Chapter 8
Hola Amigos,
I hope you had a brilliant weekend?
Easter is just around the corner. I hope it provides you and your family with some truly memorable experiences.
For Camino Steve and I, it will be business as usual this Easter week, as we ‘Lope (or should that be Limp😜) towards Lisbon’.
We have refused to set ourselves destination targets on this walk.
We prefer to ‘live (and love) the moment’.
But, whisper it quietly – we might be in spitting distance of the Portuguese capital by Good Friday.
Of course, between now and then, we have ‘many rivers to cross!’🎵 and lots of sand to shake from our shoes.
Sand!
It is bit of a love/hate relationship for me.
I love a sandy beach.
And we have seen so many beauties.
But with every beach, comes gritty feet and a residual impact where you discover grains of sand in all sorts of places, for days after the visit!
Have a bath after a beach day and you will understand what I mean!
There is always a sandy price to be paid.
Especially after all that ‘lazing on a sunny afternoon.’🎵
Walking for long distances in soft, sinky sand is hard work.
We had been warned of it in the blogs written by our Dutch friend Wilma, who walked some of this route last autumn.
We met and walked with Wilma in 2023 when we all met on the Camino Frances.
Wilma found the repeated exposure to sandy footpaths on the Fisherman’s Trail hard work.
She walked it in the autumn and it was very hot. So I suspect other elements may have came into play as well as the ‘quicksands on the trail’.
In truth, the 225 km (total distance) Fisherman’s Trail, in SW Portugal, has some significantly sandy stretches and when combined with the heat, sore feet and tiredness, it can make walking it tough.
We too encountered sand, but never to the point where it destroyed our enjoyment of this stunning walk.
I snuck a sneaky photo of Camino Steve clambering up the latest dune.
Head down, he just did those hard yards.
“No complaining or explaining!” 😜
We found a couple of ways of dealing with the sand, when it got too much like walking in treacle.
On the beaches, we usually removed our socks and shoes and walked on the harder wet sand or in the shallows.
That was pretty refreshing.
But we still had to dry our feet and try to extract millions of grains of sand from between our toes.
Sand also has an annoying habit of stubbornly sticking to your feet too.
Splashing through the shallows carried the extra bonus of helping to revive our hot and sometimes sore feet of course.
That cool Atlantic wash ‘is a reviver, we’re survivor!’.🎵
We also deliberately moved to a parallel path, higher along the coastline when the ‘going gets tough’.🎵
Less sand equals faster and more comfortable travel; but of course, the sand provides its own attraction to this walk too.
Camino Steve referenced the ‘B’ word for the hundredth time on this walk yesterday.
Balance.
Some sand, but not too much is a pleasure.S
O many things in life are best when they BALANCE.
Our final day on the Fisherman’s Trail was superb: yet again.
Every day has been.
Naturally, the weather has been a real help.
2 weeks ago, there was heavy rain here.
Now- ☀️☀️☀️☀️
Wall to wall sun, with temperatures ranging from 20-26 degrees.
The same forecast is predicted across the next week.
We are so grateful.
With 90% constant visual exposure to the sea across this trail, if coastline walking ‘floats your boat’, then this really is the trail for you.
You can find more information on the Fisherman’s Trail by clicking the link below.
I could continue to post dozens of jaw droppingly, beautiful photos of beaches and cliffs into this series of blogs.
There are hundreds.
There is an argument that says once I’ve seen one beautiful beach, I’ve seen them all.
But honestly, they are all a unique visual spectacular, that I for one, could never, ever get bored of.
We left our hostel in Milfontes at 09.00 after a cafe breakfast of scrambled eggs on toast and arrived in Porto Covo, the official start point of the Fisherman’s Trail at 2.15pm.
Around 5 hours to complete 13 miles of coastal landscape.
Not too shabby.
We welcomed the early finish. Camino Steve took a nap, I blogged a bit.
Finishing early is a TACTICALLY good move.
You can get your kit washed and dried before sundown.
Without wishing to sound like a travel writer (though I guess I am one -albeit just an amateur), YOU could plan yourselves the most amazing holiday of 5-7 days duration, on this trail.
I’m definitely up for a return to do something like that on the Fisherman’s with Nicky.
She loves walking too: just 5 or 6 mile each day, not “stupid” 15-20 milers!
We/you could fly into Faro, (commission Ian’s taxis again, to deliver us/ you to Sagres) and then start my/your walk.
Good standard, affordable accommodation is available across the trail.
You just have to target it and probably pre book it.
We are carrying our own towels and sleeping bags which we will need when we start our Camino in Lisbon.
These wouldn’t be necessary for this trail walk on such a short break.
You could even easily smash Camino Steve’s 4.5kg rucksack record.
When you run out of time, you could just catch a train or bus back to Faro or Lisbon to fly home.
My flight out from Leeds Bradford airport cost me £25.
It is really affordable and stunning break.
A ‘Nike Moment’ for sure!
Our final day on the trail gave us more of the heady cocktail that makes this trail so alluring: crashing waves, beautiful beaches, stunning cliffs all topped off with a lovely 20 degrees of sun; always controlled by a welcome sea beeeze.
We saw our first Camino signposts.
After Easter we will see these on trees, walls, signposts and buildings every 200 metres or so, as we travel towards Santiago on the official Portuguese Camino.
We saw ladies labouring in a large field. it was hot and it was the weekend.
A sobering reminder that not everyone is fortunate enough to swany along a sandy coast.
Gratitude returned!
One of the ladies waved!
I loved her spirit.
We saw beautiful coastal sculptures.
We saw carpets of flowers of all colours.
A beautiful white flower not unlike a snowdrop started to cement its place in the trail.
I called it a ‘Sand drop’.
Can anyone correct me please!
We separated for half an hour on a particularly sandy footpath.
I dropped back down to the parallel cliff top path as I wanted to see ‘Stork Rock’.
Amazingly, 2 young stork-lets were shielding in the lee side of their nest, about 30 metres away from me on a sea stack.
That cove was exquisite.
What an experience.
Yes I know: stork-let is probably incorrect. 🙄
So I asked Google.
A baby stork is called a chick. While sometimes colloquially referred to as a “storkling,”
I quite like stork-let. It should be allowed: it’s my Camino after all! 😜
We saw a car stuck in the mud on a track.
I can’t begin to understand the driver’s thinking!
I don’t think he was.
We watched as a 4×4 dragged him out of the mud.
I got my cheeky, subtle pic!
We’ve all done it!
Something stupid I mean: not try to drive a low suspension car through a ‘hippos pit of mud’.
Nuts!
I found a giant fir cove for Nicky.
Then I thought of Bruno the fishermen from Saturday’s blog (whose licence I found on the trail) and I threw it away.
I need to find her a bigger and better one.
We finally reached Porto Covo, the official start of the Fisherman’s Trail, if walking north to south.
A beautifully kept village.
What an outstanding way to finish this first stage of our walk to Santiago.
We celebrated with a Super Bock.
Not quite a ‘Sagres’ beer, but still mightily cold and refreshing.
Thanks once again for the read, encouraging messages and sponsorship.
My walk has now raised over £2000 for the charity named after my lovely niece Hannah. So, so kind of you all.
The link is here if you want it.:
Buen Camino.
Martin x
Yesterday’s quiz:
Q: What are the 5 main cities along the Camino de Santiago?
Answer
Pamplona, Logrono, Burgos, Leon, Santiago.
Today’s question:
Which famous artist painted ‘Mary Magdalene’ which hangs in Burgos Cathedral?
Martin Moorman is a 61 year old retired Headteacher who lives with his wife Nicky, daughter and his family in North Yorkshire, UK.
Happily married for 36 years, Martin and Nicky have 3 grown up children, all happily married too. In his spare time Martin loves walking, photography, football, renovating cooking and talking rubbish to anyone who will listen!
Martin Moorman 