Exploring the West Coast of Portugal
Vicentine Coast Natural Park
It was Nina, the other solo traveller Charlie had met at the hostel in Faro, who had told her about a day trip to the west coast of Portugal. Nina had booked that tour for the day after they had travelled together from Faro to Lagos, but Charlie already had other plans for that day and couldn’t join. It had caught her interest though. What finally convinced her to book that trip was a voice message that Nina left her after she had done the trip. She described it as “the best thing she had ever done”. Her voice was trembling, and she had difficulty finding words to describe it. Charlie was convinced that she had to book that trip!
Tour planning
Charlie emailed T.J., the guide of West Coast Lagos, and requested about the availability for the coming week. There was a tour on Wednesday and fortunately, it fit perfectly into Charlie’s work schedule as the tour only started in the afternoon. The starting point was usually in Lagos, but Charlie asked if there was an option for pick-up near Sagres as this was where she stayed. T.J. offered to pick her up in Vila do Bispo and drop her off in Sagres in the evening. Charlie was positively surprised!
She took the bus to Vila do Bispo at 12 that Wednesday. It was a 15-minute journey. The meeting time was 1 p.m. so she had time for a coffee in Vila do Bispo. T.J. arrived at 1 p.m. with his van together with 6 other travellers: Allison was from Brussels, Dan from Chicago, Bonnie and Dave from California, and Katie and CJ from Boston.
They sat down in the main square in Vila do Bispo to introduce the group and the plan for the afternoon. They got back in the van and drove further west towards the coast.
Vicentine Coast Natural Park and Cape San Vincent
The plan was to hike along the coast in the Vicentine Natural Park, Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina and they started the trip near the Cape, Cabo São Vicente, also referred to as “the end of the world” because it is the most south-western point of continental Europe. They had a perfect view towards the lighthouse from where they parked the van, next to the tower Torre da Aspa. They started hiking though in the other direction, further north.
The first bit was more of a casual walk. There was a proper path, and they reached an abandoned building. It used to be a viewpoint for the coast guards and was now covered in graffiti. From there, they had the perfect view over the beach Praia do Castelejo and beautiful lines of waves barrelling into the shore.
More than a hiking trip to the west coast
From there on, they left the hiking trail and followed the steps of fishermen who scrambled the coast in search of barnacles. The first part of the trek showed something similar to a staircase that had been carved into the cliffs. They walked down and passed Praia da Águia. They made regular stops along the way for T.J. to explain how certain geographical formations came to be or to talk about the flora and fauna in the natural park.
From this point on, the trek became more challenging and turned into a real rock scramble. They walked along the cliffs and enjoyed stunning views and felt the adrenaline pumping as the terrain became more uneven every minute. It was a real adventure and certainly not something Charlie would have ever done on her own. Once they had reached the highest cliff along the coast, it was time to return to the van. After all, they had a date with the sunset.
Sunset dinner
After this exciting rock scramble, it was almost time for the sunset. They drove a bit further south along the coast towards the lighthouse at Cabo São Vicente. They passed the beach Praia do Telheiro and saw a single surfer in the water. The sea was pumping, and it certainly wasn’t a beginner wave. That beach is difficult to access which explains why there was only one surfer. The group was standing on the cliffs above the beach and had a perfect view. Along the horizon, Charlie could see the sets rolling in. It seems as if all the beaches along this coast are difficult to access and there is not much infrastructure around. Surfing along the Southwest of Portugal would certainly be a great experience, but requires proper planning and a sense of outdoor adventure.
Unfortunately, clouds had come up on the horizon and the sun was covered. There wasn’t much of a sunset that day. Luckily, Charlie had taken a few pictures the days before from the beach in Sagres.
T.J. had prepared dinner for the group and was setting the picnic up. He was originally from Minnesota but had been living in the Algarve for about 10 years. The dinner he had prepared was strongly influenced by the local cuisine: wine from the Alentejo, goat cheese and local honey, roasted sweet potatoes, sun-dried tomato hummus, figs, and chourico. The latter came freshly roasted and reminded Charlie of the Chorizo as part of a Tapas night out in Gran Canaria. It was all served on bread slices which replaced plates. T.J. had forgotten the wine glasses (and he was very sorry about it) so they drank the wine out of their empty water bottles. It’s all part of the adventure!
The sunset dinner (even without a sunset) was the perfect ending to a perfect trip to the west coast of the Algarve. They drove back to Lagos and dropped Charlie off in Sagres.
