Hola

Sooo woke up to a gorgeous day. Hosed all the port off me.... And since Today is a ride day I try to get an early start. The hotel restaurant isn't bad and is quick.

So pack up.... Sounds easy... Everything has a place. Now I got som concern going. The rear tire is not holding up the way I want.... Why oh why do I keep wearing out tires? The roads in Portugal have a rougher texture.....and at this rate the rear is not gunna last.

Now I had asked for new tire up front but Deigo said he couldn't due to where the tires were at ... Less than half life used. Should have went with me gut. I've got so many shredded tire stories I'm losing track. I shall monitor...not much else I can do Anyhooooo....cept turn that frown upside down LOL.

Now how to get to the ultimate destination today.....Zafra. It's back in Spain on the way to Seville. Bit of a haul... Well I'm staying off the main highway as best I can. Problem is me gal wants me on the hiway.....she seems to worry about me I suspect. Soo I have to add a ton of waypoints in the Gps on the lesser roads else first opportunity poof I'm on a ramp to the main hiway to Lisbon...... I'd go but not enough time...

So I exit Porto fast on the main hiway get gas and hit first exit east I can... This puts me into the country roads....sorta ...lot of people live here. Then poof! Traffic jam.....do I wait or do I detour....I stare at the detour button...

WTF....press the lil orange button .... and me gal tells me recalculating... Turn right and zoooom. Open road LOL. Awesome feature! That's the first time I used it.

So I end up in the middle of no where on a mountainous pass..... It's crazy amazing riding and I got the right bike...a Harley would suck a$$. Nothing but open road longest straight away...... Maybe 500 meters. Switch backs and tight sweepers....and it's daylight....and the road is in amazing condition. Going from peg to peg in the corners it's awesome......

Suspect me chicken strips aren't too wide! For those not in the know... If you don't go fast on a corner and don't need to lean the wear pattern of the tire is in the middle..... The more you lean the skinnier the distance of the edge of the non wear to the edge of the tire.....when I looked I was about a mil from the edge.... Lol not much of a chicken strip LOL. RT's are meant to lean in mountain passes I'm only riding it the way some German BMW engineer wants it to be ridden........ But... I won't go all the way as it is a rental.....and this one doesn't have sport suspension control so is a little loser in the sharp turns than mine....sniff sniff.. I miss me bike!

It seems this is the forestry area of Portugal as there are a few logging trucks but you can tell the area was logged and replanted. With eucalyptus of all things......I can't believe how many turns I've done.... It's awesome! But it's also tiring after a bit....takes big concentration.. As in thinking about stopping poof... A small village... And they got a cafe. So I stop park the bike n ask for un cafe con letchie.....even though not portuguese she got it.

So go sit outside...to mind me own....everybody stops to say hi. Then a guy comes up and starts to talk to me. He loves BMW's so he asks me a bunch of questions. My nuevo amigo.... Antonio....lot of Antonio's here. Well he's full of tips then he writes down all his phone numbers on a card...including his work number,then tells me if anything goes wrong in Portugal .... Call him! WOW! So far this place is batting a thousand in the friendly scale!

Then the gas station guy from next to the cafe comes over...., he has a friend near Barcelona.... So he gives me her number cause she has a hotel.....and suggests roads... awesome people...

Time ta go so pack up n hit the road! Wow! I start climbing a ridge full of windmills....those things fascinate me.....tons of them and they are huge! The road is crazy cool .... windy twisty nirvana!

After endless cranking it's starting to tire me again. But I start to come out of the mountains onto a plain. The suns going down and I'm not even in Spain yet. So time ta twist it...........add a layer and go. Finally hit the border in the dark.....time to find wifi..... Where you? Duhhhh. Sure enough there is a mac'd on the edge of the city.....load up booking.com and poof! A Parador (castle). So I Check it out....70 euro...LOL for a 5 star I'm in. It's 80km.....and about 3 C out.....,I'm cold tired.... and wanting to see this parador.......soooooo right wrist gets a curl....awesome roads not too much traffic and lots of passing areas.... Make great time!

I shall not say how fast I went....bit it was a quick 80 km's. I roll into Zafra....gps rescue again.... Poof there it is...yup it's a castle check in they have a special area for me to park....so I roll the bike inside the castle. Totally safe.

My room is awesome so far all rooms have bidety and huge bathrooms. It's a freakin castle with awesome amenities. Totally cool.... So I hose off..... Find the bar n order a cool sampler plate of meats of the region.... Ended up with an awesome glass of rum. They are not chincy with the pours here.... So closed the bar....found me room n blinked the long one.....