Postcards from Provence and beyond

After our day off yesterday, we were ready to get going again today, for what should have been a shorter, 15km, hop, skip and a jump, to Vila Do Bispo.

But we had already decided to walk a little further, after chatting with other walkers, over supper, a couple of nights ago. They had been told that it was even better to take the path back to Bordeira beach, and to follow the tracks around the headland, before rejoining the marked trail, at Amado Beach. It seemed like a good plan.

We really are ‘morning people’ and so were up, bags packed, breakfast eaten, by just after 7, and were walking out of the little village at 7.30.

Early mornings are always the best time on the trail. It’s peaceful (not many others are such early-starters as us), the light is incredible and wonderfully cool too.

We stopped to say hello to an incredibly friendly cat, before setting off along the path across the dunes, towards the beach.

The dunes in front of us were bathed in a golden light, tinting the sand with shades of copper and pink.

And behind us, the sun was just rising, behind the distant hills…

It was the most mesmerising sunrise that we’ve seen so far.

We walked alongside the river, which was sparkling in the sun, with the distant waves, rolling gently along the beach. It was one of those utterly perfect mornings, making us slow down, simply to take it all in.

We left the beach, following the boardwalk, before joining a gravel road that followed the coast of the headland, as we made our way around to the beach.

It was the best way to start the day. We were on our own, with the sound of the sea & a few birds for company, and we enjoyed just taking it all in.

The views along the coast were beautiful, and after nearly 8km, we had the beach, where we would rejoin the trail, in sight.

After stopping there for breakfast, on our day off yesterday, we knew it would be a great place to stop for coffee.

The views, as we walked down the road towards it were stunning, and even though the early detour had added another 5km to the day’s hike, the views made it worth every step.

We stopped at the little beach cafe for coffee and a pastel da nata..

Before joining the other walkers, making their way across the immaculate expanse of sand:

The surf schools were busy with classes, and 2 dogs were busy trying to dig their way to Australia

But the beach is so huge that it almost felt as if we were the only people there ..

After walking on the hard sand of the beach, we started to head up again, slip-sliding our way up a steep dune, to rejoin a gravel path, which some other walkers had taken, around the headland.

This proved to be the first climb of the day, as we made our way up a steep, rocky path to the cliffs, high above the beach.

Before we dropped down into another cove, with turquoise & cobalt blue waves breaking on the shore.

Then it was up again. This time, a long climb, up a wide but steep gravel road that twisted its way up the hillside, emerging back onto the top of the cliffs.

It was like being on a very slow rollercoaster, with steep climbs and equally steep descents, but it was an incredibly beautiful one.

We followed the marked track, which led us back to the coast, and a deep cleft in the cliffs, with a narrow path visible on the far side, climbing steeply up, to the next point.

We decided that once we got to the top, we’d stop for lunch. Giving ourselves something to aim for.

It was a steep, gnarly descent, and we picked our way, carefully down the path, before taking a deep breath at the bottom, and climbing up the other side.

It was one of those that looked worse than it actually was, and we clambered up it, much more quickly than either of us had expected, arriving at the top with a big grin.

We wandered away from the knot of other walkers, who had all clearly decided that they too would have lunch at the top. We wanted to find a peaceful spot, where we could sit and enjoy the view.

A few minutes later, we were pulling off our backpacks and sitting on sun-warmed stones, with a jaw-dropping view back up the coast.

It was so clear that we could easily see Arrifana, where we had stayed a couple of nights ago.

It was another perfect picnic spot.

We had really broken the back of today’s walk, even with the early-morning extension, and only had about 8km left to do.

It was very tempting just to lie in the sun, but before long, the sharp pebbles were making us squirm, so we pulled on our packs and continued towards tonight’s stop at Vila do Bispo.

After the dramatic walk along the coast, the afternoon was much more gentle, following gravel paths that took us inland.

We wandered through low growing shrubs that must be a real picture in spring, but that are now almost an inky black with a dark oily substance on their leaves. Before walking through a slightly more wooded area..

And catching our first sight of the south coast of Portugal.

It seemed really strange to see the coast changing direction and it brought us both to a standstill, in the middle of the path.

It was a real sign that the end is almost in sight, and neither of us are ready for this to be over, quite yet. We still have 3 1/2 days of walking to do, to reach Lagos, but this was a memorable moment, on what is a wonderful adventure

Then it was a final, short walk into the pretty little town of Vila do Bispo,

Where we found a bar and sat with a beer, in the shade, resting our legs after another day of walking over 20km.

I have no doubt that we’ll have an early night tonight, and will be out with the sunrise again tomorrow, on our way to the lighthouse on the Cape, and on, into Sagres.

168km walked, and not far to go at all, now.