Day 2 on the Fishermen’s Trail… Milfontes to Almograve

Our first day ended in Milfontes. Our hotel looks out over a confluence of ocean and river. A team of kayakers from the Netherlands are staying there and are up and out on the water early. It is a resort village much larger than the quiet Porto Covo.

The start of the hike today begins on the road eventually backtracking to the beach… or we can take the short ferry ride across the river and meet the cat lady who had gained fame on the many hiking blogs… how could we pass up the cat lady?

The ferry is a small boat that holds about 12 passengers. As promised, a small shack-like booth is at the head of the dock. Cats of all kinds loll by the doorway. We have to run to catch the last two seats on the boat.

Little did we know at the start, that the collection of travelers on that skiff would be our tribe over the next few days. Hikers from Austria and from Germany, friends or family, would continue to cross paths in each leg of the trip.

Off the ferry we track across the beach now exposed during low tide. As we hike it is evident that many of the beach areas are only accessible during low tide. The trail turns up to the cliffs and we are off. 

While yesterday’s hike was always out in the open and mostly along the cliff’s edge, today’s stage had a very different look. The vegetation is changing. There are more flowers and shrubbery in places, with desert-like areas in others, and unexpectedly the trail winds into a pine forest. The sun is very hot and the shade of the pine is a temporary reprieve. The sounds of the trail change from crashing ocean to birdsong. And still there is sand!

Once we clear the pine forest and return to the cliffs, the tide is coming back in. We reach an access to a beach ( far below us), but a wooden boardwalk unfolds ahead of us. Benches built in to the wall provide both a view and a comfortable place to picnic.

We start to recognize some of our ferry people and realize we are not so alone.The remaining leg of this stage is again dotted with fishermen. Fishermen, hikers, birds and the sea.

Next stop is Almograve.

As we approach this town we pass by the public laundry area. We had read about these communal fountains where people would gather and wash their clothes. While not operational now it checks off another novelty on our must see list.

At the end of day 1, the enormity of this hike was setting in, but after a good night’s rest we were fresh for day 2. Now at the end of day 2…we are buoyed that this is doable! (after putting our feet up and having some wine on the balcony of our guest house. Bring on day 3!