Our Walk Along the Rota Vicentina Fisherman's Trail

What's Next after the  Rota Vicentina? The Camino Portuguese Coastal and Espiritual Having begun in Lagos along the southern shores of the Algarve 12 days and more than 200 km ago, we have now reached the end of the Rota Vicentina in Sao Torpes.  While completing this trail and exploring the Vicentina coast feels great and has been an amazing experience we are still very much at the beginning of our hike along the length of Portugal.   After the Rota Vicentina, we are now set to make our way from Proto Covo to Lisbon along uninspiring roadways and byways to connect with the Camino Portuguese.  From Lisbon, we will venture along the central route to Porto where we will move to the Coastal and Espiritual variants to Santiago de Compostella and eventually onward to Fisterra Spain. Given that we have already trekked the Camino Portuguese Central in 2019 this year we are setting out to simply enjoy it rather than blog about it from Lisbon to Porto.  However, ...

Tips and Advice for Hiking the Rota Vicentina Guide to Thru-Hiking Portugal's Fisherman's Trail Having now hiked almost two weeks from Lagos to Sao Torpes on the Rota Vicentina we have a few thoughts and pieces of advice that come to mind that we thought would be helpful to pass along if you are interested in this trail.   First off, the Fisherman’s Trail follows the rugged Atlantic coastline over an uneven surface – as such, while beautiful, the pathway can be challenging both for the constant climbing and descending as well as in being exposed to the warm temperatures.   Second, I am not sure whether the Portuguese just have not discovered or simply have a disdain for switchbacks however it seems that the sections of their paths which do go up and downhill take the most direct route rather than zig-zagging over the terrain. The inevitable result is that some sections of the trail are nearly vertical and are heavily eroded – making for tough progress on several sta...

Reflecting on Hiking Portugal's Rota Vicentina   “Some beach, somewhere There's nowhere to go when you got all day to get there”                                                                            Blake Shelton – Some Beach Having completed the Rota Vicentina’s Fisherman’s Trail from Lagos to Sao Torpes neither of us wanted to leave southern Portugal or stop hiking.  Trails like all good things invariably come to an end. The Rota Vicentina has been a wonderful experience which has involved trekking through beautiful landscapes, filled with astonishing flora and fauna, as well as great birding opportunities.  In addition, we have toured historical forts, visited welcoming towns, and been able to explore the rugged coastlines of southern Portuga...

Final day on the Rota Vicentina Porto Covo and Sao Torpes Portugal Today’s stage on the Rota Vicentina was listed as hard in the guidebook, and after overhearing several southbound hikers at the end of their first day on the trail last night, we feared it would live up to its reputation.  The distance from Vila Nova de Milfontes to Porto Covo is approximately 20 km.  If we could cover it before noon, this would give us the chance to trek the additional 10 km to Sao Torpes, and the end of the Fisherman’s Trail.  While we did not expect any technical difficulties on the trail, we nonetheless figured that 4-6 hours of walking up and down dunes, along soft beaches and in deep sand would be tiring.   We were awake early, ready to set out shortly afterward.  A quick Google search revealed that most of the cafes in Vila Nova de Milfontes were either closed today or not open for several hours.  Admittedly, there was one bar claiming to be open at 7 AM, but ne...