Rice is not what most people expect in southern Portugal, but here at Comporta the land flattens into wide green paddies laid out along the Sado estuary, with herons and white storks standing in the water and the smell of mud and salt on the wind. Comporta is a small village of whitewashed houses and reed-thatched cottages on the edge of these fields, set between the estuary to the east and a huge Atlantic beach to the west, on the long sandy peninsula that runs south from Tróia.
For a long time this was a poor, quiet farming and fishing area, owned for decades by a single large estate that grew rice, pine and cork. Because development was held back, the coast stayed largely empty, and in recent years Comporta has become a favourite of designers, architects and well-off Lisbon families, who have built discreet houses among the dunes and pines. The village has kept a low-key feel, but it is no longer the sleepy place it once was, and in August it can feel crowded with sunglasses.
The riding through here is flat, open and easy, along the N261 and the roads that link Comporta to Tróia, Carrasqueira and Alcácer do Sal. The surface is generally fine, with long straights broken by gentle bends through cork oak, stone pine and rice. The wind off the Atlantic can be strong and gusty in the afternoon, and sand drifts onto the edges of the road near the coast. If you come from Setúbal, the ferry across the mouth of the Sado to Tróia takes vehicles and makes a lovely short crossing, often with dolphins, since a resident group lives in the estuary.
Just south of the village, at Carrasqueira, fishermen built a harbour on wooden stilts in the mud flats, a maze of crooked walkways and huts reaching out into the estuary. It is one of the most photographed sights on the coast and worth a short detour, especially at low tide in the late afternoon light.
Comporta has cafes and a few restaurants serving rice dishes with seafood or duck, which is the obvious thing to eat here. For fuel, the nearest reliable stations are towards Alcácer do Sal or back towards Setúbal, about eighteen kilometres away across the water, so check the tank before setting off on the long, empty roads south.