Beach of Almograve

On 2^nd October 2015, our third day on Rota Vicentina, we left the Pousada da Juventude de Almograve at about 9:20 and we began our walk that ended about 8 hours later.

We cheated on the stage that goes from Almograve to Zambujeira do Mar. Instead of going to the beach of Foz dos Ouriços, we walked directly to the beach of Almograve. This way, we saved a couple of kilometres on sand trails, which was very important for JB knees.

Apart from the roadworks, the beach’s area was very quiet.

Fishing harbour of Lapa das Pombas

We headed towards the small natural fishing harbour of Lapa das Pombas through a wide dirt path. A fitness circuit with several stations was installed along that path.

Just like on the previous day, the cold morning gave place to a warm day. Once again, I had to change from trousers to shorts. But this time I had my shorts dressed under the trousers! And, once again, someone passed by us exactly when I was changing clothes.

After the fishing harbour, we went back to the sand trails. We walked along red sand and craggy rocks.

In order to avoid an area with a high degree of erosion, the trail lead us through a pinewood, away from the sea. It was a good place to go to the “open air toilet”.

The trail whisked us back to the cliff, from where we saw beautiful beaches, especially the Knight Beach (Praia do Cavaleiro). Then, we went to the village of Cavaleiro, where we stopped to have a relaxing lunch.

This village is the perfect place to take a break. It is located about halfway the trail; there’s a cafe for those who want to buy something to eat or drink and there’s a table and benches at the square of the village for those, who like us, prefer to eat outdoor.

Cape Sardão’s lighthouse

We reached Cape Sardão’s lighthouse (Farol do Cabo Sardão) about 30 minutes after we had left Cavaleiros. This lighthouse has a unique characteristic – it was built the wrong way round. The entry door is facing the ocean and the lighthouse is facing inland.

A well-defined path, suitable for cycling, lead us to Entrada da Barca. However, the descent to the small fishing harbour required some caution given the steepness of the trail. I found it safer to walk with my backside near the ground, in an almost sitting position.

Entrada da Barca

We went down, then we had to climb the cliff. But we were rewarded with a fantastic view over the fishing harbour.

We followed a pedestrian path parallel to the road for about 2 km. Next to this path there are some picnic areas with tables, benches and information panels about the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park.
Luckily, we stopped in one of them to eat a snack. Yes, because it was when I realized that I had lost my jacket. I had to go back to look for it. Fortunately, I found the jacket fallen on the ground, not too far from us.

Just before we reached Zambujeira do Mar, next to the beach of Nossa Senhora, the trail lead us back to the cliffs.
We arrived in Zambujeira do Mar through a wooden walkway.
I enjoyed a lot this last section of the trail.

Beach of Nossa Senhora

It was easy to find Casa da Praia, the place where we spent the night. We were welcomed by a very nice lady who was surprised that we were walking the Rota Vicentina. Apparently, we were the first Portuguese hikers to stay there!

We lost some time trying to decide what to eat for dinner. The initial idea was to cook something at the house. However, when we went shopping, we found nothing that we wanted to cook and it was getting late, we were hungry. We decided to look for a restaurant, instead.

We went to “O Martinho” restaurant, where I ate a delicious cuttlefish bean stew and JB ordered turkey skewers. We met there a foreign man, named Simon who talked a lot with us, mainly about the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa and his favourite work, “The Book of Disquiet”.

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