Rota Vicentina, or the Fisherman’s Trail, is a 225 km long path along the coastline in southern Portugal. It starts in the small village of Porto Covo and finishes in Lagos.
This year, we decided to spend Christmas away from Slovakia, in our natural environment—on the trail in Portugal. Our options were limited due to my work and the weather. We bought tickets to Faro, in southern Portugal. We are going to hike the Rota Vicentina, which runs along the southwest coast of Portugal. We’ve planned…
Porto Covo – Almograve Friday, 22nd December 2023 35,83 km We set the alarm for 6:30 AM. Jozef gets up and makes coffee, while I still lie in the warm sleeping bag. It’s 13°C in the room. For breakfast we have bread, cheese, olives, and tomatoes, followed by a Madeiran banana. We pack up and…
Almograve – cliff above Praia da Amália Saturday, 23rd December 2023 31,12 km – total 66,95 km The ocean didn’t take us! And my watch even says I had a peaceful sleep, so I must have come to terms with the possibility of death. The temperature dropped to 4°C, and we really don’t want to…
Cliff above Praia da Amália – Rogil Sunday, 24th December 2023 – Christmas Eve 32,11 km – total 99,06 km The car left at half-past four in the morning. Some fisherman probably went to catch fish for the Christmas Eve table. We get up at 7 AM. It’s noticeably warmer today; I even had to…
Rogil – Arrifana Monday, 25th December 2023 – Christmas day 24,05 km – total 123,11 km We wake up late. After the prosecco, I didn’t feel like getting up. While packing in the morning, I get bitten by 10 more mosquitoes. But at least there’s no condensation. We can’t have it all—either mosquitoes or condensation….
Arrifana – before Vila do Bispo Tuesday, 26th December 2023 32,01 km – total 155,12 km I was quite warm at night and didn’t sleep very well. After three nights in a tent, sleeping in a bed felt unfamiliar. We pack up and start hiking at 8 AM. After about 3 kilometers, we stop for…
Before Vila do Bispo – Praia do Barranco Wednesday, 27th December 2023 36,15 km – total 191,27 km We don’t cook anything this morning, so we leave unusually early, at 7:30 AM. We pass by a van that was parked there yesterday, and a dog is barking. Now we’re walking on a boring road, 5…
Praia do Barranco – Lagos Thursday, 28th December 2023 33,77 km – total 225 km The cows didn’t climb up to the cliffs. Inside the tent, it’s a comfortable 10°C. We’ve moved to the east side, so from the tent, we can see the beautifully colored sky before sunrise. Jozef makes the last coffee of…