20 | 21 | 22.5.16 - Adventure Days

Since the beginning of the year I've been a little run from this blog; Mea culpa: it was laziness, it was waiting for the telephone that didn`t ring, were road roadtrips that I have already described, a snowtrip through Austria and Switzerland, another for a wedding in Valencia. It was the beginning - and what a start !! - of the adventure in the TT and the time that it takes to put a project of those standing.I'm back!Friday was that day that I hadn`t had long ago: where is all stuff?! Where is everything?! And the frontlight?! And the best way to get to Alcanena without paying toll?! I left home and came back because I had forgotten the necessaire. When I was in Travanca, I turned around because I had forgotten my swimming trunks. Which house were they?!, This is not easy to change.An hour after the time of exit and having tightened and unscrewed the shad of the bike 500 times, there I was able to start. Destination: Adventure Days.Adventure Days is an event beautifully organized by Rui Baltazar and this year had the precious help of Pedrinha Motor Club.The place, the River Beach of Olhos de Agua, in Alcanena, there in the source of Alviela. A beautiful place, arranged and with a campsite on the river.After 200 km of asphalt, arrived at Alcanena, I was waiting for Marcio (Mr. President!), And the Diogo (Team Mate), Kiko Garcia, and many good friends that we are doing in these motorcycle adventures. Armindo and Pedro, from other motorized adventures, also came, to add even more emotion to the group.
Thus began the spirit of Adventure Days: a sharing of stories, camaraderie, the taste for motorcycles and the knowledge one gets when traveling; Sharing and tolerance. There is no competition but there is everything else.The first adventure of the adventure was to set up the camping tent. A Monte Campo to debut, dark green and, even for a newcomer like me, was ready in less than 10 minutes, practically without having upset people.Second adventure: sleeping in a tent, listening to the croaking frogs, the sound of water in the background and a starry sky. It isn`t paradise but it gives a sense of peace.On Saturday we expected an offroad route of 200 km, excellent for the bigtrails, between Alcanena and the dam of Montargil, with routes once used in Portugal 1000 and Transibérico. There was a little bit of everything, from pebble to loose sand, gravel, a land with fine powder and numerous crossings of courses and puddles of water. Rails for all tastes and shapes, made at good speed.As soon as we started, I fell and the good Diogo there helped me get the bike up; At the end of the day, on a descent with gravel, I fell again. And once again Diogo went there to help me. In the middle, in addition to riding a motorcycle, we respawn ourselves with regional tidbits in Ulme.Arrived at the camp, along with some minis, a comforting stone soup offered by Marcio and the rest of Pedrinha's staff. It was divine!With the strength of the soup, in the nail game, there was a real north-south, with the northern guys (me, Armindo and Pedro) not giving any kind of chance to the southern competition, despite all the cheating they did!During the night, the tent shook three times: "Who comes there?" Was just the wind; And then the rain. Discomforts of those who are not accustomed to these things.Sunday, after a breakfast to accompany the section of Fafe of the Rally de Portugal, we were waiting for another 50 km from Alcanena to the salinas of Rio Maior. A very technical course in the Natural Park of the Serra de Aires e Candeeiros. Here is another story, one more, of those that make the stories have a joke: followed the Armindo in the front, followed by Pedro and Diogo and me. We at the rear of the group decided to go for an alternative that crossed a brook. The result: my bike was left standing buried in the fine sand of the bed. We wanted to gain time .. well, it was more than 40 minutes left waiting for Baltazar and all his experience to get me out of the place.Arriving at the salinas was time for more partying and conviviality, end of adventure. In a place of the most picturesque, saline and regional product sales, a rich lunch, it was time for hugs and a good trip to each one. It was time for fraternization and for a short reunion.The Adventure Days were lived; So be it for many years.

29.10.15 - Luxor | Marsa Alam

The morning rise with the excitement of the first championship race: all agreed ahead of schedule and everyone wanted to leave as soon as possible the hotel because they needed to get back to the road, to the adrenaline, to the action.
And speaking about road, that road! To reach Marsa Alam is necessary to cross the mountains of the Eastern Desert and its many curves. The Egyptians don`t know what to do with size carousel, American, Taiwanese and Brazilian idem quotes quotes. That left the Portuguese, German, English and Italian contingent to say, finally something seriously. In two years of Cross Egypt Challenge this was the best course ever.
Aware of the difficulties of organizing a scenario of these, I let me get to last, behind the supply trucks, aiming to make the most, have all possible adrenaline and get to staging points while all others. Target. In chained, it was easily surpassed that other scooter 150 cc and was with the feeling of victory that left behind the powerful 400 cc.
Along the way I saw something I had never seen in two years of rally: a wild cáfila.
Having reached Marsan Alan instead of a luxury 5 star hotel had a camp set up in a Bedouin culture festival, in a dream beach. But before the festival, it was time to scuba dive.
The Red Sea is a mandatory spot in any Log Book of a diver and therefore couldn`t miss the opportunity.
A dip at the end of the day, at sun rising, wasn`t the best in terms of visibility but I could see the coral, clown fish, trumpet fish, butterfly fish, a turtle, a blanket and a moray eel.
Back at the festival, the friendly Mariam - a blonde green eyes Egyptian, with dreadlocks and a hippie style, which looked more like northern Europe - explained to me what was the Bedouins festival about. Several tribes from across the country come together and make camel races. The rest of the time, sing and dance. During the night I went to a few fires of the tribes, heard his songs and a familiar sound with Capoeira, drank tea and I experienced something unique.
Happy, I went to the tent.

26.10.15 - Hurgada | Luxor

We left Hurgada at high speed, despite the wet road and huge water pools, traces of the previous night.
Speaking about last night, at the tourist Hurgada, I, a British-Danish, an American, a Catholic and a Muslim Egyptian, Egyptian ill-behaved, went to the Buddha Bar.
Some Arabs, some Americans and many Russians. It was a bash to last until at breakfast if we didn`t have to travel 280 km by the Egyptian interior.
South of Hurghada we headed west, leaving the Red Sea in the back, by a mountain road, full of curves, made at high speed, between gorges of great beauty. For roads like this that goes back to Cross Egypt Challenge. Are roads where "Judas lost his boots," far from everything and everyone, where true pleasure exist: driving and visual.
In the second refueling and lunch stop, I went to the top of the mountain. High there, I saw the mountain range that stretches for kilometers and kilometers, with birds of prey flying over the sky aiming also their lunch.
From there to Luxor, it was all way down. In the rocky yellow eastern desert, a four-star general pull gals and stoped all the caravan: just because; for security reasons; by must have woken up in a bad mood and gave him a rigorous attack; or because, in an almost deserted road, it must have been, for him, a real treat to see her so excited he wanted to join the party.
The reach Luxor, the Nile, the landscape changes in meter: the arid desert automatically goes up to the green fields with reeds corn and rushes to a multitude of donkeys and horses that are the means of transport of people and goods, for children who come to the roadside say goodbye to the most stares.
In Luxor expect us some surprises during the three days we will spend the night at the Sofitel Karnac on the right bank of the Nile.

25.10.15 - El Sokhna | Hurgada

240 km in a straight line that had everything to be as unattractive as possible. Fortunately, it wasn`t.Leaving El Sokhna and for many kilometers, the Red Sea was our landscape. But the day was born cloudy and instead of clear blue, the sea was gray, reminding me our Ria de Aveiro in winter days. Bucolic. 
Then we started to get into a more mountainous and sandy area. Here, with the sea and land plataformes, there are huge refineries, oil wells, piplines, fans and everything imaginable in terms of energy. Huge electricity pylons and brownish pipes, tear the desert landscape with a post-modern look.Departure until first refill ran with Drew doing "my wing," and with the ease of the land, we aso many jokes and exchanges globally agreed gestures. It was so funny for us and for those who followed!After the first refueling had to stop and leave the group. When I resumed the march, I did 30 Km alone and could go all time on top. Thus, besides the extra fun, I was able to resume my position in the group a few kilometers before the second refueling stop and lunch.In the third and last part of the taken, I was on the tail, enjoying the thing.The worst was when, some 40 kilometers from the finish in Hurghada, begins to rain; and wasn`t a little rain. It was heavy rain, that it hurts in neck and echoes inside the helmet.Thunder, hail, and flooded: all armed confusion; and me on the tail. Never again, starting tomorrow, always in front!We are settled in Marriot Hurghada. It is full of Russians: employees and couples. She are gorgeous, about blondes or brunettes, slender and light eyes. The guys ... who cares ?!