Yesterday.
This diary entry is a day late. Although not a particularly long distance, we didn't arrive in Zambujeira until after 5 and had a few more pressing things to attend to last night!
We left our lovely turismo rural around 9.30 after a great breakfast and farewells to our charming hosts. The official path for the day would take us 4 kms to Odeceixe, where we'd had dinner the night before, another 4 kms along the road to Odeceixe Beach and then 14 kms mostly on the sandy cliff paths following the coastline. We added a few kms walking on Odeceixe Beach, so our 22 kms became 24.
The weather was perfect and the coastal path was beautiful - in parts, spectacular. Every headland and inlet revealed something new. My happy snaps give an idea but don't really do it justice. Domi's photos, on the other hand, are exquisite in their detail. I always enjoy viewing his photos at the end of each day.
We felt truly lucky to be walking this particular stretch of the Vicentina Coast on such a stunning day. But it was slow going - partly due to the photo stops (well worth it), partly the deep soft sand and partly the shin splints in my left leg. Not the first time I've had this annoying problem. Bugger!
It was pretty tough going for the last few kilometres - I felt as though we'd never get there - but the beautiful scenery helped, as did Domi's words - always encouraging. But of course we did eventually arrive / hobble in to Zambujeira - a lively little town, busy with Easter holiday makers. We quickly found our hostel - another excellent one - with usual daily chores to take care of and some thinking to do about the next day. We had optimistically planned on a long distance for tomorrow, covering two of the usual stages in one day. But that wasn't looking very likely.
The French and I would discuss the options over dinner and a vinho tinto or two, and decide in the morning, depending on the state of my Achilles Heel (my shin, that is). Domi said it was up to me to decide but cautioned me to take care as we have another two months in our travels, hopefully including more walking in Portugal and Spain, so 'attention a toi!'
But first to dinner, all that hobbling took a lot of energy!
J x
This diary entry is a day late. Although not a particularly long distance, we didn't arrive in Zambujeira until after 5 and had a few more pressing things to attend to last night!
We left our lovely turismo rural around 9.30 after a great breakfast and farewells to our charming hosts. The official path for the day would take us 4 kms to Odeceixe, where we'd had dinner the night before, another 4 kms along the road to Odeceixe Beach and then 14 kms mostly on the sandy cliff paths following the coastline. We added a few kms walking on Odeceixe Beach, so our 22 kms became 24.
The weather was perfect and the coastal path was beautiful - in parts, spectacular. Every headland and inlet revealed something new. My happy snaps give an idea but don't really do it justice. Domi's photos, on the other hand, are exquisite in their detail. I always enjoy viewing his photos at the end of each day.
We felt truly lucky to be walking this particular stretch of the Vicentina Coast on such a stunning day. But it was slow going - partly due to the photo stops (well worth it), partly the deep soft sand and partly the shin splints in my left leg. Not the first time I've had this annoying problem. Bugger!
It was pretty tough going for the last few kilometres - I felt as though we'd never get there - but the beautiful scenery helped, as did Domi's words - always encouraging. But of course we did eventually arrive / hobble in to Zambujeira - a lively little town, busy with Easter holiday makers. We quickly found our hostel - another excellent one - with usual daily chores to take care of and some thinking to do about the next day. We had optimistically planned on a long distance for tomorrow, covering two of the usual stages in one day. But that wasn't looking very likely.
The French and I would discuss the options over dinner and a vinho tinto or two, and decide in the morning, depending on the state of my Achilles Heel (my shin, that is). Domi said it was up to me to decide but cautioned me to take care as we have another two months in our travels, hopefully including more walking in Portugal and Spain, so 'attention a toi!'
But first to dinner, all that hobbling took a lot of energy!
J x
