Last night we stayed at an Airbnb in a small town, that for a change, didn’t have an unpronounceable name: Almogarve. But, no guarantee that we pronounced it right. The town is small enough that the local rooster served as an alarm clock starting at 5:00 AM…and at 5:25 AM, and on…and on.
He got us up in plenty of time to enjoy a typical Portuguese breakfast provided by our Airbnb hostess of bread, pastries, local unidentified fruit, ham, and cheese. We had enough leftovers to turn it into a Portuguese lunch with the cheese grilled in our backpacks by the hot sun. Good thing that we had that lunch as the two bars/cafes on our route had something annoying in common with each other—they were closed.
With the bad, comes good. A couple of hikers heading our way tipped us that we could bypass the cliff top walk in soft sand and instead take a pleasant route along a long stretch of quiet beach where playful dogs almost outnumbered the hikers. And when we reached the second (closed) bar we debated about how to handle the final 3+ miles of the trail to our destination. Our route crossed a highway bridge where the asphalt was undoubtedly baking in the sun. Or, there was a ferry that could take us directly from the bar to the town.
It was only five euros and took us directly to our destination across cool waters. Not sorry to skip the highway bridge. And it turns out that the woman who runs the ferry also keeps a menagerie of 25 well-fed cats in the area around her private dock. One walked out to greet her. The rest continued to do what cats do best—nap.
Laurie’s Relive captures the great scenery as well as the injury count thus far. Fortunately, nothing debilitating. Tomorrow is our last day on the trail. Friday morning we bus north to Lisbon to enjoy a few rest days before heading to our next country.
Love that you are traveling again cousins! Awesome pictures. The wanderer in me wishes I could be with you. Thank you for the thoughtful card for Dave’s heart surgery. He had it on Friday the 5th. It was a an aortic valve replacement known as a TAVR. They use the groin artery to place a bovine valve into the existing valve. He can already feel the difference. His was one its last leg so to speak. Home on the 6th and already has more energy to walk. A medical miracle and lots of prayers from everyone! Stay well! Love, Janie
Glad he’s on the mend! Praying for him. Amazing what they can do nowadays.
Too bad we couldn’t have been in Lisbon at the same time. I made francesinha sandwiches for lunch today! Try one while your there.
Looks like a lovely day except for the bay closing of course!
Enjoying this new adventure. I even love the music (with so much drama) from the Relive videos. Blessings my friends