Hiking in Sagres

This weekend my adventure coordinator, Licinia, took me on an odyssey-like hike from Vila de Bispo to Sagres in the southwest corner of Portugal. Her initial itinerary was to hike along the coast, have a goose neck barnacle lunch at some local Sagres establishment, and then hike back. Each way was 12 km. This seems a bit long for an afternoon, no? She estimated 1.5-2 hrs each way. I never did check her math. But I was optimistic and it really felt good to walk. So we walked...and walked...and took in some amazingly dramatic ocean cliff views...and walked some more. 3 hrs later we finally saw Sagres, but it still seemed pretty far. We briefly pondered taking a detour to the cape to see one of the fortresses but Rushka, our little black furry friend (Xana, don't say it!), had a fit and demanded we head straight to town to get whatever sustenance we could find. I had to agree, the dirt road ahead of us did appear quite long. Around 3:30 we finally dragged our weary legs, hips, feet and shoulders into Sagres and sat down. Two tostas mistas and some batidos later, we had to face the fact that we were 12 km away from the car, buses don't like dogs and, according to Licinia, Portuguese taxis cannot be trusted. It all worked out though...Licinia took the bus herself to get the car while Rushka and I ate chocolate crepes at the restaurant. She really knew how to treat the American guest! After reuniting, we drove to the cape and were awed by the views once more. Here are some photos:

Our would-be preview of lunch, the slanted trees conditioned by relentless wind which makes the Sagres area a fantastic surfing spot.

These bushes looked so fluffy but were as hard as cement and made up of very sharp spikes that stung your skin for an hour after any accidental contact.

The south side of the coast:

The west side of the coast, 100 feet over: