Day 2 in Portugal 🇵🇹

So having safely arrived at Domus House the next thing to do was to collect the bikes that had been hired. So everyone, except me, climbed into a minibus to go to the bike hire company (Firstbike) in Braga. As I brought a bike with me from England, I had to cycle to Braga to Firstbike to meet up with everyone.

Immediately the first lesson learnt was that the bike I brought with me did not like the cobbled roads. I was fine with the tarmaced roads but I rather shuddered along on my bike on the cobbles. The bike rattled and so did I! The good news was that the majority of the roads were paved and the cobbles were at the start of the ride in the rural location.

The second lesson learnt, though I saw this first on the bus, is that this area of Portugal is not flat! In fact there are quite a number steep climbs in and around Braga and it rather reminded me of the City of Bath in England where the city centre sits in a valley and then the rest of the city is built on the surrounding hills.

The bike hire shop was full of amazing bikes which must have cost a fortune. The one thing I noticed was that there was only 1 Trek bike and not a single Giant or Specialized bike to be seen. Perhaps this is the reason for President Trump’s tariffs as the American bicycle industry has yet to break into Portugal on this evidence! The team were equipped with the most sophisticated bikes with loads of gadgets and gizmos but none them had coffee or chilled drink making facilities! Maybe something to be considered for the future? Eh?!

With the whole team equipped with bikes, we climbed up one of the hills out of Braga to the International School of Braga where many of our Portuguese friends and contacts from Domus House are involved. The school was modern and had fabulous views across the city and was very effectively and efficiently run. We were invited into some of the classes and introduced as friends from America, though England had a mention too.

From the school we headed down into the next valley towards Domus House and managed to find a local cafe which was feeding local farmers and tradesmen. We had a heart meal and a bottle of beer and a small carafe of wine for just €10 each. All we needed in the evening was a snack after this meal.

Day 2 done!