Late August and September were a complete bust for me. I’d abandoned my PCT hike due to patellar tendonitis that left me hobbling despite 3 days of icing and ibuprofen in the town of Cascade Locks. I tried walking on because I couldn’t bear the thought of quitting the trail, but it was no use. I turned back just two miles into Washington, limping so badly that a passing car stopped and ferried me over the Bridge of the Gods and back into town. I spent the next two weeks slowly recovering, hoping to get a couple shorter trips in before prime hiking season was over.
That plan was quashed by a nasty bout of Covid at the beginning of September. I thought I was on the mend and went out car camping/rafting with my daughter at the Pumphouse mid-September but then got hit with rebound Covid, good for another 10 days of misery and quarantine. That pretty much killed September 2023 for me.
I suppose the timing could have been worse. Cathy and I had a trip to Spain and Portugal teed up for the month of October. The initial motivation was a young friend’s wedding in Barcelona (she married a Barcelonan, this was not a gratuitous destination choice).
A walking tour on the Iberian Peninsula was thus the logical thing to do after the festivities. Our previous walking tours – the Dingle Way in Ireland and the Kumano Kodo in Japan – had been great fun, allowing us to see these far-off lands at a walking pace, which is the best pace to see anything.
The Camino de Santiago would have been an obvious choice, but it is a little too obvious. We wanted something more out of the way, and preferably near the ocean, which we don’t see a lot of here in Colorado.
The Fishermen’s Trail in southwest Portugal checked the right boxes: it’s a coastal trail that passes through small villages spaced an easy day’s walk (about 20 km) apart. We could walk the beaches by day and eat seafood and drink cheap good wine by night. Can’t go wrong with that itinerary.
The Trail runs 225 km in total, going south from Porto Covo, down to Cape St Vincent (the very southwestern tip of Europe) then east to Lagos. We chose to do a 4-day section from Porto Covo to Odeceixe, which would give us time to visit other regions of Portugal before returning home.
Fishermen’s trail sections from Porto Covo to Odeceixe on Portugal’s southwest coast
It took us most of a day to fly from Madrid (where we spent a couple days at the Prado and other museums) to Lisbon, take the metro across Lisbon to the bus station, and then take the bus down to Porto Covo. Rather than start walking first thing the next morning, we took a layover day right at the start, allowing us time to hang out on the beach, walk the village streets, and admire sunsets over the ocean.
Porto Covo is a pretty little town. There is still some fishing going on, but it mostly depends on tourists.
It was foggy at the beach, but still warm and pleasant.
There are all kinds of interesting coves to explore.
The ocean was brilliant, and the water warm enough for short swims
Our first leg – Porto Covo to Vila Nova de Milfontes – is notorious for its high dunes with deep sand. Cathy wasn’t sure she was up for 20 km of sand slogging, so we arranged to be dropped off at the next beach access, which cut the day’s kilometerage to 14.
This was a good choice. The sand was deep, the sun was hot, it was humid. This leg is nearly all wild coast, and there are no villages or taverns along the way where you can get a cool drink. The walk was gorgeous, but our pace was slowed by the sand. We felt satisfied that 14 km of that kind of walking was enough for one day.
Starting our walk
Portugese gulls are much better behaved than American ones. They kept to the beach and rocks and did not try to steal our food
Looking back toward Porto Covo
The water was remarkably clear in the many coves we passed
The beaches were inviting, but not often accessible
The blue blue Atlantic
We made it into town by late afternoon, eventually found our lodgings after a few wrong turns, and treated ourselves to either a nap (Cathy) or a cold beer (Drew)
Enjoying a cold refreshment at the tasca across from our rooms (Mil Reis)