I love when I leave a place and I’m already thinking about what I’m going to do the next time I visit. You know, just like a good restaurant…this time I had the pork belly, next time I’ll have the duck. After a wonderful weekend in an exciting, vibrant city, I was heading to a small fishing village in Alentejo for a week of walking, wondering and not working. I knew I wanted to go south but never had too much interest in the Algarve, which is where I think of when I think of Southern Portugal. Even 30 years ago it had a reputation of being overdeveloped and overrun by tourists on package holidays. So where else could I go? First I looked at Sagres and “the end of the world”, Cabo Sao Vicente. I really enjoyed being smack dab in the middle of the wild Azorean Atlantic earlier this year and wanted to be close to the wild, stormy winter sea. That trip also sparked my renewed interest in Portugal and the age of discovery. But would it be impossible to get around the end of the world with public transportation in the off-season? Probably. So since the western coast of Portugal is the gateway to New World adventure and history, I just started looking for other interesting spots. Not sure how Porto Covo came up in my searches, sometimes I enter really specific search strings like “I want to stay in a fishing village in southern portugal with hiking nearby or a coastal path but not in a touristy place”. I used to use “off the beaten track” until results became more beaten track than off it. Think I remember reading a blog post or maybe something in The Guardian. However I found Porto Covo, I’m glad I did.
I was making a big commitment spending a whole week somewhere so quiet that I hadn’t been before. Unfortunately in the winter the first bus to Porto Covo from Lisbon is at 4pm. Every day. And no early buses going north either. Guess I wouldn’t be taking many day trips from there. Thought I might pop down to the end of the world since I’d be closer or shoot up north to visit my new friends in Lourinha during the week. Oh well. Next time.
As I got closer to Porto Covo I whatsapped Paulo, my Airbnb host, to let him know I’d be on time. Buses with wifi are my absolute favorite thing—I don’t have an international phone plan so I really rely on wifi to send messages and get directions. So I was all google mapped and ready to get to my new casa (which honestly was not even a 5 minute walk from the bus stop), but when I got off the bus Paulo’s assistant was waiting for me to bring me there! So sweet. Or maybe there is just something about me that screams “this lady is sooooo going to get lost”. Mrs. Odete started her new career as international Airbnb ambassador in her 70s! She doesn’t speak any other language but she welcomes foreign travelers from countries all over the world to Paulo’s beautiful home and gives them a thorough, excellent orientation. The adventurous Portuguese spirit in all its glory! I ran into her at a cafe during the week and we had a lovely conversation in languages we both don’t speak and once again I was reminded of the moments I treasure the most.
It was dark when I arrived and I wanted to run to the supermarket before it closed so my first impression walking through the evening streets was “hmmm, this could have been a mistake”. Didn’t seem like there was a main square or anything open other than the supermarket and one restaurant and there weren’t any other people, anywhere. Uh oh, maybe this town was a little too quiet. Maybe I should have stayed in Lisbon another two days. But met Paulo for coffee in the morning at a cafe in the main square and, thankfully, the village was a bit bigger than what I saw last night. And adorable. We chatted a bit about the region and then he brought me down to Praia do Buizinhos, “Beach of the little conches” to show me one of the beautiful beaches that dots this coast and the cliff paths that connect it to the others.
Paulo suggested walking north one day, and south another day and that sounded great to me! So after a yummy lunch of lulas recheadas with queija fresca, peperoncino and pão, I set off on the northern path. These coastal paths are part of the Rota Vicentina, the Portuguese camino, 750km of stunning coastal and inland trails. I was walking on the Fisherman’s Trail, which was exactly what I was looking for. Love this description:
Always by the sea, follows the paths used by the locals to access the beaches and fishing grounds.
It is a single track walkable only on foot, along the cliffs, with lots of sand and therefore more demanding from the physical point of view.
A challenge to permanent contact with the wind of the sea, the rudeness of the coastal landscape and the presence of a wild and persistent nature.
https://rotavicentina.com/en/walking/fishermens-trail/
“The rudeness of the coastal landscape.” I should look at the Portuguese for this and see other possible translations, although I do love that one. These trails are absolutely stunning, they wind through cliff edges and dunes and provide access to most of the beautiful beaches below. Warning, so, so, so many pictures and some that look the same but really aren’t. They aren’t!
Thought I got a lot further than I actually did, but I was constantly waylaid by the beaches themselves. I only got as far as Praia de Cerca Nova, which is about a 20 minute walk from my casa (it took me 4 hours to get there! Good thing I’m staying a week.) Every single view of the overexcited ocean and the cliffs it relentlessly smashes with wave after wave after wave was hypnotic. And scary as hell. I’ll tell you, Vasco de Gama, et al, had to have some set on them to get in one of those relatively dinky wooden ships and venture into this wild ass sea. He was born close to here, in Sines, and I kept imagining him on these cliffs looking out into the endless blue, ignoring the angry waves warning him to stay and completely succumbing to the spell of the sea and the adventure beyond.
