Day 10 Portugal/Spain motorcycle trip: from Aracena Spain to Vila de Nova Milefontes Portugal

 We left Aracena Spain under heavy fog/rain wearing full raingear. It was another chilly morning with the temperature when we left at 52 degrees Fahrenheit, but within about 45 minutes the fog started to lift and we saw some sunshine.

We saw hundreds of cork trees on the first day of our ride, and started seeing cork trees again today with the distinctive removed bark on the bottom portion of the trees.

We rode today primarily on the narrow, twisty, curving roads we're getting used to, first riding through rolling hills sometimes dotted with open fields with brilliant colors.

The border crossing from Spain into Portugal is as uneventful as crossing from Colorado into New Mexico; there's a sign and nothing else since both countries as part of the EU.

One thing we did notice once back into Portugal was that the roads were even narrower and less maintained.

We stopped in the hillside fortress town of Mertola, located at the confluence of two rivers.

It's famous for Phoenician and Carthaginian ships sailing upriver from the nearby Atlantic Ocean to transport fruit and locally-mined minerals to Europe and North Africa. Later the Romans and Muslims ruled over this area, and the fortress castle was built in 1292 after the Christians retook this area. We enjoyed sitting close to the fortress wall with views of the river for a morning snack, and since we're back in Portugal couldn't resist the famous - and delicious - pastel de Nata custard tarts.

Back on the road we turned onto even narrower roads, at times no wider than an average driveway at home.

The landscape became quite steep; not quite mountains, but definitely more than rolling hills. We saw sheep, goats, horses, cows, pigs and once a Portuguese wildcat ran across the road in front of us. Just before the wildcat ran across the road we saw warning signs, similar to deer crossing warning signs.

We're staying tonight in Vila de Nova Milefontes right on the Atlantic coast at the mouth of the Mira River.

Just before sunset we walked out to the lighthouse which has gorgeous views back to the town.

We also watched big waves rolling in - no wonder this area is known for surfing.

We ended the day eating dinner at a restaurant on the beach, watching the sun set. Tomorrow is our last day of the motorcycle tour, riding into Lisbon and then flying home the next day.