Catching Up

This is going to be a long post, so skip to the photos if that’s all you want to see. We totally understand.

Cascais to Azoia

The car picked us up from the Pergola House in Cascais and took us to Guincho. We walked up the road a bit and then across a sandy beach, which wasn’t as pleasant as it sounds. It was sandy, like deep sandy. It was a trudge across that beach, but the ocean was beautiful.

After we shook the sand out of our shoes and socks (literally), we started the coastal walk. It was stunning. We walked along a path that was parallel to the sea and the vistas were so beautiful. It was a clear and sunny day (Betsy got a sunburn on the back of her neck). The walk was long, really long, but just gorgeous. After a couple of hours of the coastal path, we turned back inland and up and up and up. Honestly, I could add 15 more “ups” and that wouldn’t cover it.

Finally, we turned downhill and stopped at Don Quixote bar/restaurant and had some refreshments before walking very steeply down to Sao Saturnino, which once was a convent. It’s very beautiful, a bit run down around the landscape, but still wonderful. Our room was in the basement/dungeon. Lots of steps down, which meant lots of steps up.

We had a group dinner that first night (Friday, May 1), eight of us. Two others from the U.K are doing the same walk we are doing, but they are a day ahead of us. The other four, also from the U.K. are on a walking holiday they planned themselves.

I was already plotting to ride out of the convent back up the steep part with the couple moving on the next morning. Betsy tried to shame me out of it, to no avail. Saturday morning, we hopped in the van and rode up the hill, getting out with plenty of walking left to do.

On Saturday, we walked what is known as the Peninha Circuit. It took us up to the chapel of Peninha. It was on the top of a mountain, so we spent a couple of hours walking up to it, then we walked down into the valley, and then back up to it again. The chapel was the center of a figure eight walk the company planned, just so we would have to walk uphill as often as possible.

By the way: This whole walking tour is pretty much uphill, and then uphill again. I know I’ve said that, but I just can’t say it enough, nor can my calves.

Again, though, at the top of this mountain, the view of the sea was unlike anything we’ve ever seen, and the view of the valleys. I really can’t describe it, and I doubt the photos do it justice.

We stopped at the Don Quixote bar again and had some refreshments before going back to the convent. All the other guests were gone so we had the place to ourselves. Felicia, the hostess, cooked dinner both nights and we asked for fish. It was so delicious, particularly the second night.

Now, to this morning.

We were driven to a lighthouse at Cabo da Roca, the western most point of Europe. It was foggy and rainy, but that didn’t stop the tour buses from arriving by droves. We didn’t hang out there long. We headed out on our walk toward our new location.

We saw a road taking off steeply up the side of the mountain and before even reading our walking notes, we knew it was ours. We’ve come to know that our path is always the one that’s steepest. We walked along up the mountain and then over the other side it dropped us at the sea. There was place to eat lunch, but we saw our new path was the worst one yet…a sandy, straight up the mountainside path. We decided we didn’t want to be weighted down by the food and after getting a good look at the ocean, we set off.

There are no words. Hardest walk ever in my life. The sand was deep (like on the beach) only this time we were climbing through it and sinking into it. We both complained that our calves were on fire. Did I mention the people who were eating at the seaside restaurant could watch us climb this path? That’s important because that definitely pushed us forward. I knew they were thinking: No way can those women get up to the top. We did and were soon rewarded with awesome views as we walked along the coast at the very top of the mountain.

We walked that beautiful path more than hour before turning inland and heading to the place we are now staying, which, of course, is at the top of a different mountain. That meant we had to go down in the valley and then start the walk up and up and up…I know you get the idea. We arrived gasping for breath, red-faced and ready to rest.

And feeling good about what we accomplished and saw today.

-Kim