We left Albufiera about 9:30AM, heading west with a fresh tailwind pushing us along. Our course took us on a parallel to the coast, but not really on it except some cool sections on boardwalks where we were right next to the water. The roads were variable, from little dirt roads to highways to cobbles to trails. There was a sense of super-sized Pueblos Blancos in some places, with large white cities appearing on the horizon….mega resorts and hotels in cities that are mainly painted white.
The first night we camped at Luz, at a super nice campsite with immaculate facilities, a pool, an actual good restaurant and a nice market.
The next day we got an apartment in a cute town called Carrapateira, with many hikers staying there who are hiking the GR11 (confusingly also known as the E9), a long distance coastal hiking path.
The further we get from Albufiera, the less touristic the towns get, and so they seem like places we would like to come back to and spend some more time. In order to get to Lisbon on schedule, we have to average about 40+ miles a day, and so we are trying to keep on that pace.
We went past some lovely beaches, especially as we turned north and went out to a point. Amado Beach had dozens and dozens of surfers and a German guy we chatted with told Chris that it was a GREAT place to go to surf school. Laurel?
Just past was another lovely beach called Bordera that merited a long visit that we didn’t give it. Maybe next time? We headed to our hotel/apartment and had a couple beers and then dinner. Overall, a really nice couple days as we head north now towards Lisbon.
Leave a Reply