3 Sept, morning

I left Vila Nova de Foz Coa about an hour after the other 2, and found it´s very differrent cycling alone, you get all kinds of attention- at least in Portugal I can say I´m not interested, I´ll just have to cycle on in Spain and France.

When I caught them up in Sampaio we stopped for a bit, but I felt I needed more rest in the shade when we started moving again, so I found a lovely orange tree to rest and stretch under, and fell asleep for a good hour!

It still hadn´t cooled down when I woke up, gorged myself on bulging juicy yellow (!) figs off a nearby tree, and set off after my friends.

The road quickly started climbing. And climbing , and climbing. I had beautiful views of vineyards, the Rio Sabor (River of Flavour?) and deep forested valleys fanning out to my right, and plenty of time to look at them as a dawdled sweating and panting round the many corners in granny gear.

I found Hannah and Nick in a layby near when I stopped to fill my bottle from a spring, looking sorry nd eyeing up a pickup who had stopped for the same reason.

Hannah wasn´t feeling well (same tummy bug as me, probably :( and they´re in a hurry now, needing to get to Santander for the 9th, so I asked the driver if we could have a ride.

We chucked all the bikes and ourselves in the spacious back, with sacks of corn to cuddle up to, and had a lift for about 10k of uphill- the wind in our faces fresh and fast as the views whistled by at an unfamiliarly quick rate :)

1more lift and we´re in Macedo de Cavaleiros.

Last night we pitched up on a little island on the lake just out of the town; that´s where I am now scribbling away with the fresh morning sun drying the night´s dew and warming our bones for another hard day.

I may be continuing alone, as I don´t want to hitch more (another adventure for another day) and the others are going to have to. It´s going to be hard when they get picked up not getting in with them, and harder still adjusting to travelling alone.

I´ve got so used to their company, stories, laughter that I fear I may have tken it for granted. Let´s see what today brings. x

Today I tried solo cycling. I wanted to use the internet and do some things in the next biggish town, Vila Nova de Foz Soa- so to avoid holding anyone up I sped ahead and gt here early.

A taste of things to come- I kept trying to imagine my 2 friends weren´t following close behind, trying to picture speding through Spain and France with only myself.

We´ve covered quite a distance today, this time heading towards the storms not away, the wind whipping dust into my face as I struggle against it.

By the time I arrived, panting, and had done a thorough tour of the whole town in search of internet, the library had closed- I went a little way off route to see if the youth hostel did, found out the price just in case... checked in for the night.

Seems a shame to be boxed in fromm such an exquisitely scenic place, but after the intense drama of the thunderstorm battering our eardrums intruding our eyelids and seeping into our sleeping bags last night, and with 3 dodgy tums it just needs to be easy, just for tonight.

Nick´s laughing at me spraying myself and my bed with water cos it´s too hot.