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 the trip outside, and we have breakfast: bread with mustard and salami. He also prepares some food for the journey. We pack up and head out by 8 AM. We need to move quickly today to reach Lagos, the final stop of Rota Vicentina, before dark. The trail takes us along the cliffs, and within a kilometer, we meet another hiker. He’s one of our kind—Altra shoes on his feet and a small ultralight backpack on his back. We chat for a bit about how we don’t understand the camping ban when there are campervans everywhere. We didn’t even get a chance to ask where he’s from, but we guess somewhere like the Netherlands. The map shows today’s route will be quite hilly, and it starts right away. We descend from the cliffs to the beach, then head back up.

After an hour and a half, we reach the place we intended to camp last night. We’re moving slowly today. We take a break for a snack with a view of the beach. We look at the map and notice that the trail takes an unnecessary detour inland. Jozef comes up with the brilliant idea to cut through the beach. If it was high tide, we wouldn’t be able to pass, but we’re lucky today. We walk 1.5 km on the beach and save ourselves a long, boring stretch.

The sand is nicely firm at low tide, so the walking is smooth. We still have 24 km to go, and the path goes through some touristy villages. The first one is Salema, where we’re looking forward to a coffee and a pastel de nata, but nothing is open.

The next village, Burgau, is 5 km away. Jozef motivates me with chocolate and the promise of coffee to keep me moving faster. It’s still an up-and-down route—this will be tough.

In Burgau, we find coffee and also buy some bread so we don’t have to stop for lunch at a restaurant. They didn’t have pastel de nata, but they offered a hazelnut pastry that was pretty good. Feeling re-energized, we keep going.

We’re now entering a very touristy area, and the number of people is increasing. We have a nice view of the high cliffs beyond the town.

We take a break for food on a bench: one bun with tuna pâté and another with pistachio cream from Kolatch. We don’t stop in Luz. The trail takes us along the promenade, which Jozef calls the worst half-kilometer of the entire route. Beyond the town, we face our last big climb, up to 105 meters above sea level. It’s a steep effort. At the top, there’s a monument and some pine trees.

On the other side, we can see Lagos stretched out before us. We try to move quickly, but my feet really hurt from the lack of breaks and the continuous walking. We still have 5 km to go, heading along wooden boardwalks toward Ponta da Piedade.

The trail changes a bit from the beach onward, so we follow the trail markers instead of our watches. This is the busiest part of the entire route. It’s a bit annoying to wander around on the wooden paths when we could just go straight, but since we’re here, we take the route. We even descend to Praia do Camilo, thinking it might be worth it. But no, the 226 stair weren’t worth it. We weave through the slow walkers and wonder where the trail will take us next. We’ve already covered an extra kilometer, which feels like a lot with 30 km already behind us and with the end in sight.

It feels like they added this part just to make sure we reached a total of 1,000 meters of elevation. Finally, we reach the river’s mouth. We only have 2 km left along the promenade, past the marina, to the train station. I dig deep for the last bit of energy and do my best to ignore my aching feet. We made it!

We take a photo and then walk another kilometer to the hotel. We’re pretty wiped out. We don’t know why it took so much energy out of us today. We shower, freshen up a bit, and head out to eat at a seafood restaurant recommended by the lady at our accommodation. I have sea bass, and Jozef has swordfish. While we wait, I try to finish writing the blog, but I’m really exhausted. Our eyes are closing over dinner. We can barely finish our meal. We head back to the hotel and go straight to bed—there’s nothing more I can manage.

Conclusion

We walked over 225 km in 7 days. We started in Porto Covo and finished in Lagos. It was a great way to stretch our legs after a long break since August, and we really felt how much our fitness had declined. On these hikes, we spend a lot of time reflecting on life, which motivates us to avoid falling into a routine and to keep walking as much as we can. We hope we’ve motivated you too, to step out of your comfort zone and get walking.

That’s all from us—thank you for joining us on another adventure!

Príspevok Rota Vicentina – day 7 je zobrazený ako prvý na Stupky.

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 km, to the town of Vila do Bispo.

I’m looking for a café but without success. So at least a restroom, but that is closed too. Luckily, next to it, we find an open café. We order coffee and a pastel de nata. Then we head to Lidl. We buy freshly squeezed orange juice, Madeiran bananas, bread for breakfast, chocolate, and water. We unpack it all in front of Lidl and have a breakfast. It’s 15 km to Cabo de São Vicente. We walk for a long time on a fairly busy dirt road, with turnoffs leading to beaches.

The last 5 km, we turn onto a rocky path. Quite a pleasant change from asphalt and sand.

There are a lot of people at the lighthouse, so we quickly take a photo, have coffee at a stand. I switch to sandals, and we continue 5 km to the town of Sagres. Sometimes we walk along cliffs, sometimes along the road.

For a while, we watch fishermen fishing from the cliffs.

In town, we want to eat, but it’s quite touristy. We go to a shop for tuna, water, and breakfast supplies. At the end of the town, we find a restaurant with “Pinocchio” in the name, which suits us perfectly. Jozef orders grilled sea bream, and I have a cheese omelet, with a beer, Sagres of course.

The fish looks like it was caught right off the cliff here, and I have totally fresh fries made from real potatoes. I’m satisfied and even have a second beer to keep the pace up, and a coffee. It’s still 11 km to the place where we plan to sleep, and we have 1.5 hours until sunset. We’ve already accepted that we won’t make it, but we keep walking briskly. First, we cross the beach and then a meadow with cows. The sun is slowly setting. We descend to the beach and hear more cows.

From above, we see a tent pitched in the middle of the herd, between trees. We think that must be quite uncomfortable. There’s a path down to the beach, made of cobblestone, which is pretty loose and a bit dangerous for twisting ankles.

At the end, there’s a parking lot with quite a few caravans and vans. Some tourists are already camping near the beach, so we stay too. We set up on the grass. I want to wash my feet in the sea, but by the time I get there, it’s already dark, and the sea looks ominous, so I stay with dirty feet – after all, we’re finishing tomorrow. Jozef already has everything prepared in the tent.

It seems to me that the cows are getting closer, so I ask Jozef if he thinks so too, but he says no. So, I keep writing my blog. But the cows really are getting closer and closer. Soon, I see the shadow of a cow from the tent. And now, we’re in the middle of the herd. We pack up quickly, don’t even deflate the sleeping mats, and run up to the cliffs. Five minutes later, we’ve set up the tent again on top, where it’s quiet, except for one barking dog. Jozef is cooking instant noodles for dinner. We had planned pasta too, but I’m not really hungry, and we’re low on water. As usual, I finish writing the blog while Jozef is already asleep. But today, we did manage to brush our teeth beforehand.

Príspevok Rota Vicentina – day 6 je zobrazený ako prvý na Stupky.

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 breakfast, enjoying a nice view. Since we showered yesterday, we take a photo together—probably the best we’ll look on this trip.

The next 10 kilometers are pretty boring. We walk inland with no views, and the pace is slower than we’d like. But eventually, we make it back to the cliffs, though the landscape is desolate. It looks like this area was hit by fires last year.

We continue along Brodeira Beach, which is a much more fun.

There are these funny little birds running around, moving their legs super fast to escape the waves. We have to run ourselves when a wave suddenly appear.

Carrapateira is only a kilometer away, but walking through the sand while hungry makes it feel much longer. When we reach the town, there’s just one restaurant open, and we manage to grab one of the last tables. I order a London Burger, and Jozef goes for the ‘Micro Bar’ burger. The place is busy, so it takes a while, but the food is great, and the portions are big.

After lunch, we have a coffee, and then it’s time to pick up the pace. We want to get as close to Vila do Bispo as possible before sunset. On the way back toward the ocean, we pass a lot of agave plants with large, spiky leaves. The plant will die after blooming.

We descend to Praia do Amado, which is busy because of the nearby parking and bar. We want to fill up our water bottles, but the restrooms are closed, so we keep going. We figure that either we’ll find water along the way or push on until we reach the town. But then the terrain starts to get pretty challenging with lots of climbs. It feels like we’re constantly hiking up to a hill and then down to a beach.

At one abandoned house, we get water from a tap outside, so we don’t have to rush anymore and just keep going until sunset.

The last kilometers are easy, just following the road. We start looking for a good spot to pitch the tent. We find one, but it’s too exposed. So, we keep walking toward a forest turnoff that we see on the map. At the end of the path, we find the perfect spot under a tree, on soft pine needles, nicely hidden. Jozef sets up the tent while I write.

Just as we’re lying down, a car approaches. I panic for a second, thinking someone is coming to kick us out, but it’s just a someone in a van, also looking for a place to camp. They park nearby and start playing loud techno music. We both roll our eyes at that. Thankfully, they turn it off after a few minutes.

Jozef cooks a big pot of pasta with tuna, but I’m not very hungry—still full from lunch. In the end, I force myself to eat some, knowing I’ll be starving by morning if I don’t. After that, I post the blog and read a bit about the Vale da Telha, estate we passed earlier. Jozef is already asleep, and I doze off too, but we get up to brush our teeth before finally going to bed.

Príspevok Rota Vicentina – day 5 je zobrazený ako prvý na Stupky.

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. We leave just before 9 AM. I really don’t feel like walking today. We start on a paved road and head towards the town of Aljezur, 5 km away. It’s a historic town with a castle, so we wander around a bit.

Otherwise, it’s deserted, but the cats are there.

Then we climb a hill through some abandoned resort and through a cork forest. Still on asphalt, we head towards the ocean.

We reach the popular Praia da Amoreira beach, where there are lots of surfers. There’s also a restaurant, and we hope it’s open. We’re in luck, it’s just opening, so we have coffee, pastel de nata, and chocolate cake.

I’m starting to feel a bit dirty, so I check to see if there’s any accommodation nearby for a good price. Bingo! It’s 10 kilometers from us, right on the route and by the beach. I book it immediately. The thought of a shower makes walking easier. We continue past another fairly crowded beach, where we stop for lunch (bread with sardine pâté, cheese, and ham).

It seems families are spending their Christmas at the beach. They’re having picnics and drinks, and kids are sliding down the sand dunes. After that, we have 5 km along the cliffs with beautiful views.

Finally, we walk through a forest to the village of Arrifana, where we have our accommodation. It’s more crowded here, and we meet people on horseback. When we come off the trail onto the road, I change into sandals to give my feet some air. They really need washing, so we head to the beach.

Check-in is only from 4 PM, so we finally try out the ocean. First, I just test the water temperature—16.8°C—I expected it to be colder. Jozef makes coffee while I write the blog.

Then he’s the first to go into the sea. He seems to enjoy it a lot. So I go in as well; it’s warmer than Uherecká Reservoir at home. It was quite fun, but after a while, my feet started to get cold, so I got out. I dried off a bit on the beach, changed, and we headed to the hotel. On the way, Jozef grumbles about how much he hates sand and salty water. Good thing we’re on a trek that mostly goes over sand along the ocean. A very kind girl checks us in, and after seeing our passports, she says, “Aaa, Slovenia!” After we correct her, she apologizes and says we’re the first Slovaks she’s hosted, so she’ll probably get it right next time. They even gave us a better room than we paid for, so we’re happy. The shower was much needed. My hair really needed it, although I must say the wet look suits me. I also soak some socks and underwear that need washing, and then we head out to watch the sunset and have dinner.

We find one open place, but it won’t start cooking for another 45 minutes, so we keep looking. Since we haven’t walked much today, Jozef goes to check out the next village. We’re not sure if it’s open, so I stay in the room, and he’ll text me. He found Jordanian Al Bilal, so I join him. It’s 1.5 km away. I order an XL falafel wrap, and Jozef gets fried calamari. The music is pretty bad Arabic pop, but the food is good. Jozef liked the carrot the most—not that the rest was bad, but the carrot was exceptional. We take a walk back, and we end up with the same number of steps as if we’d been walking all day.

Príspevok Rota Vicentina – day 4 je zobrazený ako prvý na Stupky.

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 uncover myself during the night. There’s a lot of condensation in the tent. When I open the door and hold it to the side, water trickles down. Jozef makes coffee, and for breakfast, we have the sandwich from yesterday that we packed for the road, so we wouldn’t have to carry ham and cheese wrappers. That’s enough for now. Five kilometers away is the village Azenha do Mar. We set off at 8 AM. The path first leads through a tunnel of oleander trees and then between farms.

We saw raspberries being grown in tunnels, and then various types of lettuce and baby spinach in the fields. We reach the village and hope to find an open café. We’re in luck; one has just opened. To our surprise, it’s full of locals. Everyone is having coffee, and some are starting Christmas Eve with something a bit stronger. We get coffee and one of the last pieces of pastry in the display. Refreshed, we head on.

Firstly, along the cliffs through sand, and then we join a road leading to the town of Odeceixe.

It’s about 5 kilometers inland on the asphalt road, along the river, to the bridge in the town.

At least we can have a proper lunch. Not many places are open, but we find one where they have tuna steak for €13.5, so we go for it. The owner already has tables set up for what seems like a family gathering, but he still seats us. We both get a decent piece of tuna with fries, vegetables, and something like a vegetable stew. I can’t finish mine, so Jozef eats the rest of mine. Then we quickly grab a coffee, and we have to move on. I leave a tip for the guy, and he seems really pleased. We’ve noticed that they aren’t very used to tips here. Jozef left the lady in the café 10 cents, and she came after him, thinking he forgot it. I told him this one was his. Now, we have to go back to the coast on the asphalt again. It’s a bit of a pointless detour, but the lunch was great, and we met an wonderful cat, so it was worth it.

We have 15 kilometers ahead of us, and we need to go fast. We need to stock up in Rogil for tomorrow because everything will likely be closed, and we’re not sure how long the stores will be open today. The first half goes great. We have plenty of energy, we’re full, and our legs are rested, but then the struggle begins. There’s been a lot of asphalt today, and my feet are starting to hurt uncomfortably.

We alternate between cliffs and farms. We even passed through an avocado farm. I had no idea you could grow them here.

The last two kilometers we do on autopilot, on asphalt. We finally reach Rogil a little after 4 PM. The shop is still open. Outside the store, an elderly lady asks us if we speak English, then tells us that everything will be closed tomorrow. Sweet. We buy pasta, tuna, chips, chocolate, almonds, cheese, parmesan, salami, bread, and prosecco for Christmas Eve. We sit on a bench outside the shop, drink a beverage, and finally get some rest. We need to refill our water, so we head to the town square and get water from the public restroom. Hopefully, it’s fine. Then we call our families back in Slovakia. Afterward, we head out of town to find a spot to camp. We had a tip for a forest, but it’s pretty overgrown, so we go another kilometer.

Among a few trees, we find a suitable spot. It’s quite close to the road, but hopefully, no one will mind. We quickly set up, mosquitoes are eating us alive. Jozef inflates the sleeping mats while I freshen up a bit so I can update the blog later. We open the prosecco, and for our Christmas Eve dinner, we have pasta with tuna, parmesan, and ketchup. Phenomenal! It knocks us out for an hour. At 10:15 PM, we wake up, brush our teeth, and go to sleep.

Príspevok Rota Vicentina – day 3 je zobrazený ako prvý na Stupky.

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 get up in this cold. At 7:10 AM, we finally get out of our sleeping bags and immediately start packing. Almograve is just a kilometer away, so we’ll eat there. Backpacks are packed, and we’re just brushing our teeth when the first tourists pass by us. Both of them have bare legs. I feel cold just looking at them.

When we arrive in Almograve, the sun is just rising. To our surprise, the shop has been open since 6 AM and they’re making coffee. Behind the counter, they have a proper espresso machine, and the sales lady goes to make it for us. Along with two pastel de nata and a croissant, all for 4.1€. We drink and eat standing at a table outside.

The next village is 8 km away, so we don’t buy anything more. The temperature stays around 5°C. We walk briskly along a paved road and then switch to the cliffs. The sand makes the path a bit difficult, but the views are spectacular.

After 7 km, we return to a paved road and take a short break. I need to change clothes, brush my hair, and put on sunscreen.

The sun is pleasantly warm now, with a light breeze. There are big waves, and when the wind blows them, rainbows form in the spray.

We pass through fields and see some pigs as we enter the village. There’s a café right at the beginning, so we have another coffee and another pastel de nata. We take the opportunity to dry the outer layer of our tent. Then we go to a store again. We buy bread, ham, cheese, mustard, and sardine pâté. In the center of the village, there’s a table with benches, so we set up there, eat, dry everything, and change into shorts. Jozef realizes he’s lost his spoon—again. He lost the last one in France. I even asked him this morning where it was, as I hadn’t washed it. He assured me it was with the dishes. I hope someone finds it and it serves them well. It seems there’s a community of Indians here. We meet a lot of them, and there’s a smell of Indian food in the air. We head towards Zambujeira do Mar. It’s already half-past eleven, and it’s over 13 kilometers away. We need to hurry if we want to make it in time for lunch. First, we head towards the lighthouse, and from there, there should be a bike path all the way. There’s still some sand, but much less than on the trail, so we’re not sinking in as much.

In the direct sunlight, it’s 25°C. Three kilometers before the town, we refill our water and I switch to sandals, as we’re mostly walking along the asphalt. We reach the town at 2 PM. It looks like quite a touristy place. There are lots of Nepalese people here. It’s funny how they’re bundled up in coats and hats, while we arrive in shorts, and I’m wearing sandals with bare feet. We look for a place to eat. Everything seems pretty fancy, but we eventually find a restaurant, café, and newsstand all in one. For 9€, I get a menu: a hamburger with fries (a smaller one), a drink, and coffee. I’m quite satisfied with the choice. Afterward, we go to a Nepalese shop to buy beer and fill up our water bottle in the square. We drink the beer right away, sitting on the steps leading to the beach. I write my blog while Jozef reads the news.

We don’t have a specific destination for today. We still have 1.5 hours of sunlight, full water bottles, so we’ll just stop wherever we end up. Toward the end, the path starts going uphill. There are some really beautiful beaches lined with high cliffs. We’re not in a hurry anymore.

We find a suitable spot for the tent in the forest, but we still have an hour of daylight, so we continue. We pass an animal enclosure with goats, deer, and an ostrich.

Then the path turns into a muddy mess. It keeps going up and down. I even start sweating at this point, right at the end of the day. Now that we need a spot to camp, we can’t find one. The sun is setting, and beyond here, there are already farms and roads. Finally, we find a decent place. There are tire tracks here, but hopefully, no one will drive over us. We’re up on a cliff, safe from the waves, but we can still hear them.

We set up the tent, and I go to do some quick washing, using just half a liter of water. Then I write blog about previous and edit some photos. Dinner is pea soup from a packet with added lentils. Jozef laughs at me for preparing an energy bar for the night in case I get cold, but it really helps. When I eat, my body digests and generates heat. A car shows up, but it doesn’t seem to be interested in us. After a moment of stress thinking someone might kick us out, I go back to writing. I continue the blog until 10 PM, while Jozef has been asleep for an hour.

Príspevok Rota Vicentina – day 2 je zobrazený ako prvý na Stupky.

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 set out at 7:45 AM. The sun is just rising. It’s a nice clear day. We start off bundled up in our down jackets. We’re surprised how lively it is for such an early hour, even a café is already open, but we just had a good strong coffee, so we don’t stop.

The trail is marked with blue-green signs. Two horizontal stripes indicate the path, and if they’re crossed out, you shouldn’t go there.

We begin by descending into a small fishing port and then immediately climb back up to a cliff. I pull out my trekking poles. The path is all sand, so at first, we try to walk carefully, but after a few minutes, we give up, realizing it’s pointless. We’re going to have sand everywhere anyway. We walk along the edge of cliff with views on the ocean.

The path then leads along the beach. At this point, we take off our down jackets. The beach is fun for a while, but I can’t imagine walking like this all day, like on the Te Araroa trail.

By 10 AM, it’s already a pleasant 20°C, and we change into shorts. The trail now goes a bit inland. There’s lots of sand, many succulents, and no views. But you have to get through sections like this too.

We try to keep a good pace since the elevation is minimal, but walking in sand is a whole other challenge. We continue until we reach a huge parking lot, where there’s just one car. In season, this place must be packed.

We eat what’s left from breakfast, and I switch into sandals, with socks, because my shoes are still full of sand. We walk along beautiful cliffs where fishermen are catching fish.

To my surprise, it’s Jozef who starts complaining that he wants food, sleep, and coffee. He jokes, asking why we didn’t stay home to decorate the Christmas tree. I start singing “Feliz Navidad” to get the song stuck in his head, but I didn’t have to—he already had it.

We arrive in Vila Nova de Milfontes at 1:30 PM with 22 km behind us. First, we grab coffee, pastel de nata, and some other pastries at a café, and then we head to a local spot for lunch. We order plato del día, a mix of pork with fries and vegetables, along with a small beer. Afterward, we quickly stop by the store for some drinks and snacks. We buy Limon water, lemon-flavored, and it’s pretty disgusting. The plan is to walk another 13 km to a spring before the village of Almograve. However, it’s getting late, and the sun sets in three hours. We first walk on the road out of town, then on a path by a field and through a cork oak forest. We had never seen cork oaks before or how their bark is cut off.

We continue along dirt roads. We’re moving at a decent pace, and it looks like we’ll make it by sunset. After a fence with fluffy cows, we turn onto a path.

Once again, we wade through the sand and, where there is some water, through a thick growth of trees and bamboos..

We watch the sunset from the cliffs, and then we still have 1.5 km to the beach where we plan to camp.

By 6 PM, we’ve set up the tent. It’s cooling down quickly. Jozef prepares sleeping things while I go to wash my feet in a stream that flows into the ocean. Then I edit some photos and try to upload the blog, but the signal here is terrible. It takes forever. In the meantime, Jozef cooks mashed potatoes with tuna, olives, and dried tomatoes. I wanted to write about today’s events too, but I’m too tired. Jozef is already asleep, and I’m trying to sleep as well, but the waves crashing against the cliffs are so loud, and I get paranoid that the waves might wash away our tent. I check online to see when high tide is. It’s in an hour. I look out of the tent and see that the water is still far away, and in an hour, the tide won’t rise that much. Jozef also reassured me, saying that a tsunami would have to come for the waves to reach us since there are even plants growing near the water, but that wasn’t enough for me. I finally fall asleep after 10 PM.

Príspevok Rota Vicentina – day 1 je zobrazený ako prvý na Stupky.

One last day at work, and then in the evening, we head to Bratislava. Big thanks to Laurika and Patrik for hosting us once again.

Thursday, 21st December 2023

We wake up at 2:50 AM. At 3:10 AM, we board the N70 night bus and get off at the Saleziáni stop. We have time, so we walk slowly to the Nivy station. We have trouble finding the entrance but manage to locate it eventually. We both fall asleep briefly on the bus. We arrive at the airport well in advance, but we’re glad because it’s incredibly crowded. We repack our backpack and prepare it to be checked in. Meanwhile, Billa (the supermarket) opens, so I buy some bread to go with the five boiled eggs we cooked yesterday but didn’t have time to eat. After breakfast, I feel a bit less groggy. We attach the luggage tag to our backpack ourselves and drop it off, but it gets stuck on the belt. We have to wait in line again, only to be told that we weren’t supposed to bring the backpack there in the first place. There were no signs anywhere telling us this. We hope our luggage doesn’t get lost again. With the luggage checked in, we head to the security check. Unfortunately, we pick the wrong line, stuck behind young women in huge fur coats with lots of stuff, which takes forever. Jozef is quite annoyed. We get through everything in about five minutes, and then we sit down for a bit. I get a terrible coffee from a machine. The flight leaves on time. We’re seated separately, but we downloaded the Briar app, so we can message each other via Bluetooth, and Jozef has free spot next to him. Since everyone is already seated, I stay in my seat and plan to switch after takeoff, but I fall asleep for two hours. When I wake up, I have to nudge my seatmate five times to let me out. The flight is half an hour shorter than expected, so we don’t have to rush. Our luggage arrived, and we reorganize a few things before finding the bus into town.

In the arrivals hall, we are pleasantly surprised by classical music. A few meters later, we realize that an orchestra is playing. It’s truly delightful.

Unfortunately, we can’t stay long. Our bus is just about to leave, so we buy tickets from the driver. We get off near a shopping mall. At the crosswalk, a stylish old man slams on his brakes to stop for us, so I wave at him, and he gives me a thumbs-up with a big American smile. We buy a gas cartridge at Decathlon and walk into town. It doesn’t even seem like people here are going crazy with Christma shopping—everything is quite calm. It’s a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. In the sun, it’s a pleasant 20°C. We find a tucked-away café in an even more tucked-away alley. It’s a bit of a dive, but we like that kind of thing. We order espresso, which they make perfectly everywhere here, and of course, pastel de nata.

It’s a true idyll—what could go wrong? We go to find the bus stop where our bus departs. We’re a bit confused but more or less know where it is, so we sit down on a bench by the harbor for a while. Just to be sure, we ask a lady if the bus really departs from there. It’s a bit late, and I start having doubts, but eventually, it arrives. We have a 2 hour and 40-minute ride ahead to Mimosa, near the town of Alvalade. The journey goes by quickly, with orange groves and olive orchards passing by, everything lush and green. I fall asleep on and off. We get off the bus and decide to hitchhike right away, planning to eat at our final destination. First, we try hitchhiking with a sign saying “Porto Covo” near Alvalade, but after 15 minutes, nobody stops.

Everyone shows that they’re going into town. So, we walk out of town to where the road splits and choose the one heading toward Cercal. We stop using the sign because it seems to put people off. There’s half as much traffic as there is in Korcháň (my home village). Everyone shows that they’re only going a short distance. We’ve been hitchhiking for half an hour and are starting to worry that no one will stop. I had told the accommodation we’d arrive between 4 and 5 PM, but that’s already impossible. After another half hour, I download Bolt to see if there’s anything nearby. There’s nothing. We continue hitchhiking but have no luck. It’s almost 4:30 PM. The sun will set in an hour. We try the other road to at least get closer. I check Bolt again, and there’s a ride! I book it immediately for €30. The driver arrives within two minutes. He tells us he had just dropped someone off from Lisbon to Alvalade. We were really lucky to catch him. The ride takes more than half an hour through various forests, orchards, and fields. The area is really abandoned. Occasionally, there’s a house and I see three small settlements. Now I understand why the traffic here is so sparse. We arrive in Porto Covo at 5 PM, just in time to catch the sunset over the Atlantic.

I call the accommodation to let them know we’re coming soon, as per the instructions, but I must have called the wrong number because I was completely confused. Eventually, we figured out that I had called the same accommodation but in a different town. We arrived at our accommodation, called the correct number, and found the keys to our room. It’s a small studio. We drop our things off and head out to eat. The restaurant we had chosen was already closed, so we went to a pub we had passed earlier. We each had a small beer. I ordered a hamburger with an egg, and Jozef got a sandwich with grilled meat. Jozef wasn’t full, so he ordered the same hamburger I had (the burgers were small, not like in Slovakia). Afterward, we did some shopping for breakfast and headed back to the room. It’s quite cold inside, and there’s no heating. Thankfully, we have our sleeping bags. We’re really tired. I’m writing the blog, and Jozef has been asleep for about an hour. Tomorrow we begin!

Príspevok Rota Vicentina – day 0 je zobrazený ako prvý na Stupky.