Postcards from Provence and beyond

How on earth is it our last day, today. The last 2 weeks has passed by in a blur.

What started as a conversation one January evening, as we sat at home, watching the fire, has turned into one of our most enjoyable adventures yet.

Today was the final stage of our walk along the length of Portugal’s stunning Rota Vicentina, which would see us hike about 12km from Luz, to the trail head at Lagos.

We were awake early, well before sunrise today, excited to start, and especially keen (after yesterday’s heat) to get up the final hill, before the sun really started to warm us.

We pulled on our shoes and backpacks, for the last time. Popped the fruit we had bought for breakfast onboard, and as quietly as we could, made our way out of the hotel. Although, we’ve just realises I left my bra, and Andy left his Birkenstocks there too, so perhaps our excitement to get underway, didn’t do us any good at all!

As we walked into Luz, the sky to the west was still inky black, dotted with stars, whilst to the east, the first colours of dawn were spreading across the sky. For us, it was the perfect way to begin our final walk, whereas, I’m sure for others, it would feel as if it was half way through the night.

We wandered back to the benches, by the beach and sat back to watch the sunrise, and eat our breakfast. We knew that the first part of the walk would take us up a steep hill, and we wanted to be sure that it was light enough to see the path, before we left.

The last thing we wanted was for either of us to trip, or fall, just because we were stumbling up, in the half-light.

It turned out to be a beautiful sunrise, with vibrant stripes of orange, coral and apricot streaking the sky.

As soon as the inky tones had disappeared, we set off, walking along the seafront, towards the climb out of the town, up to a tower (possibly for ship’s navigation) that sits high on the cliffs, towards Lagos

Happily, the path wasn’t the one that seemed to go almost vertically up the hill..

But one that took a slightly longer route around the contours. It wasn’t as steep as the one we had seen, but even after all the walking we’ve done, it still made our calves protest , a little.

Once up though, the views back along the coast to Sagres were stunning, and we stood for a while, reflecting on just how far we had come.

But Lagos was calling, and the sun was now rising too, so we carried on, across the cliff, but on a path that felt much more substantial than any we had walked on, so far.

We walked towards the rising sun, which was by now a fierce orange globe, looking like a door had been opened into a furnace, with shafts of colour lighting the edges of the clouds, highlighting them with gold.

It was as if Nature had saved her best sunrise of the trip, till last, and we enjoyed every moment of it.

It was an easy walk across the clifftops towards Lagos, with the cinder track and fences giving it a feel of a suburban park, after the rugged hiking of the past 2 weeks.

We even passed people out jogging – clearly we were well and truly back in civilisation!

The views changed too. Gone were the big views, rugged cliffs and open heathland. They were replaced by rows of houses and developments that stretched out before us. After the peace and small villages, this almost came as a bit of a shock.

We walked down off the cliff, and onto the edge of Lagos, where we stopped for a second breakfast, by the beach, watching surfers arrive, only to leave disappointed, as the waves didn’t seem to have enough energy to do anything but flop, gently onto the sand.

Refreshed, we set off again, following the blue and green stripes that have marked the route, turning towards a boardwalk, where we were stopped in our tracks by a huge group of Azur-winged magpies.

These are such beautiful birds, and we had caught glimpses of then before, but here the group seemed unworried by our presence, as they played and chatted, in front of us.

It was such a delight, to see them so close.

The route then follows a series of boardwalks and paths that took us around the headland.

It was busy with joggers and Saturday morning walkers, but it proved to be rather a lovely walk around a final, spectacular part of the coast.

Here the rocks have formed little arches, caves and stacks

The colour of the sea against the ochre tones of the rocks looks beautiful

And it was already busy with boat trips, kayaking groups and paddle-boarders

We sat on the edge and looked back along the coast, chatting about the adventure we’d had, and feeling more than a little sad that it was almost over.

Then it was a final walk into the heart of Lagos, following the coast

Passing the statue, which looked amazing with the sun behind his head

And the Fort, above which the mackerel sky suggested that the weather, which has been almost perfect for our walk, is about to change.

We ambled alongside the river, and finally crossed, making our way around the marina to the end of the trail, just outside the train station.

The end proved to be a sign, in a dusty carpark. But it had the map, and we were able to trace the route we had done.

It’s a bit of an underwhelming end to such an incredible walk. I wanted it to have a brass-band, or at least a button I could press that would sound a fanfare!

But, just the sign was enough to make my eyes prick with tears, and my voice catch in my throat. The journey between the matching signs had been incredible, and we had loved every moment of it.

At the end of the day, we always believe that we find the joy in getting somewhere, more than actually being there.

We laughed, hugged, and got a few strange looks from passers by. But, we didn’t care at all – we had walked 236.6km, in total.

We had completed our first long distance, multi-day walk, and have had a ball!

We bought juice, and a pastel de nata & simply sat on a bench, watching the boats in the marina, starting to chat about what adventure should be next!

The thing is that these adventures make us feel alive. We’re not ready to let the old man and woman in yet! As someone said, ‘ you don’t let the grass grow under your feet’

That’s probably true, but the grass will be growing over us soon enough, so we’re determined to enjoy planning and doing as much as we can, whilst we can.

We’re now on a train to Lisbon, and will spend the day there tomorrow, exploring the town … by foot of course!

For now though, we’ll just sit back and enjoy the ride!

Thanks for joining us, on our latest little adventure