If it wasn’t obvious from yesterday’s post (Fisherman’s Trail, Day 6 - Aljezur to Arrifana (19 km)), I was worried about today: I barely had any food except for a single protein bar and some trail mixes and a bottle of water. But to my surprise, today worked out and everything magically fell into place.
No breakfast means I got no reason to linger around, so I started early albeit with an almost empty stomach. I was more than glad to leave Arrifana behind—I loved the beach and the unexpected party was fun (as much fun as you can get on a hiking trail) but unlike Odeceixe or Aljezur, a small, walkable town with history, everything in Arrifana screams new development: places were far from each other and it felt more like a resort town more than anything else.
I thought I would be off with a weak, slow start without breakfast, but what happened was the opposite. Starting early means I could really enjoyed the cool air, and when you hike along these hills starting early also means you will see the hills covered with mist. When I reached the cliff by the coast, what appeared was a magical view, which was some of my most favorite views so far. There was no one else in sight, and the rolling mist added to this certain atmosphere. Perhaps there was a silver lining for not having breakfast - if I had left maybe half an hour later, this view would have looked different.
I found myself walking inland again, on a wide, sandy vehicle track. Although the views were amazing, the terrain was a bit challenging, so I was grateful to find myself on a level vehicle track despite having no views at all. I was able to speed up my pace until I came across a tapas bar in the middle of nowhere. It was such a perfectly timed rest area, right halfway on the trail. And it was a real tapas bar with real food (as in, they were not just serving breakfast food). Today was off to a good start.
When I was about to finish my lunch, Leonie walked in with her backpack and trekking poles. It was again yet another nice surprise. I don’t think I can hike with other people, bar a few exceptions, but it’s nice to know people on the trail, to get the social interactions that we both needed, and then continue hiking by ourselves too.
Along the way, I contemplated: it was quite funny how it all worked out. The moment I found out there was no supermarket, I was already really worried (what if I faint in the middle of the road!?). I have talked about this in my journal from the Camino Portuguese (Camino Portuguese, Day 2 - O Porriño to Redondela (16 km)):
When you only have one single main goal in a predetermined timeframe, it removes the myriad distractions that you usually encounter in your life, and it (in theory, at least) should be easier for you to see how you react to the changes and what kind of adjustments you need to make…
Things rings true once again. I know I’m an over-analyzer and over-thinker; this trait has manifested itself in a few occasions. But now I also learn that, there’s no use to overthink things; I just need to keep putting one foot in front of the other, and maybe… maybe things will work out.
I spent the latter half of the hike mostly walking on the clifftop, with the sea views (and breeze) all the way until I reached Praia de Bordeira. But I made a lot of stops and breaks along the way. I didn’t find myself rushing anymore, and I was no longer pressuring myself to produce a painting a day. I’ve had enough paintings of the ocean views, and now I just want to focus on being in the moment.
Leonie caught up with me again, this time with Paula and the Italian guy whose name I didn’t manage to catch. They descended down to the beach, while I remained on the clifftop, still wanting to enjoy the far-reaching view of the rolling waves, and the sea breeze.
I continued to walk until I reached Praia de Bordeira, and spent a good number of hours day, maybe two or three. The weather was perfect: not too hot, but not freezing cold, and so I spent time reading The Dawn of Everything while getting a suntan. I have a private room for tonight in Carrapateira, so I didn’t need to rush to check in and do my afternoon routine—I had all the time in the world. In the early days of the journey, while I was spoiled with one beautiful view after another, I still thought that I was punishing myself (“a holiday shouldn’t be this difficult!” I remember telling myself), but now this truly feels like a vacation. I could do this hiking-reading-sunbathing thing forever.
Well, scratch that. My accommodation was wonderful: a clean private room with a double bed, a terrace, and a friendly host who left me to myself most of the time. And instead of getting the usual basic bread from the first minimarket I could find, I stumbled upon a cafe and left with a slice of almond-fig cake that is of Algarvian specialty for my breakfast tomorrow, and for dinner, I had the most wonderful bacalhau à bras in a seemingly popular restaurant, Alecrim. I arrived just in time so I could get myself a seat; everyone else after that was turned away.
Right. I could do this hiking-reading-sunbathing-staying at a nice accommodation-with excellent food thing forever.
I was just finishing my local soda, thinking about how darn good this day had turned out to be, when I saw a familiar face standing at the entrance: it was Eric! Buzzing with the endorphins I got from my seemingly perfect day, I asked him if he wants to join me. I could always use a round of drinks I said. We ordered ourselves beers and he ordered a pizza and also the bacalhau à bras. The waitress had to double check with him to make sure he was ordering correctly. “Are you sure? These are a lot,” she warned us.
“I’ve had a long day,” he said. “You won’t believe this.”
He turned up to his guesthouse only to find out that there was no sign of activity at all in the guesthouse. The gates were locked, the door was closed, nothing. Half an hour later (which must have felt forever for a hiker who had just finished a 24 km hike!), someone approached him and told him that well, the owner of his guesthouse died a few months ago. No, Eric didn’t miss any information; there was no information sent at all. I can’t imagine how many other guests must have been in the same situation, finding out they had nowhere to sleep that night in the middle of a hiking trip! It is truly one of my biggest nightmares.
But thankfully he managed to find a place with Leonie’s help, and I think this is also a lessons learned for me: as much as I like hiking alone, it’s always good to know people on the trail especially if it’s a long distance one. You never know what might happen, if you’d need help, or if someone else would need your help.
We continued talking about living in Berlin and him working as a consultant and our experience on the trail so far, and he agreed that the trail is much harder than it looks. It made me feel better about struggling earlier, I really thought it was just me finding this trail more difficult than expected.
And that, dear readers, is how I ended up with not just a good day, but also a good night with excellent food and company. I walked back to my hostel, cheery with a full tummy, looking forward to the next day but also a bit forlorn when I remembered that I only have four more days left.