Fishermen's Trail, Portugal
Our primary goal in Portugal in April was to trek 76km (47miles) along the eastern edge of the Atlantic Ocean along the famous Fishermen’s Trail. While in Lisbon, we had met the 21st century challenge of obtaining bus reservations with QR codes stowed in our electronic devices. It worked! The easy two hour ride south took us to the quiet seaside resort town of Porto Covo, where our walk began.
Fishermen’s Trail is well-marked with blue and green colors.
The one pizza joint in town was bustling, but otherwise the streets were deserted and windows shuttered, awaiting the summer crowds. Our lodging each night was at wonderful Air B&B locations ferreted out by our intrepid trip planner and my long-time friend, Linda.
In the morning, we hefted our packs for the first of four trail-walking days. We had heard that Conde Nast named the Fishermen’s Trail one of the top six most beautiful hikes in the world. We all agreed: it was spectacular. In all, there are thirteen sections to the trail totalling 227km (141 miles). And what a treat to have our luggage transported to our next Air B&B by prior arrangement, so all we had to carry were our daypacks with lunch.
The colorful ice plants were ubiquitous.
The shortcut to Almograve at the top of the hill!
Day One: Porto Covo -> Vila Nova de Milfontes (20km/12.5miles): The day was characterized by lots of walking in sand, which is never easy. But the surrounding hillsides were so colorful, we were easily distracted. The vegetation was at its best before the heat of summer. From my journal: “...the cliffs and waves crashing into them, the ice plants (a pervasive succulent ground cover with feathery purple, white, and yellow flowers), loads of other flowers, everything very green and lush...really lovely.” The ancient, erosion-resistant rock cliffs and sharp-edged nearby outcrops in the water were like shoreline armor against incautious mariners.
This nest was less precariously situated than many others!
In Entrada da Barca, before the slog up to Zambujeira do Mar.
Day Two: Vila Nova de Milfontes -> Almograve (15.5km/9.6miles): We started the day by crossing the Mira River in a little 6-passenger boat. It was worth the four euros, saving us at least a mile of walking upriver to a bridge and back. We followed the beach awhile, then climbed a steep hill to gain the top of the cliffs. All day we were entranced by crashing waves, white foamy spray, the ocean, and the sky. At the end, we found a good shortcut uphill to Almograve, where Linda’s grown daughters regressed on a swing set while the rest of us cooled off in welcome shade. We had some “fun with foreign appliances” when using the washing machine and discovering the door would not unlock. (It finally released our clothes...)
The Zambujeira do Mar rooftop view.
Fun fact: “Between March and October you’ll be able to see many swifts as alpine, pallid and common swift all nest along this coast. Their ... acrobatics as they constantly search for enough food for their chicks is one of the wonders of the area. They spend over 90% of their life on the wing and have extreme difficulty in becoming airborne should they land anywhere but on a cliff or high building.’ [Source: rotavicentina.com/en/trilhos/vila-nova-de-milfontes-almograve] From my journal: “Watched three birds today, higher than the gulls, braiding a pattern in the thermals, just drifting lazily like a dance. Nice... [Later,] I was sitting, not feeling thirsty, or hungry, or particularly tired or sore –just pure contentment.”
Morning light & tree shadows on the beach.
Day Three: Almograve -> Zambujeira do Mar (22km/13.7miles): Along the way today, we were treated to lots of giant, perfectly-round, stork nests. These leggy white birds migrate here for nesting from sub-Saharan Africa. Another interesting phenomenon were the really interesting sandstone formations along this stretch, first formed when the seas were about 300 feet lower than present and the beaches were some 60km further west. [Source: rotavicentina.com/en/walking/fishermens-trail]
Day’s end was, well, long. The guidebook suggested hailing a taxi from the fishing harbor of Entrada da Barca but, being stubborn, we headed inland. For about 4 km, we trudged up a straight-line, six-foot wide ramp of gravel beside a relatively busy road. And it became our third day of lock/access challenges. We finally figured out a) where our place was and b) how to get in. Our reward was an especially bright and airy Air B&B with a rooftop deck overlooking the ocean at sunset. An evening in the well-appointed dining/living room with take-out food was a balm. From my journal: “It was a 13-mile day with 31,000+ steps. Fun! Feeling weary, but good.”
look at that uplifted geology!
Day Four: Zambujeira do Mar -> Odeceixe (18.5km/11.5miles): The early part of the day was exquisite! Big waves crashed in on the full moon tide, and stork nests were close enough that we could see the babies on their long shaky legs. Some of the beaches were the prettiest I’ve ever seen. And the trail offered a great geology lesson: the sedimentary rocks below, sharp and uninviting to mariners, had striations indicating that they were once horizontal. Over the eons they have been folded and pushed out of all recognition. Many now stand up vertically. And then we found ourselves on another trudge, 2.5 miles along a paved road beside the Seixe River to the bridge, then back to town on the other side. (You’d think we would have learned, but no...) Before we descended from the cliffs, though, we admired the wonderful view of the river outlet at Odeceixe Beach.
End of the trail...for now.
And so, our brief walk ended. Once again, I have added to my “next time” list the hope that someday I can go back and complete the Fishermen’s Trail. But I am also humbly grateful for the chance to try it out a bit, and share the experience.
[Sources: rotavicentina.com/en/walking/fishermens-trail and wiportugal.org/en/index_en.html]
