Portugal - the Rota Vincentina - June 2018

In June Nancy and I decided to visit Portugal and do another self-guided walk.  By self-guided I mean someone arranges the hotel stays, gives you a map, and then each day transfers your luggage from one place to the next.  All you then have to do is walk from one location to the next.

We took an early morning flight from East Midlands airport in the UK (just 45 mins from my mum’s house) to Faro in the south of Portugal.  It was an early morning flight (07:00 am) but, even at that early hour, the airport bar was crowded with people drinking large volumes of alcohol - it was little disturbing.  Faro is one of those cheap sunny destinations that attract the stag parties, hen parties, and other boozy weekend folk that in the age of cheap air fares are now so popular.

In Faro we made a last minute decision to rent a car and surprisingly we found a relatively cheap one for the duration of our stay with a drop off in our departure point in the north, in Porto.

The beach at Salema, Algarve

We drove out of Faro along the southern coast, the Algarve, through Lagos and on to Salema where we stopped for a late lunch.  There we had a bad introduction to Portuguese food with a not so good and quite expensive meal in a restaurant recommended by the guide book.  After that all our food experiences were quite favorable.

Porto Covo

After lunch we headed north towards our starting point for the walk in the town of Porto Covo.  It was a pleasant drive through nice countryside for about 2 hours. We had a nice hotel in Porto Covo and in the evening we walked into the very quiet town for dinner. Being a fishing village, just about every restaurant in the town featured seafood.  We settled for a place recommended by the hotel and had the classic Portuguese dish of a grilled fish, Robalo (Sea Bass). You get to see the fish before they cook it and you pay by the kilo.

Next morning we started our walk towards our next stop in Vila Nova de Milfontes some 20km away.  The route we were walking was called the Fisherman’s Walk; it is a part of the Rota Vicentina trail complex and it extends along the coast, primarily on the cliff tops from Porto Covo to Odeceixe.  The day started with a light drizzle that was pleasant and cooling for a while but it then developed into more serious rain. Not the most encouraging of starts.

Fort do Passequeiro

We continued along the cliff top and then down across the beach at Ilha do Passequeiro.  Fortunately the rain did not last too long and as we walked across the beach towards the fortress (Fort da Ilha) it abated and we had blue skies. We stopped in a little cafe/restaurant below the fortress and sampled the coffee and cake before continuing on.  

The walking was mainly on the cliff top and though relatively easy going the deep sand made it harder than we expected.  Ploughing through sand is not the easiest thing to do and we welcomed the occasional stretch of firmer ground. The coast was dramatic and beautiful and most of the time we were moving along the tops of high cliffs with spectacular views of the coves and beaches below.

White Storks

There had been White Storks nesting all the way up on the drive the previous day, but they are usually inland birds, so we were surprised to see them nesting on top of rock pinnacles out in the ocean.  The young ones had just hatched and most nests had a downy ball of feathers in the nest.

A few kilometers before the end of the days hike we encountered a bar/restaurant so we partook of a glass of beer and a wine.  The perfect end for the day.

As we walked into our destination, Vila Nova de Milfontes, there was a street fair going on - lots of stalls selling local goods and promoting different causes (from the Rota Vicentina Walk to the local honey producers to the local nudist organization).  A nice unexpected addition to a good days walking.

Vila Nova de Milfontes and the Maro River

Milfontes is on the estuary of the Maro River and it is quite picturesque.  There is a sand spit with the sea on one side and the estuary on the other both sides with beautiful beaches.  Since the ocean here does not provide for a lot of safe swimming the waters of the estuary were ideal for recreation.  

Cork Oak

Next morning we walked through town and inland quite a ways to reach the bridge over the river Maro.  Then we walked back towards the coast. After an hour or more of walking we were just across the river from our starting point.  We had our first encounter with the cork oaks. All the trees had been stripped from just above ground level to just below their first branches. Apparently you can harvest the cork every 10 years with an expected tree life of 100 years.

Graffiti House

In the middle of a field there was what once was intended to be a wonderful house, now covered in graffiti, albeit quite nice graffiti.

The scourge of Acacia

Today we encountered the scourge of the acacia plant.  All along we had been greeted with a wonderful diversity of flowers which were all in full bloom at this time, but somehow and somewhere someone had introduced acacias and they are taking over.  From a little shrub to a thicket of entangled trees they crowd out every other plant on the coast. There were signs that they were trying to contain the growth but in many areas it was too late - the only vegetation was acacia.

The landscape without Acacia

The final section of the day’s hike was a couple of kilometers on the road into Almograve.  Almagrave is a very small town with a couple of restaurants, a couple of mercados and a hotel.  We had drinks in one bar (while watching the Montreal Formula 1) and then dined in the restaurant next to our hotel - another grilled fish, a Dorado.  We finished the meal with a complimentary glass of Licor de Noz, a local liqueur.

Trail Markers on the Fisherman's Way

The next morning we started out by walking out to the coast and then along the sandy cliff tops to the lighthouse at Cabo Sardao.  The lighthouse looked quite interesting from afar, there had not been any notable features so it was something to look forward to. When we arrived it was a very small lighthouse, not very dramatic at all.  

White Stork

As we walked along the cliffs there were quite a few of the big nests of the white stork sitting on top of rock outcrops out in the ocean.  Always interesting to see.

We got a respite from the endless deep sand with a little detour away from the coast through a pine forest.  Pleasant cool and easy walking.

Entrada da Barca

Towards the end of the afternoon we dropped down steeply into the harbor of Entrada da Barca.  A very small fishing port but there was a small restaurant there that was quite busy so we took a break and had a snack and a beverage.  I’m not a lover of clams by Nancy said they were the best she ever had.

From the restaurant it was 2 or 3 kilometers of uninteresting walk along the roadside into the town of Zambujeira do Mar.  Zambujeira was not a particularly impressive town. It was mainly comprised of very new buildings, all painted white with a blue trim and tile roofs.  The modern Portuguese housing does not seem to have much variety in either style or color. After a while it gets a bit monotonous.

Zambujeira in the early evening was quite deserted, as many of these towns along the way have been.  They all have a feel like it is late on a Sunday afternoon; quiet and no one is about. There were a few nice restaurants down by the center of the town and we find one that looked reasonable - grilled fish again.

The next day, Tuesday 12 June, we again walked on the cliff tops, again in deep sand.  The variety and abundance of flowers along the way made all the difficult walking worthwhile.  They were absolutely wonderful. Of course every now and again we encountered the dreadful acacia and to a lesser extent bamboo both of which crowd out every other growing plant.  

Around lunchtime we arrived in the town of Azenha do Mar.  Again the town looked deserted and rather down on its heels.  Then we passed by a restaurant and we stopped in for lunch. To our amazement, the restaurant was quite big and full of people.  There was a wait of at least an hour. Apparently this was some especially good fish restaurant that people travel mies to visit.  We waited for a while and then gave up the wait for a table in the restaurant and went for a snack of octopus salad, wine and beer at a table outside.

Odeceixe and Rio de Seixe

The afternoon’s walk took us towards Odeceixe along the cliffs until we came out above the beach at Odeceixe.  The Rio de Seixe flows into the ocean at Odeceixe and it forms quite a spectacular beach area. The sand spit at the mouth of the river provides an excellent beach with the opportunity to swim in both the sea on one side and the river on the other side.   From the cliff top we dropped down to the side of the river and walked along the road alongside the river into the main town of Odeceixe.

Our Hotel and the Windmill, Odeceixe

Odeceixe is an nice town with an old town at the lower level and a more modern town above.  Our hotel was the Casa do Moinho. Moinho is the Portuguese for windmill and there was a windmill next to our hotel on top of the hill.  This was by far the best hotel of our trip - a series of old terraced cottages that have been converted to a nice modern hotel with all the conveniences you could ask for - a wonderfully equipped room, a swimming pool, a jacuzzi, and a terrific breakfast buffet.

Coast south of Odeceixe

We had two nights in Odeceixe and the original plan was to do a shorter circular hiking route from town the next day.  We were not too keen on doing that as it looked like a waste of a day but I still wanted to see what the route was like.  So I got up before dawn to do the 10 mile loop as a run. It actually felt great to up before 6:00 am and out on the road to the coast.  At the coast the trail went south on the cliff top for a couple of miles. I found that you can’t really run in deep sand any quicker than you can walk in deep sand.  Then the trail turned inland towards the road back to Odeceixe. It took Google Maps on the phone to get me back to town but I made it in time for a wonderful breakfast at the hotel.

Our car was back in Porto Covo so we somehow had to get back.  We dallied over breakfast too long and missed the bus, then we found that taxis in Odeceixe are rare; there are only two and they keep busy.  We eventually snagged one after lunch and made the 50 minute trip back to Porto Covo and the car. By then the day was pretty much shot so we returned to Odeceixe and went for a swim.  The beach was very nice and the swim in the surf was lovely despite it being quite cold.

There are more photos here.