Coastal Hike – Rota Vincentina: Portugal’s Little-Known Stunning Wonder

So I’m sitting by myself in a tiny restaurant in Ronda, a charming village in Andalucia, southern Spain, eating extremely delicious and ridiculously cheap tapas, and I strike up a conversation with the people next to me, as I hear them speaking American English (as opposed to Australian/Canadian/New Zealand/British English!)

We start talking about my plans for walking the Camino Santiago in a few weeks from Porto, Portugal up to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain, and the woman from Seattle, Washington mentions the Fisherman’s Trail, or the “Rota Vincentina” – have I heard of that trail?  Nooooo, I say…but you’ve got my attention – tell me more!  She says it’s a long-distance trail along the coast in southwest Portugal, and says I should check it out some day.

Some day?  How ’bout now?  So I Google it, fall off my chair from the sheer beauty of it, and text Piu in France – “Hey! Wanna hike a part of the Fisherman’s Trail in Portugal with me?”  and as I expected, he said “Oui!” (That’s “yes” in French – my knowledge of French is so pathetic, but this one I do know.)  So we made plans for him to drive from his home in France to meet me in Portugal so we could hike a few days on this trail together.

We did some research on the trail itself, using this phenomenal website showing the history of the routes, the region, portions that are circular/loops which are perfect for day hikes, an interactive map with places to stay, eat and enjoy the area, and a Trip Planner section too.  A really useful, well-thought-out site which was very helpful, showing elevation gain, mileage, best time of year to hike and any special information needed.  www.en.rotavincentina.com. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The trail is composed of two separate routes: the Fisherman’s Trail of 125 km that runs alongside the coast, which has been in use informally for hundreds of years by locals going to the best fishing spots and secret beaches.  The other trail is the Historical Way, and from the website: “this route seeks to re-establish the old trail that would have been used by pilgrims, travellers and locals on their journeys throughout the region.” There are 12 sections, totaling 230 km.

Our first day on the trail was along the magnificent coast hiking the section called Troviscais to Mira, an easy 12 km (9 mile) loop.  Much of the ground was covered in thick, golden sand – which although beautiful, makes hiking a bit slow and sluggish; however, the scenery more than made up for it.  Plus, I think you get extra credit for hiking in the sand, right? The crystalline turquoise and cerulean waves crashed incessantly onto the shore below as they have done for eons  as we hiked the cliff edges high above.  Beautiful succulent flowers of bright magenta and brilliant yellow, called hottentots, carpeted the jagged landscape. The route was so well marked, even I could have hiked it alone! (And that’s saying something, for those of you who know how directionallychallenged I am!)

The only sound was the waves pounding the shore, the wind whipping through our hair, and the seagulls calling out as they danced, whirled and dived across the bright blue Portuguese sky.  Over four hours on the trail, we only saw a total of 12 people enjoying the hike.  This place was raw, untouched, wild, spectacular…and deserted – we had the trail to ourselves nearly all afternoon.  We.  Loved.  It.

The next day, we chose a heavily forested inland path on what’s known as the Historical Trail. Winding through groves of heavenly smelling eucalyptus trees and rolling fields of ancient twisted cork trees, the flowers were incredible!  We saw rockrose, amaryllis, butterfly lavender, foxglove, belladonna lilies and teeny tiny hot pink and yellow flowers nestled among the others. (I used an amazing plant and flower identification app called “Pl@ntNet” that lets you take a picture of the tree, fruit, or flower and identifies it for you!)

The cork trees were so interesting – they are harvested without having to destroy them or chop them down.  The cork is carefully removed from the trunk and allowed to grow back over time.  We were intrigued by the number painted on the tree trunks – 8.  5. 2.  0.  What was this for?  We guessed maybe to show whose trees they were, sort of how cattle are branded…but that didn’t seem right.  Maybe it was the age of the tree somehow?  Or the year the cork was last removed?  Easily enough to find on Google, we learned that it represents the year the cork was last collected.  So “8” is for 2008.  And “3” would be for 2003.  Hey – inquiring minds wanna know! (Gotta love the Google machine!)

In the evenings, we wandered around the quiet little villages in which we were staying – Vila Nova de Milfontes and Sao Luis, outside of the larger town of Odemira, enjoying the colorfully trimmed whitewashed houses with their rust-colored terracotta curved tile roofs and the ancient cobblestone streets which were narrow and tidy.  (I have a picture-heavy blog post about the charming colorful houses of the Alentejo – check it out by clicking here.)  We ate traditional Portuguese food such as bacalao (codfish),  pork with migas (sort of like stuffing a la Thanksgiving turkey), fresh dorado fish —  and drank plenty of delicious local red wine. Of course. When the wine is cheaper than the water….

An amazing area of Portugal – as the website says, “This is a land of sea, where fishing has always been a livelihood. These trails were shaped by the constant trek between the villages and the fishing spots which, more often than not, were difficult to reach. This trail could only be given one name – Fishermen’s’ Trail.”

I highly suggest you add this to your list of “must do” hikes – the region, the trails, the people, the flora – all add up to a magnificent treasure and a glorious experience walking through the Algarve and the Alentejo regions of southwest Portugal and seeing the beauty of the sea and sand, the trees and flowers indigenous to the area up close and personal.  But get there soon – before everyone else does!

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                           See you there! 😉

“Life is what we make of it. Travel is the traveler. What we see isn’t what we see but what we are.”
― Fernando Pessoa, Portuguese poet