Where have the days gone?
How is it possible that today is our last long stage, of this incredible adventure. It’s not the end yet, but the next 2 days are much shorter stages, and today has come around far too quickly
Today’s walk is highlighted as being the most challenging of the walk, so I must admit that I woke with a few nerves, as I knew there would be some hands-on clambering to be done, which isn’t my greatest skill!
We set off at 8, when the sun was low on the horizon, and the light on the sea was beautiful.
We walked across the empty beach, mesmerised by the shimmer of the sun on the water…
… enjoying walking with our long shadows stretched actoss the sand, for company
Leaving the beach behind, we climbed up onto the cliffs, where we caught sight of the coast that we would be walking along today, and it looked amazing
The cliffs stretched out before us, with little beaches tucked below them, as far as we could see
It looked as if we would have a wonderful day’s walk.
To begin with, we headed slightly inland, walking along a path that took us through open down-land, towards a derelict old farmhouse.
The land was covered with low shrubs and thistles, which must be beautiful, when they are in flower.
The air was filled with birdsong, with all types of larks singing their hearts out, interrupted only by the chatter of sardinian warblers, and the keening whistle of kestrels too..
We spotted a huge centipede scuttling across the path in front of us. It was so much bigger than any that I’ve seen before
Passing the old farmhouse, we couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like, renovated, with an incredible view across to the sea. We always love doing up houses, and this took us down a ‘Grand Designs’ rabbit hole for quite a while.
Before long, we were back on the coast, stopping on the first beach, and sitting against warm stones, whilst we had a drink and a ‘Pastel de Nata’ …
It was rather glorious and we could have easily sat there for an awful lot longer
But we knew we had only really just started the day’s walk, so dragged ourselves up, pulled on our backpacks and carried on.
From here, the mould for the rest of the walk was set. With a hike up a steep climb, away from a beach, followed by the crest of the cliff, and a steep descent down to the next.
It was going to be an ‘up hill, down dale’ day, but the views at every stage were staggering, and it was just a joy
The climbing was generally steep, but once we got into the rhythm of climbing, each hill passed quickly..
The descents though were (more often than not) gnarly, steep, and with big steps down from uneven rocks. We couldn’t relax or let our attention wander, for a moment.
They were as mentally challenging, as they were physically challenging. I was so pleased that this stage is almost at the end of our adventure, rather than at the beginning. If I’m honest, I think I would have really struggled, if I had been faced with this, in our first few days.
It’s a bit of a family joke, that I am not the most surefooted of people – more often than not, if there is something to be tripped over, I’ll take a tumble. But during the walk, my confidence has improved, and although I’m not fast, going downhill, I have managed to do it, without incident. Today, just served to show me, how far I have come.
After an especially challenging walk down to one beach, we sat in a bar and recovered with a fresh orange juice and a coffee
Before heading on again, walking across the beach, to take a path upwards from the corner.
The paths continued like this, apart from one section, which led up on a long, slow climb, taking us slightly inland, with beautiful views over the hills..
Arriving back on the coast, we found a little path that took us towards a cove, and we sat, in the deep cleft of the valley, with our picnic.
It was utterly peaceful , apart from the sound of the waves and just another perfect picnic spot.
By now, we only had about 5km to walk, to tonight’s stop, so the pressure was off, and we could enjoy the last couple of cliff climbs, before we arrived.
Some looked more daunting than they were, when we looked at them , from across the valley
Yet others looked OK, but saw us having to use our hands to help pull ourselves up some of the steeper sections
Yet the views were always magnificent and certainly kept us going.
Finally, we arrived in Salema, and tonight, we’re sitting on the terrace, watching the waves , eating a scratch-supper of hummus, and rolls (with a beer)
We’re watching the holidaymakers walk past, dressed up to the nines, and we feel we have gone a bit feral. I certainly didn’t carry a set of evening-wear in my rucksack!
We’re tired, but exhilarated too. This really is much more of an adventure than we ever imagined, it would be. Today was spectacular, and certainly in the top 3 of the stages, and we wouldn’t have missed it, for the world.
Like cycling, walking allows us to experience the country, on a totally different level to just arriving somewhere by car.
We are loving every moment, and can’t believe that it’s almost over.
A much shorter walk tomorrow, to Luz and then a final walk to Lagos, on Saturday, where we catch the train and will be in Lisbon, that evening.
Let’s hope the next 2 days go a little more slowly!
