Rota Vicentina and the Fishermen's Trail:
Porto Covo to Cape St. Vincent
The Alentejo and its cliffs, cliffs and more cliffs...
The Rota Vicentina/Fishermen's Trail in Portugal includes the Historical Route, which runs through towns and villages, and the Fishermen's Trail, which runs along the sea along cliffs with lots of sand, which requires a good deal of physical effort. And there are short circular routes, which start and end in the same place.
After the Primitive Way and the escape to England, it was May 2016 when we decided to follow the Fishermen's Trail. The challenge was to walk along narrow trails, high up on cliffs, with strong winds coming from the sea. The beautiful landscape of this Alentejo coastline is rugged and wild.
We left Porto Covo. All the houses are blue and white, a characteristic of the region. From there, we could see Pessegueiro Island. We met Andréa, a Swiss woman, who accompanied us for a few days. Although the rain of the previous days had given us a break, the sky was quite cloudy. We were afraid that it would start to rain heavily and there would be lightning while we were on the cliffs. We got caught in a bit of rain on the way out, but we continued on through the stunning landscape.
At one point, we met two police officers who asked if we had seen a young man walking around there. They said he was missing. We said we had not seen anyone and continued on. Further ahead, the sky darkened and the rain, coming from the sea, fell. With nothing to do, we crouched down, under the strongest storm, trying to protect ourselves. The rain and the wind were relentless. But we survived.
When the weather improved, we continued on, soaking wet. As we approached Vila Nova de Mil Fontes, in the opposite direction, a young man passed by whose description matched that of the police. We notified the police, but we never heard the outcome of the story.
Over the next three days, we passed through Almograve, Zambujeira do Mar and Odeceixe. The landscape was unparalleled. Small waterfalls falling into the sea, beaches that were true paradises, cliffs, dunes and stork nests, which we could almost touch, if it weren't for their cleverness in building them in inaccessible places.
The good weather and the sun were a blessing after the cold and rainy journey through Spain. But they were also punishing. Without shade and in the dunes, the walk became torturous, but it was compensated by the wind, the sea breeze and the unforgettable flowery landscapes of that spring on the Alentejo coast.
Enjoying the Algarve...
In Odeceixe we entered the Algarve. From there, we walked, sometimes looking out to sea, sometimes through forests and flowery fields. The smell of rockrose was predominant in the air. Rockrose is a flower often used to make perfume fixatives.
Our first stop in the Algarve was Aljezur, a beautiful historic town, although the path along a canal was monotonous. Then we continued on to Arrifana, a different and peaceful beach. Our eighth day of walking was spent in the bush, with lots of sun and so much scent of rockrose that it made us feel sick.
We crossed a farm and met a cowboy dressed in his traditional clothes. It looked like a tailcoat, but made entirely of leather. Further ahead, on a small road, we heard barking coming from an abandoned house. We were about a hundred meters away. Suddenly, we saw the first dog barking. Then the second, the third... We stopped. There was no one around. And more dogs came out. We counted ten dogs. What should we do? Back off? Where to? That's when we had the idea of cutting through the tall bushes. Finally, we managed to get out of that situation unharmed, despite the scratches and the tachycardia.
The next day, on our way from Carrapateira to Vila do Bispo, we came across a huge dog again. Could this be the fate of our journey? This time, the dog was further away. But when we looked closer, it wasn't a dog. It was a huge wolf. We came out unharmed and, once again, with tachycardia.
And so we reached the last day of the hike. From Vila do Bispo to Cabo de São Vicente, which is located in the extreme southwest of mainland Portugal, there were two possible routes. The Historical Route, which is dirt and easier. The other route along the beach, which is harder and more beautiful. We chose the beach route. But when we left, the weather was foggy and we could barely see the landscape. We continued on to Cabo de São Vicente. Finally, we arrived at our destination.
Afterwards, as we had no alternative, because the buses were not running that day, we walked another 6 km to the city of Sagres. The next day, we went to Lagos to rest, enjoy the city and the beaches...