Ok so full disclosure (spoiler alert) …we have just arrived at our very last campsite of this adventure, I am hotter (and smellier) than Satans armpit and this is the last opportunity I will have to get in the sea so that is taking priority over the blog ….sorry, needs must.

Last night we managed to find a local ex pats bar called the Old Barrel where we are able to imbibe and watch the Champions League….i couldn’t quite read the crowd (it’s a language thing) but on balance I think the bar was split 50 : 50 so ultimately it was the right result? There were no riots or necessitation for water cannons so that was nice.

We ambled back to the campsite around 8pm, had a lovely meal (still doesn’t top our lunch in Alfama) and turned in for the night. No night in a tent can ever be described as “enjoyable” but last night was in the top three worst ever for two main reasons ….it was redonkulously hot (yes I know we called it “El Scorchio” so what did I expect ) but also because the canopy on the van next to us loudly flapped in the breeze ALL NIGHT!

Turns out the ferry thing really is a potential pickle that I had not accounted for (again!) It really does add a massive and unimaginable number of miles to the day if it isn’t running or we can’t get on it. A quick bit of googling suggests that it will be there but because it’s Sunday it only runs once an hour and the first one is at 11am. All of which is to say that we have lots of time for a very leisurely pack up and go this morning…which feels very weird!!

As we are eating the very last of the porridge that I have carried all the way from London it occurs to me that when we cross from Portugal to Spain today we also change time zones again and essentially lose an hour….which could mean that 11am actually means 10am (as you can probably tell this whole space time continuum thing is completely baffling to me!) and so we move from leisurely to full gas and get a wriggle on.

Roughly 10 miles down the road we see our first sign for Spain and roll into Villa Real de Santo Antonio (not really the type of town name you want to be typing when you are in a rush to get to the beach!). Quick pit stop to get second breakfast and to pick up lunch for later and then we hustle down to the alleged ferry.

In proof that the sun really does shine on the righteous (and also us) as we leant our bikes against the ticket office the shutters rolled up to open for business! Less than 45 minutes later (plus an hour for the whole time / space nonsense) we are back in Spain.

After our gentle almost soothing meander across the estuary the rest of the day turns out to be a bit of a shock to the senses. Yes we have done “hot” before and we might even have become somewhat acclimatised but jeez Louise it is off the scale, acres the bakers proper el Scorchio today. Every mile is an insanely hard slog and every single petrol station we stumble into we are forced to stop and pick up fresh water either because we have run out or because what we have left is only suitable for poaching an egg.

It’s a relatively (for us) short day of 60 miles but is up there with the most gruelling we have ever endured. Obviously, given the opening spoiler, we absolutely did endure but “phew what a scorcher”. Our campsite for our final night seems “serviceable” with its stand out feature being location ….right on the beach!!

As I may have mentioned that is where we are now….enjoying our last night of camping, of pasta à la Marc and reflecting on our achievements……tomorrow Seville! It occurs to me only now that we should have called this adventure “TMAAT the Conquistadors!”

Ps have included some photos from our dinner with Dan that Marc shared with me today. Clearly I was as excited about having a Minnie Mouse seat belt cover as I was being in an actual car!!!