Our bicycle tours are not and do not pretend to be marathons, much less runs. Whether it's a 1, 2, 3 or 4 hour tour, 1 day, 3 days, or more, there is no rush to get there. Our priority, in addition to security, is that everyone can enjoy every moment.
This tour, Caminho de Fátima, was no exception.
On the first day, although we had covered about 90 km, 30 in the morning and 60 in the afternoon, which for some people is a lot, there was time to cycle, to take pictures, to rest a little, to have coffee, to eat or to snack. , etc ... This is important, as it was clear that everyone felt good about the pace of the trip.
Santarém, due to the amount of monument it preserves from the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries, is considered the Gothic style capital.
Its historic center is very beautiful, it deserves to be visited and for that reason, instead of starting the day cycling towards Fátima, when we left the hotel we went on a small tour in the city center.
We cycled through the small city center streets, passed by Jardim da Liberdade and República, at Convento de São Francisco, at the Santarém Seminary, at the Church of São Nicolau, in front of Misericórdia, Stª Maria de Marvila and Stª Maria da Graça church, before arriving at the wonderful garden and viewpoint of Portas do Sol.
Once here, everyone was dazzled by the wonderful view from this viewpoint, from which it is possible to see the Tagus River, its banks and perceive, seen from above, a large part of the circuit we traveled the day before.
Everyone took the opportunity to take another photo session, taking advantage not only of the view, but also the statue of D. Afonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal, who is in the middle of these wonderful gardens.
After this tour through Santarém, there was still time for Salvador, the most outspoken of all participants, to do some shopping in a convenience store in the city (a packet of potatoes and a bottle of water), as he was afraid that in the villages where we would go these products were more expensive.
