Following the coast from Sagres to Burgau
“Difficult” says the rating of today’s walk on the Rota Vicentina website. Great. I hadn’t slept well at all because of a terrible stomach pain. I decided to just get out of bed, take a painkiller and get the day started. I was certain I wouldn’t be able to sleep anymore. The kitchen of my hostel was still closed, so I left my yoghurt behind and ate some crackers and a banana. The sun was rising above the quiet streets of Sagres and there were only a few joggers and people walking their dogs on Martinhal beach, where I picked up the Fishermen’s trail again.
Slowly I left Sagres behind and entered a quiet area, following the wild coast line. Initially the path was pretty wide, turning inland past an abandoned farm and then back to the coast again. But the day indeed got difficult. The path was pretty clear, the scenery beautiful, but the trail itself was challenging. There were a lot of ups and downs and this time it really felt like I was following the tracks of the fishermen. The trails were small, sometimes very steep, and full of little rocks and loose sand. It was scary at times, feeling my feet slip away from underneath me. An added challenge today was the wind. It was insane. I felt like I could lean into it without falling and I had to push myself through it like a rugby player. When I arrived in Burgau for the night, my hostel owner said it was extraordinarily windy. Just my luck!
I passed some beautiful beaches, and because of the cliffs some of them are sheltered from the wind and therefore still quite pleasant. The first beach had a parking lot full of big and small campervans, their owners all busy with their morning rituals. I hiked up the huge hill on the other side and left them all behind. Up and down I went, zigzagging through a dry, rocky landscape with small shrubs and incredible views over the ocean. The wind was constantly blowing in my ears, muffling any other sounds. Then I arrived at a crazy descent. I took my time, sometimes wondering if I wanted to continue at all, knowing I really didn’t have a choice. It was steep. It was slippery. It was rocky. I used my hands and focused on staying balanced despite my big backpack. When I finally put my feet in the sand below I saw a sign “Attention! Difficult passage. For experienced hikers only. Danger of falling.”
Hippie’s heaven or surfer’s paradise?
I’d arrived at Praia do Zavial, a popular beach that can easily be reached by car. There was a constant stream of people arriving from the parking lot, most of them with wetsuits and surfboards. It feels so strange to arrive in a place like this in your hiking gear, with all your things on your back. I was totally out of place. But I was out of place on the next beach as well. At Furnas I saw a gorgeous beach, the white sand almost empty, with just some people looking for shelter from the wind under some overhangs in the cliffs. The vibe was very different here. I heard a drum circle and saw some sort of cirkels made of rocks in the middle of the beach. There was a small house where you got the real peace, love, happiness feeling. A few hippies with dreadlocks walked around, some naked.
My trail led me past and over some more beaches and every time I slowly shuffled down trying not to fall. Quite suddenly I stood at the edge of a town. There was a row of holiday houses, all with their own little pools. It turned out to be the edge of Salema, a cute town full of white houses that are built against the hill. It looked especially pretty from a distance. I found a café near the beach and stopped for a tea and chocolate cake. Then I moved to a bench on the small boulevard at the beach and opened my backpack to find my lunch supplies. I could feel my body getting a bit tired, but Burgau wasn’t that far anymore, only a few climbs away.
The area I now walked through was certainly more touristy. I pretty much saw houses along the whole route, as if the small towns are growing together because of the settlements of holiday houses. It seems a popular area for retired people to spend their winter. I passed an old fortress. There was an information sign, but the place itself was pretty ruined. Then I found my way into Burgau through some maze like little streets. I felt like I was on a path in someone’s backyard, descending down stairs until I hit a Main Street.
Burgau basically has two main streets leading up the hill from the beach. My hostel was located in the upper part of town, toward the edge. I found a big house with rooms that had been turned into dorms. But my dorm was a twin room, so I had the perfect rest before my last day on the trail.
The end of the Fishermen’s trail, or beginning depending on which way you walk, is divided in 3 stages between Sagres and Lagos. The official way goes Sagres – Salema – Luz – Lagos, totaling 42,5 km. After all the walking I’d done, I opted to do it in two days, partly also because the accommodation in Salema is really expensive. I found a hostel in Burgau, a small town about 26 km from Sagres and only 16,5 km from Lagos. Besides being cheaper and cutting one day off my walk, Burgau is also a very pleasant town to stay in. It’s an old fishermen’s village which is more about tourism these days. The town is built against the hill, with a small, but beautiful beach at the bottom. There are some cozy streets with cafés and restaurants and mini markets to get supplies for the next day.
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