BLOG: Our daily adventures,
Week 12: Lagos to Praia do Zavial
March 26th - April 1st
1000 km milestone!
- Day 78 to Day 81: March 26th to 29th: Lagos at Casa Shaz.
Happy reunion of razzle-dazzeled friends: Celine, Josh, Casey and Louis.
Josh giving us a tour of his favorite places in Lagos.
On Lagos harbour, Forte da Ponta da Bandeira.
Tunnels dug into the canyons' limestones to connect the praias along Lagos coastline.
Praia dos Estudiantes and its Ponte romana.
New ideas to decorate our BOB.
After the Spanish electrical wonders...the Portuguese ones...even more poetic.
It's Mojito time with Henke, her son and their communicative smiles...what a wonderful time we had!
As our Obrigado/da, we cooked a bourguignon beef and sang songs for the lovely people of Casa Shaz.
The men at casa Shaz and their competitive push up challenge..30 and up!
Party time with Gonzalo, the manager at la casa and Louis the carpenter and his michelin star cooking skills...Thanks for your hospitality, your delicious meals, your funny jokes and your kindness.
- Day 82: March 30st: Lagos to the cliffs of Atalaia - 5km.
It's time for us to leave the city and our new friends at Casa Shaz. The sun is back and both of us are eager to walk the next stretch on the Portuguese coastline.
Last view of Lagos cliffs of limestones...
We are from now on following la rota Vicentina along the shoreline...already beautiful!
Casey's already awake while I'm still cocooning.
5 km done for a total of 990 + 5 km = 995 km
- Day 83: March 31st: The cliffs of Atalaia to Salema - 16km. !1000km milestone!
We start our day with a fresh drizzle and a very strong wind. To avoid another episode of "running after my cap and injuring myself in the process", I apply the hoody's solution: non-esthetic but efficient!
The little town of Burgau in the distance...we are already salivating at the idea of ordering a warm coffee there as a motivational reward.
Flabbergasting cliffs!
And here it is, sun's out and we are sitting at the terrace of a pasteleria with this stunning view. Today, we go for 2 ice-coffees and one "detox" smoothy with too many blended fruits to remember its content: delicious!
We enter the little church in Luz with the hope of getting a stamp in our Camino booklet ("credential" as they call it). But no, this time, we end up empty-handed: noone is in there apart from Marie, Jesus and their golden friends.
Charming little city with its well-kept gardens.
WE ARE CELEBRATING OUR FIRST 1000 KM!
11 more to go!!
11 more to go!!
We are so lucky, flowers are blooming everywhere: purple, yellow and white.
In the next small village of Burgau, we meet a very kind british who is now living there. In front of his apartment in the street, he always leaves a jug of water for the hikers who are passing by.
Happy to be on the move again.
Very peculiar fishermen on the peer today. Nothing to do with the grizzlis we've seen in Alaska, these are cute and fluffy.
Sad that this is closed in low season, we would have loved to taste the specialties of the colourful "sardine factory".
We always pick some fruits whenever they are dangling in the street. The one that Casey is eating, "loquat", is coming from a tree called Eriobotrya japonica (Néflier du Japon, Bibacier).
Enjoying a break on the steps of the Castel "Forte da Boca de Rio"...the ruins protect us from the wind. This Castel was built in the 17th century on top of a roman temple worshiping, Neptune, the god of fresh water and of the Sea.
Praia Boca do Rio, would have been welcoming for the night with its river flowing by, but no, the wind here is definitely too strong.
"Bucolique" field of wild "Coquelicots"
16 km done for a total of 995 + 16 km = 1011 km
- Day 84: April 1st: Salema to Praia do Zavial - 17km.
While I am still asleep, Casey is enjoying the most beautiful sunrise.
Seems like we are slightly too early for this music festival.
We put our backpacks down on the beach of Salema after buying ourselves a few groceries for our brunch on the beach...crunchy idea..the avocado dipped in the sand.
We've experienced walking up and down the hills on the via algarviana. Now we are doing the same for the cliffs on the shore line, except that the slopes are even more steep and slippery.
After an hour of hiking in the bright sun, our sweating bodies were aching for water..the little praia da Figuera is very inviting so we just pause here and jump in the crystal clear water of the Atantic Ocean: first time for Casey who forgot to dive in from Gibraltar to Cadiz.
Praia das furnas and its stones labyrinth. Someone has created this one so you can meditate starting in the water then out on the sand. I am tempted to follow the little path but refrain, we Already are walking as a form of meditation, no need to add this one.
A labyrinth like this one, is usually used for walking meditation. It is a single winding path from the outer edge in a circuitous way to the center. Labyrinths are used world-wide as a way to quiet the mind, calm anxieties, recover balance in life, enhance creativity and encourage meditation, insight, self-reflection and stress reduction.
Labyrinth walking is an ancient practice used by many different faiths for spiritual centering, contemplation, and prayer.
The labyrinth is not a maze. There are no tricks to it and no dead ends. It has a single circuitous path that winds its way into the center. Generally there are three stages to the walk: releasing on the way in, receiving in the center and returning when you follow the return path back out of the labyrinth. Symbolically, and sometimes actually, you are taking back out into the world that which you have received.
A labyrinth like this one, is usually used for walking meditation. It is a single winding path from the outer edge in a circuitous way to the center. Labyrinths are used world-wide as a way to quiet the mind, calm anxieties, recover balance in life, enhance creativity and encourage meditation, insight, self-reflection and stress reduction.
Labyrinth walking is an ancient practice used by many different faiths for spiritual centering, contemplation, and prayer.
The labyrinth is not a maze. There are no tricks to it and no dead ends. It has a single circuitous path that winds its way into the center. Generally there are three stages to the walk: releasing on the way in, receiving in the center and returning when you follow the return path back out of the labyrinth. Symbolically, and sometimes actually, you are taking back out into the world that which you have received.
Our shadows are leaving footsteps on the sand.
This one path up felt more like rock climbing.
In the distance, our objective of the day: praia da zavial...mainly known for its surfers and restaurant.
Little treat at the restaurant Zavial; golden rim and mussels, chocolate cake and 2 expressos. Our waiter is fluent In portuguese, Spanish, French and english. He is quite eager to communicate with us either in French and/or in English. He brought us a warm blanket and was telling us jokes after jokes.
Everyday chore: trying to fit a balloon of a sleeping bag into a tiny sac...
17 km done for a total of 1011 + 17 km = 1028 km