Very soft blanket and rich breakfast. Nice life they have here in the
civilization.
The trail has one long descent with nice view, otherwise
it is flat until Salir. It still pays to look in front of your feet
because besides ants and grasshopers you could see a hundred fluffy
worms moving in a row. Before Salir the trail goes between stone fences
what already is picturesque.
Salir is a big village. A dozen cafes, bank and supermercado. But some houses are still for sale as is all other places. It is the least densely populated province in Portugal.
One day's journey ends in Salir but we continue for another section because both are relatively short and the landscape is not difficult. It is not forbidden to smoke in cafes which doesn't create the most pleasant atmosphere there. So we go to a nicer place in order to wait for the heat to die down a bit. The nicer place is under a tree in grass. I even fall asleep while looking into the blue sky.
Nothing very nice after that. A weird arrow game, ascent and hot plateau with waist-high bush. No shadow anywhere. Today we have reached agricultural landscape and walk past gardens, goats and horses. Here are some new flowers. This should be a protected area for orchid species. So I do a flower photography stop before Bensafim. Right after the massive orange smell.
Bensafim is last village before Alte, our final stop for today. The usual café, old men drinking beer in front of it and inside of it, discussing world affairs with important faces. Two tv's make noise but no-one pays any attention to them.
A half-naked man sits by a stream between Bensafim and Alte, his beard arranged in ponytail. Offers orange. Suspects us right away of being from Germany. Well, suspects Sara to be exact. I with my strange dialect qualify as a Swiss. Robert started to walk in May last year from Stuttgart, has walked over all Southern Europe, struggled with the police in Morocco for two months, growed potatoes somewhere and has been dying of thurst in Spain. From a bush somewhere near Alcoutim he saw Sara and Manfed. Day's budget is six euros. Wears self-made underwear.
The hotel in Alte is a kilometer from the center. The center is there and the extra kilometer doesn't belong to the trail. We ask for directions. A woman carriyng a pot laughs at first, then measures us with her eyes and says that well, you are good in walking. The hotel is 700 meters up a mountain. After a while she drives past us, checks if we are on the right way and is sorry that we don't fit into her car. Sunset is a background to our climb.
Hotel is fancy, white tablecoths. I arrange a sauna in my room.
Salir is a big village. A dozen cafes, bank and supermercado. But some houses are still for sale as is all other places. It is the least densely populated province in Portugal.
One day's journey ends in Salir but we continue for another section because both are relatively short and the landscape is not difficult. It is not forbidden to smoke in cafes which doesn't create the most pleasant atmosphere there. So we go to a nicer place in order to wait for the heat to die down a bit. The nicer place is under a tree in grass. I even fall asleep while looking into the blue sky.
Nothing very nice after that. A weird arrow game, ascent and hot plateau with waist-high bush. No shadow anywhere. Today we have reached agricultural landscape and walk past gardens, goats and horses. Here are some new flowers. This should be a protected area for orchid species. So I do a flower photography stop before Bensafim. Right after the massive orange smell.
Bensafim is last village before Alte, our final stop for today. The usual café, old men drinking beer in front of it and inside of it, discussing world affairs with important faces. Two tv's make noise but no-one pays any attention to them.
A half-naked man sits by a stream between Bensafim and Alte, his beard arranged in ponytail. Offers orange. Suspects us right away of being from Germany. Well, suspects Sara to be exact. I with my strange dialect qualify as a Swiss. Robert started to walk in May last year from Stuttgart, has walked over all Southern Europe, struggled with the police in Morocco for two months, growed potatoes somewhere and has been dying of thurst in Spain. From a bush somewhere near Alcoutim he saw Sara and Manfed. Day's budget is six euros. Wears self-made underwear.
The hotel in Alte is a kilometer from the center. The center is there and the extra kilometer doesn't belong to the trail. We ask for directions. A woman carriyng a pot laughs at first, then measures us with her eyes and says that well, you are good in walking. The hotel is 700 meters up a mountain. After a while she drives past us, checks if we are on the right way and is sorry that we don't fit into her car. Sunset is a background to our climb.
Hotel is fancy, white tablecoths. I arrange a sauna in my room.
Add a comment