Fernweh : Hiking the Rota Vicentina

Hiking the Rota Vicentina

 “Sometimes a journey makes itself necessary.” 

  Anne Carson

Returning to Portugal and trekking the Rota Vicentina, though a lovely possibility, was not originally on our hiking radar at the beginning of the year.   In fact, at the outset of 2023, we were preparing to complete a trail we had been hiking over the course of the last four years.  Since 2019 we have trekked more than 14,000 km along the 28,000 km Trans Canada Trail, also known as the Great Trail, from Cape Spear Newfoundland to Victoria BC.  It is the world’s longest recreational pathway and it is so long that only 6 people (us being 2 of them) have hiked it on foot from one coast to the other.  Having already ventured from the Atlantic to the Pacific, our goal was to complete the 4000 km spur from Fort Saskatchewan Alberta to Tuktoyuktuk Northwest Territories and touch the Arctic Ocean by the end of the year. 

However, as it turned out, the world had other plans. Sadly, 2023 in Canada would turn out to be a year defined by historically wide-ranging wildfires, community evacuations in regions across the nation, and trail closures from coast to coast to coast.  Put another way, hiking to the Arctic was simply neither practical nor possible in 2023 and so our plans in Canada fell apart.

With spring on the horizon, and unable to trek in Canada, we longed for the outdoors.  As birders and long-distance hikers, neither of us is suited to endless months at desks, in busy cities, or amid the crush of traffic and people anymore.  There is a German word for this sentiment: “Fernweh”, which roughly translates to mean “far sickness” but which is perhaps better understood as  “a longing for far-off places” or a “longing for somewhere you’ve never been”.  It was therefore soon apparent that we needed to find a new route, or series of trails to hike. 

Plans and Possibilities

As we began to research trails our minds immediately turned back to counties that we had already hiked in England, France, Spain, Italy and Portugal.  The last of these, Portugal, was particularly appealing as it is relatively inexpensive to visit and explore.   We had last visited and loved our time in Portugal in 2019 when we trekked the Camino Portuguese Central from Lisbon to Porto to Santiago de Compostella.   In return, however, we wanted to embark on something new and different than the 620 km stretch of trail from Lisbon that we had already completed.  It was at this point that we noticed a trail called the Rota Vicentina which led hikers from Lagos in southern Portugal to Porto Covo, and could easily be joined with the Camino Portuguese.  The result would be a trek that would lead us from Lagos on the southern coastline of Portugal along the full length of the country to Santiago de Compostella Spain – a trail distance of just over 850 km. 

Within days, thanks to the amazing people at the Rota Vicentina association, we had the official guidebook in our hands and began making plans to hike and bird the length of Portugal.

The first part of our plan would be to follow the Rota Vicentina’s Fisherman’s Trail along the coastline from Lagos in the south to Porto Cove and Sao Torpes Beach in the north before navigating around greater Lisbon to join up with the Camino Portuguese.  Between Lisbon and Porto we will follow the Camino Portuguese Central route again. However, when we arrive in Porto we will set off onto the Littoral and Coastal variants and later the Espiritual way to Santiago. 

Itinerary and Stages for Rota Vicentina

While the guidebooks and most trail descriptions have people venturing from North to South on the Rota Vicentina, the route can be hiked in either direction.  Venturing from south to north our planned itinerary, not including time in Faro and Lagos to explore and go bird watching, is:

Day 1 – Travel from Faro to Lagos

Day 2 – Lagos to Salema

Day 3 – Salema to Sagres

Day 4 – Sagres to Vila do Bispo

Day 5 – Vila do Bispo to Carrapateira

Day 6 – Carrapateira to Arrifana

Day 7 – Arrifana to Aljezur

Day 8 – Aljezur to Odeceixe

Day 9 – Odeceixe to Zambujeira do Mar

Day 10 – Zambujeira do Mar to Almograve

Day 11 – Almograve to Vila Nova de Milfontes

Day 12 – Vila Nova de Milfontes to Porto Covo to S. Torpes

See you on the Trail!