Ferreira do Alentejo to Escoural – 62.1k, 620m climbed

I’m happy to confirm that, although there was a bit more climbing today than yesterday, there were no montes grandes (per last night’s wine label).

Having left early to beat the heat, we broke our own record, arriving at our destination before sanduiche o’clock. Today’s filling was queijo with a delicious scraping of quince jelly, procured from the breakfast buffet at our guest house. The setting was a cut above our usual standard (you really wouldn’t know that there’s a petrol station just next door).

Guillaume spent the day snoozing – there was almost no navigation required

To the Portuguese, the N2 is a heritage road, warranting regular brown signs, because it passes through so many sites of historical and cultural significance.

To cyclists (and from what we’ve seen, motor bikers) it’s a convenient and attractive means of getting from one end of the country to the other (more on that in a later blog). Two large groups of British cyclists and a small group of French passed us heading south today. Bernard and Colin noted their lack of luggage and raised their eyebrows, but wisely said nothing. Most towns – or even small villages like this one – mark their place on the route with a stylised milestone

Torrão, where we stopped for our morning coffee, went one further:

And we particularly liked how this bus shelter marked its distance from Chavez, at the northern end of the N2.

Other highlights today included the cool shade provided by this avenue of pines

This enticing set of possible destinations

And this intriguing trio of contrails. What was going on, we wondered: had two military jets been scrambled to intercept a commercial flight they feared had gone rogue? Or perhaps they were skywriters, trying to say hi? Suggestions on a postcard please.