Downhill you still drive with quite some speed, so the vibrations caused by the road were testing the strength of the bikes to their limits. Recently some more major roads have been constructed, only two lanes, but they are called motor-ways and therefore often forbidden for bikes. The problem is that there are still so many donkey-carts around, that when all traffic would allowed, the number of accidents would be enormous. A nice feature were the many small fountains with drinking water along the road. After all the Spanish and Portuguese tab-water with too much chlorine, this fresh water straight from the mountains was a nice change to fill our bottles with.
Portuguese towns are still very characteristic and unspoiled.
At least in the more eastern parts we came through. Very charming to look at, but on your bike a little bit uneven. At the time we went through, the harvesting of the grapes was nearing its end. Many vineyards started to color red and brown, while others were still the original green, forming a beautiful mixture. Much more than in other countries, vines are used to decorate and provide shadow on terraces and balconies.