Day 5 on the Rota Vicentina and Fishermen’s trail: heading from Milfontes to Almograve
It was a bit uncomfortable to walk on the side of a big road. The cars were racing by, but the view was simply fantastic. From Vila nova de Milfontes you can choose to take a ferry across the river for a shorter walk, but I chose the normal route and took the bridge across the water. Yesterday I came out onto the river on a standup paddle board and paddled all the way up here. Now it was low tide and the river looked completely different. Just after the bridge the route turned right onto a farm property, which seemed to be completely abandoned.
My SUP guide had told me about an abandoned building on the property, from which you had a nice view over the river and the town. The building was covered in some pretty cool graffiti and in the back someone had punched a hole big enough to walk through. The staircases were covered in rubble, but it was easy enough to get to the roof terrace. You could tell it was a popular place for locals to come to at night. It was nice to see Milfontes from a bird’s eye perspective, but it wasn’t the last view. The trail exited the farm at the beach right across the town.
When I left Milfontes behind I had farmland on my left and dunes on my right. For big parts of the walk you didn’t see the ocean though. I just heard the waves crashing into the coast. It was a very comforting sound that I was starting to get used to. After a super sunny rest day yesterday, today was a bit moody again and it soon started to rain. I pulled a rain cover over my bag and quickly pulled out my poncho. White foam was forming on my arms from the sunscreen. I’d been a bit optimistic! At least my sun hat was protecting me from the rain somewhat.
A jeep approached and slowed down. They asked if I wanted a lift. I politely declined and kept dragging my feet through the wet sand. Shortly after I had to squeeze myself through the plants on a narrow path. It was narrow on a good day, but, heavy with rain, the leaves were hanging all over over the path. This was the jungle experience. I ducked and tried to protect my face with my arms. I’d managed to stay surprisingly dry up until then, but since I wasn’t wearing rain pants, my skirt got soaking wet! After every bit of “jungle” I could wring it out.
The rain stopped when I resurfaced out of the bushes. I could see the ocean again and even got really close. At a certain point I had no idea which way to go. May little guidebook mentioned walking on the beach, so I decided to give it a go. There was a good path with some steps leading down to Praia do Brejo Largo. This beach was amazing! Very long, with beautiful black rocks that have white stripes on it. The tide was coming in, but I saw some people walking in the distance, so I figured I could get back onto the cliffs further on. When I got closer they started to wave at me frantically. The group of Portuguese had some sort of party. Most of them were half naked and I could tell they’d been drinking and having fun. They told me I just had to look for their footsteps and take the rope up the cliff. Ok!?
Indeed. A bit further I saw a rope. It hung from a pretty steep rock face without any other protection. And there I was with about 12kg extra on my back. I saw how 2 hikers without a pack tackled the hills with help of the rope and their poles. I decided to stay on the beach a little longer and gather some courage. Maybe some would fly in with the wind. It was a little slippery on the rocks just after all that rain, but I made it on top safe and sound. The clouds were getting lighter and it even started to warm up. What didn’t get lighter, was the walking… more tracks with loose sand were coming my way.
I soldiered on and arrived at the tiny town of Almograve. It was too early to check in, but I was happy to find my hostel had a veranda. I sat down and started taking off all my wet gear, including my muddy shoes. The cleaning lady heard me and came to say hello. I wouldn’t have to wait very long till check in, she said. It was lovely to sit in the sun and that’s exactly what I did with the rest of my day. I sat there and welcomed the other hikers that were coming in.
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