so this short article ends on Friday (11.12). Today we were lucky, that the waves weren't as high as they usually are (and have been the last week), and so we took the chance and went swimming. Or at least one of us did. In a totally out of line fashion for both of us, Ida found the water to be too cold for swimming, while me, who usually doesn't even look at water that is at least 28°C, just jumped in.

But because of it, I was too tired to explore the night life of Praia das Maçãs, and so Ida ventured, with Domenico and Marvin but without me, to a dance party returning with one less jacket than she had left with.

And that's all from us for this week!
P.S.: We like to see the positive in these situations and so we are happy that the luggage rack broke just before we arrived at a place where we feel safe and welcome, and to which we can send parcels.