In the darkest days of January, we were sitting in front of the fire, watching the flames dancing, and planning a year of little adventures. And what fun they have been.
As the wind hit the front of the house, and the rain drummed against the windows, we let our minds run wild, and as a result, we have had a great year, filled with cycle rides, and little breaks away.
It’s been such fun, and now we’re just a couple of days away from the last excitement of the year; a 240km walk along The Rota Vicentina (Fisherman’s Trail) in Portugal.
Over the last 3 years, we have done lots of A to B bike rides, and love them. There is a real sense of anticipation and adventure, when the bikes are loaded and we make the first turn of the pedal, and we’ll never tire of that. But this year, we decided we’d try something new and do a long A to B walk too.
We love walking, and during the Winter, we tend to walk more than we cycle; enjoying exploring the peaceful tracks and trails that criss-cross the woodland and hillsides around us. They are well-marked, easy to walk and the weather, at that time of year is just perfect, as during the summer, it is far too hot!
We looked at options for our first long-distance walk. We considering making up our own route, perhaps walking through the Dordogne and Lot, or doing similar in Burgundy and the Morvan National Park; we also looked at the Sentier des Pecheurs, in Brittany (a lot like the South West Coast Path in England), and then we stumbled across the Rota Vicentina in Portugal.
It’s a long walk that follows coastal paths along the South West coast of Portugal from Sinès to Lagos, in The Algarve, and it looks stunning. So after a quick read of a book about the route, we decided that this would be the place to pull on our hiking shoes, and carry our lives on our backs, to see how we enjoy a multi-day walk. It’s always good to try something new, especially at our age!
By the middle of February, the flights and hotels were booked. We may enjoy sleeping in the tent, and don’t mind carrying it on our bikes, but neither of us were sure about carrying it with us, on our backs, which have enough care and attention from osteopaths, as it is!
Once booked, and the backpacks had been bought, it rather got lost at the back of our minds, with the cycle rides, and general madness of the months that followed. As far as we were concerned, October was in the Autumn, and that was the other end of the year. There would be plenty of time to think about it, before then.
Yet, life took over, and we really didn’t think much more about it, until we arrived back on the bikes, just 3 weeks ago, when reality hit that we really did need to start doing some walks with the backpacks, just to see how we got on.
The ridiculous thing is that I have never walked with a proper backpack before. I’m not sure that ambling into town with a floral Cath Kidston rucksack is comparable to hiking up to 24km per day, carrying everything we need with us. But that is the reality of what we will be doing, so we have spent the last 3 weeks walking the hills and back-lanes, wearing in our new shoes, and getting used to carrying the weight (in the form of filled water bottles).
There is a real difference between cycling fitness, and walking fitness, and even though we felt strong after the summer on the bikes, the first few walks left us remarkably tired, with us sounding like geriatrics, uttering ‘ooh’, and ‘aah’, as we pulled ourselves to our feet, after sitting on the ground, whilst we made coffee, or had lunch.
The walks though were wonderful, and took us to places we hadn’t visited before. We hiked up through the hills behind Les Mées, finishing on the ridge that runs along the top of the remarkable ‘puddingstone’ Penitents (huge stone columns that dominate the village)
We discovered the abandoned village of Haut Montsalier, between Simiane La Rotonde and Banon. An amazing place with the skeletons of the old houses, and a line of collapsing windmills that had brought prosperity to the village, hundreds of years ago.
And the incredibly atmospheric remains of Travignon, an ancient village, abandoned in the early 1900s, with a unique water supply from ‘Aiguiers’, built into the rocks, above the houses.
We also did some of our favourites too, walking a loop that runs from Caseneuve to Saint Martin de Castillon, with amazing views of the Luberon
And a stunning route from Les Beaumettes to Gordes, and back via Saint Pantaléon, with what can only be described as the perfect coffee-stop on a bench, overlooking one of the most beautiful villages in france.
The weeks have slipped quickly by, and we have simply enjoyed every moment of getting used to the backpacks. We’ve become more and more aware that the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ of getting up from the ground have gone, and we have found ourselves walking with ease, up rocky paths with gradients that (at times) have exceeded 40 degrees.
The cycling certainly gave us the fitness and stamina, but the last 3 weeks have helped strengthen our shoulders and those little muscles that seem to work, only when walking.
And now, we’re just 2 days away from the hideously early, 2am start to catch the flight from Marseille. So we have been able to start getting everything out, ready to pack into the bags, which is where the fun really begins.
There is a different approach to packing for a holiday, when you know that you have to carry every little thing that you want to take. We are used to travelling light, with the cycle tours, and have got those down to a fine art, but somehow, knowing that everything will be on our backs makes it seem even more important that we get it right.
So we have been weighing everything – and I mean everything.
We have walking shorts and t-shirts, which are amazingly light, yet some are lighter than others. Why carry 3 that weigh 120g each, when we have 3 that weigh just 100g each.
And something to wear in the evenings, once we have eased our feet out of the walking shoes and socks. After weighing all my sandals, I’ve plumped for a pair of Skechers that come in at just 300g, whereas Andy, who has a selection of sandals and shoes (from Vinted) that would give Imelda Marcos a run for her money, discovered that Birkenstocks were his best option, even though they weighed in at a whopping 600g.
But the biggest surprise of the weighing session were the pants. I know, it’s mad, but yes, we really did weigh the pants. Mine weren’t a problem, but we discovered that Andy’s ‘Fat Face’ ones weighed considerably more than those by ‘Joules’ –
I must admit that isn’t a fact that I ever expected myself to know, but if it ever comes up in a pub quiz, then I’ll be right there with the answer!
It’s amazing how much a few grammes here and a few grammes there, add up, and by the time we finished, we found that we will be walking with slightly less weight than we have been carrying for the last 3 weeks.
So all we can do now is twiddle our thumbs and wait for the next couple of days to pass. Neither of us are good at sitting still, or waiting around, but part of us now doesn’t want to do too much, as we don’t want to do anything silly, and hurt ourselves. I do have history for this, and really don’t want to tempt fate!
So roll on Saturday morning, a very early start and the anticipation and excitement of taking our first steps, at the start of what we hope will be, a rather wonderful couple of weeks, hiking along the stunning Portuguese Coast.
We hope you enjoy coming with us again.
