52 Weeks, 52 Half Marathons - Stage 10
Washing the Sahara sands in Sintra Quinta do Pisão
March 26th, 6:11 AM
It’s interesting how many TIL moments we go through in our lives about things that in fact we should have learned years (or decades) ago. Last weekend I had to postpone stage 10, twice, because of dangerous weather conditions. It was raining… dust. Dust from the Sahara desert. Air quality was considered unhealthy. The initial dusty forecast, raised flags for Friday and Saturday, which gave me extra time to explore Komoot (now 100% approved for route planning) to polish a route for Sunday. These runs are starting to be Christmas Eves for me. You can imagine the spirit of the child in me, when Xmas got cancelled for Sunday. The dust rain would linger, and even worsen on Sunday! I searched in vain for Air Quality metrics that would justify taking the risk, but Grinch had been competent. These dust storms have been going on forever and are even critical in supplying important minerals, like iron and phosphorous, crucial for rain forests, oceans and everything in-between. I don’t recall these dust hazes growing up. Earth is so beautifully complex.
There’s no way I am going to miss a run (and I still have to fit in two extra to compensate my late start in January). The earliest that I could fit a run mid-week was on Tuesday and I could only be so lucky - it was going to rain, water, and the temperatures were dropping abruptly. Another test.
I had a long stressful working day on Monday and today was not going to be a lot different. My run had to start very early in the morning. I was awake in bed at 5 am and ducking under my comforter listening to a huge storm outside. Suddenly my willpower was getting hazy too. Never underestimate the power of multiple phone alarms. I was out of the door before 6 and arrived at the start-line at 6:11am.
The short drive was enough to get me stoked and oblivious to Zeus's wrath.
I parked, yet by another supermarket, SuperCor da Beloura, and hit the road.
The route has two halves: the 1st half, mostly urban and going down. The 2nd half, deep in nature with challenging climbs. I happily roll down through the sidewalk for about a km until I get to the Estoril Race Track.
This race track has had its days of glory. I had the pleasure of watching a few Formula 1 races with some legends: Alain Prost , Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet, Niki Lauda and young Michael Schumacher, are the main that come to my mind. The last F1 race that took place here was in 1996. The race track is still alive but hosting minor league races. It is also under increasing pressure from neighbors, that once were not, to eliminate combustion noise.
My road is parallel to the main straight of the race track, I speed for the chequered flag.
At the end of the main straight, where Piquet and Alboreto crashed before my eyes, we get close to CascaiShopping, one of the first large shopping centers in Portugal. This mall has mysteriously endured all the economic ebbs and flows and remains a shopping hotspot in the region. There is now a bike/running lane, painted just like and Olympics track, that always lifts up my running mood. It’s smooth, safe and with a pleasant landscape around it.
My personal tartan track, with no soul in sight, takes me to the A5, one of the main arteries feeding Lisbon - unfortunately soon to be clogged during rush-hour. There is a pedestrian overpass, that I have driven under thousands of times. Today I am taking a different perspective. We are at km 5.5.
We are heading downtown Cascais, looking for a hidden pearl right in the heart of the town. I detour from the main road into the urban areas around Cascais. Unlike the suburbs of Linha de Cascais, there are few trees. The single family homes are glued one after the others lack the Araucarias. But there is hope, some young trees are fighting for their shades and in a few years the landscape will heal.
We continue diving until km 8.5, I could get used to this. We are closing in to the center of Cascais, and many people are unware of the hidden garden of Eden under their noses - myself included for a long time. Right behind a high rise building resides the entry to the portal that lead to the trail of Ribeira das Vinhas. The trail is born right in the center of Cascais and goes along a creek to the foothills of the Sintra mountain range.
As I step in the portal, I am greeted by the rain forest. Water comes pouring down! Rain had been gentle until now, but now I have stepped in the shower before the end of the race. The terrain is still submerging and is actually excessively steep. I mind my feet trying not to change from running steps to ski, or, adapting a local expression, to sk-ass…
It is cold and windy, my hands are now freezing. Spring has come and gone too fast. If until now, I had crossed exactly zero people, from now on, I should expect no company. The trail is magnificent. The soothing sound of the creek, the zig-zag crossing bridges, the wooden pathways and the all-you-can-eat (with your eyes) green is outstanding. I am only lacking the blue skies and the puffy clouds.
Taking photos becomes hard. Water and touch devices are no friends. My shorts are soaked, I am drenched to the soul, freezing, my hands end at the knuckles - ouch - I was not expecting this. But fear not, my spirit is alive and awake. Photos are more realistic like this, blurred and and wet. It’s not always easy to navigate the trail. There are some entries along the way that one can mix with the main trail path. I am glad that I had exported the GPX from Komoot into another useful APP, GPX Tracker to help me find my way without climbing extra ladders.
From Cascais to the Sintra foothills, as you might have guessed, the 2nd half of our run, the way is up. And, in some cases in this trail, really up.
The trail can’t follow the creek all the time. I don’t know the reason, but probably because of private properties. This translates into multiple carabiner-out-of-the-pocket situations - right up my alley. Every now and then, the sky pokes a hole in the clouds. My iPhone is just as eager as me and immediately highlights the blue opening.
Unexpectedly planted in the middle of the trail, lives a dog shelter. I can’t really even understand how do you get here if not by the trail. Not suprisingly, all the dogs came out to greet me as I run by. I am sure they were more eager to wag their tails as they bite my heels.
The terrain is very steep in this area (around km 11.5). Some of the ascents require the patience of a penitent monk, in a soaked tunic. I march on.
We approach the A5 once again, but this time we are going under. There is a succession of steep peaks that took my breath away. I am longing for a warm sunshine that I know that won’t come. It just blinks me the eye.
I could hear the increased traffic on the A5 as I dodged the heavy showers that sprouted from the bottom of the bridge. I had had my dose of water already. We have parted ways with the creek but are running paralel to its course. The valley is impressive. I’ve always admired as I drove on the A5. On the trail there is much more to enjoy.
We go down in triumph to re-unite with the creek. Well, we go down from the penitent hill, because in practice our climbing endures. No two bridges are the same and all of them stand out in a different way.
We have now arrived at the entrance of Quinta do Pisão. A natural park on the foothills of the Sintra Mountain Range. To get to the gate we really have to cross the creek. Given how slippery everything is, I baby step on top of the cube stones. The last thing I wanted was to plunge into the freezing water.
This mini natural park is filled with suprises. I don’t know the history of the area but finding an abandoned swimming pool of reasonable size was tottaly unexpected.
Needless to say that today I need not to dive in to get my feet wet.
Wooden pathways are always spectacular in the middle of nature. Kudos to whoever came up with the idea.
The creek is still our friend but the trail is now more spartan, or natural should I say. It becomes wider but packed with small lose rocks. Nothing that should have you worried apart from the fact the the climb never ends.
Quinta do Pisão has a lot of fenced areas that I am not fond of at all. They do it to have animals “freely” roaming around. There are donkeys, horses, goats and many more exquisite ones that I have yet to see. The views around here when the sun comes out are astounding.
As soon as the sun comes out, the yellow flowers in the middle of the green make the landscape unforgettable.
I am glad no one was around because I found myself talking the animals as I ran by. They looked puzzled to see me. There many activities that are fun to do with young children at Quinta do Pisão. One of the most interesting being allowed to grab your vegetables from the ground. Actually verifying in person, that carrots don’t come from the supermarket but from the ground.
We arrive at the exit of Quinta do Pisão at km 17.3. From here we will be on the main road, and normally this is not recommended. During the weekends, running on the side of this road is too dangerous. This early in the morning, is not too bad, but still, most of the time when a car crosses, I will stop running and move to a safe point. Exiting Quinta do Pisão is done at the lowest point of this road. I am way too familiar with this climb because it is normally where my MTB routes end, and I painfully pedal up the road after all the fun has ended.
The road goes by the side of a large home development and golf course - Penha Longa. It is narrow, there is no sidewalk, and there are a fair amount of cars driving for this time of the day. At km 20, it is mandatory to exit the main road to peek at Lagoa a Azul, a small lagoon with a great view.
On the right side of our flight, just as we are about to land, we have another great view of the golf course. It is a good inspiration to pick up the pace since the tour is about to end.
We arrive at the finish line with completely different sky and light from when we started. Luckily, it’s Easter break, otherwise, the place would be jammed with cars dropping their kids at a local private school.
The flight lands back where we started by the SuperCor supermarket. It’s time to “run” back home for a warm shower. I loved the second half of this run and the whole 345 m of accumulated climbing (1035 feet) under the cold shower. Call me crazy.
Enjoy your runs!
-APF
