Saturday, June 4, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Açores/Azores
The start of a strong desire...
Years before we set off for the Acores this year, I had a dream visiting these peculiar islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Near the Islands the disappeared "Ancient Land of Atlantis" near Ilha Sao Miguel, mysterious disappearances of ships, big lava eruptions which is the foundation of birth of the Acores. All together a place where it could be "spookey". Furthermore the highest mountain peak of Portugal, "PICO" and the worldwide known harbour Horta on the island Faial. Our journey started in April 2011.
There are two ways to visit the islands, by air or by sailingship. Because at the moment sailing is not our best skill we took the plane from Lisbon. The goal was to visit the Central Group of the Acores, Terceira, Sao Jorge, Pico, Graciosa and Faial. Because there was no transport to Graciosa, sadly we could'nt visit this lovely small island.
For walkings on all the islands there is a very good walking guide book. You can inquire information at http://www.michael-muller-verlag-de/
General info: Because the island government has the opinion that public buses are not connected with the arrival time-table of airplanes and boat connections, you have to take a taxi which is a rather expensive way of transport. Fee's between 10 and 25 euro's for relative short distances are no exception!!
Ilha da Terceira
We arrived at Terceira, the third discovered island through Vicente de Lagos in 1445. At first Spain occupied the the island but from 1642 it belongs to Portugal. The most important cities are Praia da Vittoria, Angro do Heroismo and Biscoitos. With 50.000 cows and 55.000 inhabitants it is famous for its cheese and butter. Export all over the world. The city capital is Angro do Heroismo ( http://en/wikipedia.org/wiki/angra_do_hero) which is on the list of the UNESCO. From the 1920's the harbour lost importance because of the fact that ships could cross the Atlantic Ocean in one time and there was no longer need of stops on the Acores. In 1980 a heavy earthquake destroyed a part of the city which was later on rebuild in the style. A small but beautifull kept city where you can all the old treasuries in old building, excellent library (free internet) and mount Brazil, the mountain before the city.
Biscoites is interesting because of the vinyards, white wine. The flavour of the salty ocean in combination which the lava soil gives the wine a very tasty and beautiful smell. Biscoitos has been named after the structure of the lava when it coagulate.
Walkings trails:
Raminho-Serreta; A walk of 3,5 hrs. Raminho-Silveira Grande-Pico do Carneiro-Mata da Serreta- Ponta do Queimado-Serreta. Signs are excellent to follow. Highest point is 700 m.
Not difficult walk, beautiful sights to the ocean. Take your water and sandwich because there is no cafe or restaurant underway.
Misterios Negros: A walk of 2,5 hrs. Walking route "Gruta do Natal - Pico do Gaspar - Misterios Negros"., PRC 1 TER; highlight, crater Pico do Gaspar and beautifull oversight of the island.
Ilha do Sao Jorge
Because of the time of year there is no direct boat connection between Terceira and Sao Jorge. That meant we had to go by airplane to Faial and from there back with boats to Sao Jorge which took us a day. From May until September there are regular boat connections between all the islands, due to good weather conditions. Don't be surprised if you are stuck for a day or two because of bad weather or strong winds.
Sao Jorge, the island of the famous cheese. Export all over the world. 56 Km long and 8Km wide, beautiful island for walking. Small villages, Velas (city hall) and Calheta and with nearly 9.000 inhabitants. Highest mountain "Pico Esperanca". Origin island, not a lot of tourists but excellent for walking. Take a visit to the ultra modern cheese factory on the island at the backyard of the village of Velas.
Highlights:
The "Fajas" are famous due to the fact that coagulate lava was formed on the edge of the cliffs. Because of the virtile land an agriculture area had been developed. The "Fajas" developed a micro climate and because of that in the old days there was an agriculture business of bananas, tabacco, figues and coffee. Nowadays most of them have been desolated and is the famous shellfish "Lapas" the only thing worth mentioning. (Recipee: Open shellfish Lapa, put some butter on it, place it in the oven/grill and leave it there for a couple of minutes, a glass of PICO white wine and you have the best meal of the world)
Walking trails:
Percurso Pedestre PR 4 SJO: Pico das Calderinhas-Pico de Pedro-Pico do Carvao-Pico Verde-Morro Pelado-Pico da Esperanca-Pico do Areeiro-Pico Pinheiro-Norte Pequeno; Duration of the walk, 5,5 hrs. Also here, take sufficient water and lunch; Raincoats should be in your rucksack.
Highest point Pico da Esparanca, 1053M. A rather easy walk but because of the long duration, start early.
Percurso Pedestra PR 5 SJO; Ermida-Faja de Alem-Ermida. Duration 3 hrs. At the coast side of Faja de Alem up cliffs again, this is rather steep. Beautifull landscap on the Faja because of the lava.
Percurso Pedestra PR 3 SJO; Faja dos Vimes-Faja dos Bodes-Lourais-Baia da Areia-Faja de Sao Joao. Duration 3,5 hrs. From the starting point there is an uphill steepness from zero to 500m during a couple of hundred meters of the track. After that rather easy but beautifull walk.
Percurso Pedestra PR 1 SJO; Serra do Topa-Caldeira da Cima-Faja da Caldeira de Santo Cristo-Faja do Belo-Faja dos Cubres; Duration 3 hrs. Not an easy track because of the steepness at the beginning and the end.
Ilha do Pico
The most impressive part of the island is the mountain "Pico", 2351m high and because of that the highest point of Portugal. Visable from all the islands in the central group of islands. In 1963 was the last big eruption. The second big attraction is the spermwhale, one of the largest specie of all the whale family. Eating 1000kg of cuttle-fish (inktvis) per day. Can reach a length of ca. 20M and dives up to 2000m to catch the cuttle-fish. Stays all year around the Acores; one of the few whales who has teeth to digest the fish. Togehter with different species of Dolphins an absolute impressive attraction. There a strict rules set up by the Acores government for the boats to visit the whale and dolphin spots.
Third important activity is wine agriculture, especially white wine. One of the first settlers came from the north of Portugal and Madeira. There was already knowledge in those areas to cultivate grapes. Beautiful of taste, fruity, fresh. Because of the lava soil a very special taste. With nearly 15.000 inhabitants not a very crowdy place. Madalena is the capital city. Other major villages, Sao Rocque do Pico, Lajas do Pico, Piedade.
Highlights to visit: In Sao Joao the Museum of "Cachalotes (another word for sperm whale) e Lulas" owned by the family Clarks originally from Cornwall. A biologist who spent his whole life doing research of the spermwhale. (http://www.bienal-baleias.org/)
Ponta Negra, a tiny village where the original houses constructed from lava stone still exicsts and restored.
Laja do Pico where a whale museum can be visited giving an oversight of the whale capturing in the early days ( last captured whale was in 1958, from that time it was forbidden).
A whale/Dolphin trip from the port of Madalena. There are two tourist boat centres where you can make a booking for half a day. Prices more or less 58EUR per person.
Walking trails: Criacao Velha-Monte-Pocinho-Moinho do Frade-Criacao; Duration 2,5 hrs. Gives a nice overview of the wine terraces within the lava stone cubbles. Partly through the forest.
Sao Rocque-Santo Antionio-Cabrito-Ponta Negra-Arcos-Lajido-Ponte Cachoro-Madalena do Pico; Duration ca. 5 hrs. Beautifull coastline walk with different kinds of landscap and old history houses.
Pico trail: The trail is a very difficult one. You start at Casa da Montanha where you have to list yourself at the "Bombeiros" post in case something should happen. It is important that you will hire a guide due to suddenly changing weather conditions and a safe return. The sign posts on the way to the top are not alway visible, so you might easy get lost.
Because of the bad weather we were not able to climb the mountain during our stay for a week but the information above I did get from a local touring guide. It is my deepest conviction that his advise to hire a guide was not out of commercial reasons but pure of safety.
Whale watchting: However the weather and season was not the best moment for whale watching we succeed to getting very close to three Humback whales. It was fantastic moment to watch this enorm animal swimming and diving so easy as a ballet dancer. To catch them for a photo was'nt that easy because the boat had to keep quite a distrance from the whales so they would'nt be disturbed. Only the view was for us a fantastic moment.
Ilha Faial
This was the last island we visited. Famous for its harbour Horta where the sailors from Europe en from the Caribbean meet when the have a cross-over for the Atlantic Ocean. The meeting place is Peter's Cafe. In the old days the cafe was owned by Jose Azevedo (nickname Peter). Because there was no telephone nor cables traffice between America and Europe, this cafe was transformed by Jose as a "postoffice" to leave notes, money for fellow sailors who were crossing the Atlantic. Nowadays is a symbolic place where sailors from all over the world meet.
In 1450 ontdekt, vlak na het eiland Pico door Jacome de Bruges. In 1466 there was Fleming (Vlaming) Josse van Hurtere who came to "ilha da ventura" as it was called in those days to develop the island. Later on the name was changed in Fayal and since the 18th century it is Faial. Famous is the eruption of the vulcano Capelinhos in 1957 which had a duration of one year. At the end of 1958 the island had grown 2 square km. Because of that eruption and the devastation of a part of the island people emigrated to Canada and America. The largest population outside Acores are in the neighbourhood of Boston and California.
The other catastrophy was the earthquake in 1998 where 50 people died on the westside of the island.
Highlights: The city of Horta with the harbour; The crater (caldeira) on the top of the island. The crater was filled with water until the earthquake in 1998. Within days the water had been gone because of a leak in the crater. The most fantastic place to watch for the eruption of a vulcano under water and eventuely lead to a new piece of land is Capelinhos. A marvelous museum, fantastic designed by Nuno Ribeiro. The museum is build in the mountain slope of the vulcano, totally underground. The museum has an enormous collection of films of the arise of the vulcano, migration of people and documentaries of the arise of the whole Acores.
Walking trails: A walk around the crater Caldera of Faial with special species of mosses down at the bottom of the crater.
Was it worth visiting? At least it was a special feeling being in the middle of the ocean, no land within 2000km from Europe and Caribbean. Special people whom are trying to make a good living and above all, islanders mentality. Friendly, a little "pigheaded", making their own decisions. A fantastic well protected area for sea life and nature.
I wish you a very adverturer and interesting trip to these islands, ate logo.
Years before we set off for the Acores this year, I had a dream visiting these peculiar islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Near the Islands the disappeared "Ancient Land of Atlantis" near Ilha Sao Miguel, mysterious disappearances of ships, big lava eruptions which is the foundation of birth of the Acores. All together a place where it could be "spookey". Furthermore the highest mountain peak of Portugal, "PICO" and the worldwide known harbour Horta on the island Faial. Our journey started in April 2011.
There are two ways to visit the islands, by air or by sailingship. Because at the moment sailing is not our best skill we took the plane from Lisbon. The goal was to visit the Central Group of the Acores, Terceira, Sao Jorge, Pico, Graciosa and Faial. Because there was no transport to Graciosa, sadly we could'nt visit this lovely small island.
For walkings on all the islands there is a very good walking guide book. You can inquire information at http://www.michael-muller-verlag-de/
General info: Because the island government has the opinion that public buses are not connected with the arrival time-table of airplanes and boat connections, you have to take a taxi which is a rather expensive way of transport. Fee's between 10 and 25 euro's for relative short distances are no exception!!
Ilha da Terceira
We arrived at Terceira, the third discovered island through Vicente de Lagos in 1445. At first Spain occupied the the island but from 1642 it belongs to Portugal. The most important cities are Praia da Vittoria, Angro do Heroismo and Biscoitos. With 50.000 cows and 55.000 inhabitants it is famous for its cheese and butter. Export all over the world. The city capital is Angro do Heroismo ( http://en/wikipedia.org/wiki/angra_do_hero) which is on the list of the UNESCO. From the 1920's the harbour lost importance because of the fact that ships could cross the Atlantic Ocean in one time and there was no longer need of stops on the Acores. In 1980 a heavy earthquake destroyed a part of the city which was later on rebuild in the style. A small but beautifull kept city where you can all the old treasuries in old building, excellent library (free internet) and mount Brazil, the mountain before the city.
Biscoites is interesting because of the vinyards, white wine. The flavour of the salty ocean in combination which the lava soil gives the wine a very tasty and beautiful smell. Biscoitos has been named after the structure of the lava when it coagulate.
Walkings trails:
Raminho-Serreta; A walk of 3,5 hrs. Raminho-Silveira Grande-Pico do Carneiro-Mata da Serreta- Ponta do Queimado-Serreta. Signs are excellent to follow. Highest point is 700 m.
Not difficult walk, beautiful sights to the ocean. Take your water and sandwich because there is no cafe or restaurant underway.
Misterios Negros: A walk of 2,5 hrs. Walking route "Gruta do Natal - Pico do Gaspar - Misterios Negros"., PRC 1 TER; highlight, crater Pico do Gaspar and beautifull oversight of the island.
Ilha do Sao Jorge
Because of the time of year there is no direct boat connection between Terceira and Sao Jorge. That meant we had to go by airplane to Faial and from there back with boats to Sao Jorge which took us a day. From May until September there are regular boat connections between all the islands, due to good weather conditions. Don't be surprised if you are stuck for a day or two because of bad weather or strong winds.
Sao Jorge, the island of the famous cheese. Export all over the world. 56 Km long and 8Km wide, beautiful island for walking. Small villages, Velas (city hall) and Calheta and with nearly 9.000 inhabitants. Highest mountain "Pico Esperanca". Origin island, not a lot of tourists but excellent for walking. Take a visit to the ultra modern cheese factory on the island at the backyard of the village of Velas.
Highlights:
The "Fajas" are famous due to the fact that coagulate lava was formed on the edge of the cliffs. Because of the virtile land an agriculture area had been developed. The "Fajas" developed a micro climate and because of that in the old days there was an agriculture business of bananas, tabacco, figues and coffee. Nowadays most of them have been desolated and is the famous shellfish "Lapas" the only thing worth mentioning. (Recipee: Open shellfish Lapa, put some butter on it, place it in the oven/grill and leave it there for a couple of minutes, a glass of PICO white wine and you have the best meal of the world)
Walking trails:
Percurso Pedestre PR 4 SJO: Pico das Calderinhas-Pico de Pedro-Pico do Carvao-Pico Verde-Morro Pelado-Pico da Esperanca-Pico do Areeiro-Pico Pinheiro-Norte Pequeno; Duration of the walk, 5,5 hrs. Also here, take sufficient water and lunch; Raincoats should be in your rucksack.
Highest point Pico da Esparanca, 1053M. A rather easy walk but because of the long duration, start early.
Percurso Pedestra PR 5 SJO; Ermida-Faja de Alem-Ermida. Duration 3 hrs. At the coast side of Faja de Alem up cliffs again, this is rather steep. Beautifull landscap on the Faja because of the lava.
Percurso Pedestra PR 3 SJO; Faja dos Vimes-Faja dos Bodes-Lourais-Baia da Areia-Faja de Sao Joao. Duration 3,5 hrs. From the starting point there is an uphill steepness from zero to 500m during a couple of hundred meters of the track. After that rather easy but beautifull walk.
Percurso Pedestra PR 1 SJO; Serra do Topa-Caldeira da Cima-Faja da Caldeira de Santo Cristo-Faja do Belo-Faja dos Cubres; Duration 3 hrs. Not an easy track because of the steepness at the beginning and the end.
Ilha do Pico
The most impressive part of the island is the mountain "Pico", 2351m high and because of that the highest point of Portugal. Visable from all the islands in the central group of islands. In 1963 was the last big eruption. The second big attraction is the spermwhale, one of the largest specie of all the whale family. Eating 1000kg of cuttle-fish (inktvis) per day. Can reach a length of ca. 20M and dives up to 2000m to catch the cuttle-fish. Stays all year around the Acores; one of the few whales who has teeth to digest the fish. Togehter with different species of Dolphins an absolute impressive attraction. There a strict rules set up by the Acores government for the boats to visit the whale and dolphin spots.
Third important activity is wine agriculture, especially white wine. One of the first settlers came from the north of Portugal and Madeira. There was already knowledge in those areas to cultivate grapes. Beautiful of taste, fruity, fresh. Because of the lava soil a very special taste. With nearly 15.000 inhabitants not a very crowdy place. Madalena is the capital city. Other major villages, Sao Rocque do Pico, Lajas do Pico, Piedade.
Highlights to visit: In Sao Joao the Museum of "Cachalotes (another word for sperm whale) e Lulas" owned by the family Clarks originally from Cornwall. A biologist who spent his whole life doing research of the spermwhale. (http://www.bienal-baleias.org/)
Ponta Negra, a tiny village where the original houses constructed from lava stone still exicsts and restored.
Laja do Pico where a whale museum can be visited giving an oversight of the whale capturing in the early days ( last captured whale was in 1958, from that time it was forbidden).
A whale/Dolphin trip from the port of Madalena. There are two tourist boat centres where you can make a booking for half a day. Prices more or less 58EUR per person.
Walking trails: Criacao Velha-Monte-Pocinho-Moinho do Frade-Criacao; Duration 2,5 hrs. Gives a nice overview of the wine terraces within the lava stone cubbles. Partly through the forest.
Sao Rocque-Santo Antionio-Cabrito-Ponta Negra-Arcos-Lajido-Ponte Cachoro-Madalena do Pico; Duration ca. 5 hrs. Beautifull coastline walk with different kinds of landscap and old history houses.
Pico trail: The trail is a very difficult one. You start at Casa da Montanha where you have to list yourself at the "Bombeiros" post in case something should happen. It is important that you will hire a guide due to suddenly changing weather conditions and a safe return. The sign posts on the way to the top are not alway visible, so you might easy get lost.
Because of the bad weather we were not able to climb the mountain during our stay for a week but the information above I did get from a local touring guide. It is my deepest conviction that his advise to hire a guide was not out of commercial reasons but pure of safety.
Whale watchting: However the weather and season was not the best moment for whale watching we succeed to getting very close to three Humback whales. It was fantastic moment to watch this enorm animal swimming and diving so easy as a ballet dancer. To catch them for a photo was'nt that easy because the boat had to keep quite a distrance from the whales so they would'nt be disturbed. Only the view was for us a fantastic moment.
Ilha Faial
This was the last island we visited. Famous for its harbour Horta where the sailors from Europe en from the Caribbean meet when the have a cross-over for the Atlantic Ocean. The meeting place is Peter's Cafe. In the old days the cafe was owned by Jose Azevedo (nickname Peter). Because there was no telephone nor cables traffice between America and Europe, this cafe was transformed by Jose as a "postoffice" to leave notes, money for fellow sailors who were crossing the Atlantic. Nowadays is a symbolic place where sailors from all over the world meet.
In 1450 ontdekt, vlak na het eiland Pico door Jacome de Bruges. In 1466 there was Fleming (Vlaming) Josse van Hurtere who came to "ilha da ventura" as it was called in those days to develop the island. Later on the name was changed in Fayal and since the 18th century it is Faial. Famous is the eruption of the vulcano Capelinhos in 1957 which had a duration of one year. At the end of 1958 the island had grown 2 square km. Because of that eruption and the devastation of a part of the island people emigrated to Canada and America. The largest population outside Acores are in the neighbourhood of Boston and California.
The other catastrophy was the earthquake in 1998 where 50 people died on the westside of the island.
Highlights: The city of Horta with the harbour; The crater (caldeira) on the top of the island. The crater was filled with water until the earthquake in 1998. Within days the water had been gone because of a leak in the crater. The most fantastic place to watch for the eruption of a vulcano under water and eventuely lead to a new piece of land is Capelinhos. A marvelous museum, fantastic designed by Nuno Ribeiro. The museum is build in the mountain slope of the vulcano, totally underground. The museum has an enormous collection of films of the arise of the vulcano, migration of people and documentaries of the arise of the whole Acores.
Walking trails: A walk around the crater Caldera of Faial with special species of mosses down at the bottom of the crater.
Was it worth visiting? At least it was a special feeling being in the middle of the ocean, no land within 2000km from Europe and Caribbean. Special people whom are trying to make a good living and above all, islanders mentality. Friendly, a little "pigheaded", making their own decisions. A fantastic well protected area for sea life and nature.
I wish you a very adverturer and interesting trip to these islands, ate logo.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Caminho Portugues
The Caminho Portugues,
This ancient road is running from Porto to Santiago. You can start at the Se (Cathedral) and end up in Santiago do Compostela at the "Se". There is a connection with this route from Lisbon, through Fatima to Porto and if you have the energy, go west and finally end up in Finisterre after picking up your "credencial" in Santiago do Compostela.
This is a pilgrimage walking expierience which at least started in the 14th century. After there were bridges built in Ponte de Lima and Barcelos, it was easier to get in Santiago through a more or less straight line instead of getting along Braga crossing all kinds of rivers.
The cities you meet are in headlines Rates, Barcelos, Ponte de Lima, Valenca, Tui, Redondela, Pontevedra, Caldas de Reis and Padron. The Rio do Minho is the borderline between Portugal and Spain with two cities on each side of the river, Valenca and Tui.
In general.
What surprises us was the excellent "refugios" ( pilgrim sleeping facilities) in nearly stop on the way. The facilities are relative small ( from 20/50 people) with excellent places in Ponte de Lima, Pontevedra and Padron. The signs on the way are far more better in Portugal than in Spain. You hardly need any guide until Valenca, so well marked. When you start in Porto, you might skip the city walk until Araujo, because it is a very heavy traffic road. The alternative could be to make a city walking trip in Porto and take the metro/bus to Araujo. From there until Vilarinho the road is better. In Vilarinho you only find a hostal which is not very convenient. We got the bus to Vila do Condo where you have excellent pensions to sleep for the night. Take the next morning bus around 07.00 hrs back again to Vilarinho and proceed your walk from there to Rates and Barcelos. On the way you can find enough possibilities to eat/have coffee, however it is more easy to have lunch on midday than having a meal in the evening, especially in Portugal in the evening a lot of restaurants don't have a meal available. This is more or less the same in Spain but in bigger cities there will be no problem.
The season to do the pilgrimage can be best done in April/May and September/October. We did this one in June and it was in the afternoon in fact too hot to do the walk.
Highlights of the Pilgrimage.
To start with, Porto is a fantastic city where you can spend easily a couple of days to explore the inner city which remind us of Napoli 20 years ago. There is excellent transport to the outskirts of the city ( beautifull designed Opera house).
Ponte de Lima is a beautifull city on the river "Rio Lima"; it is presenting itself as the flower city of Portugal and as a speciality the producer of the "Vinho Verde", a young fresh wine.
One the most green treks we did was the caminho from Lima to Valenca, except for the last few miles.
If you reach Valenca, please go to Tui for the "refugio" because it is beautifull constructed near the Cathedral and a lovely place to set off for a good meal and evening break.
Be prepared for the most bad part of the whole caminho if you go from Tui to O Porriono. You walk at least 5 to 7 miles along factories and traffic roads!!!
Guide information
There are several guide books with details of the treks, sleeping and eating facilities. I only know one guidebook which is, Caminho Portugues Porto Santiago, the portuguese way: ISBN 972-9051-27-5; Copyright, Associacao dos Amigos do Caminho Portugues de Santiago.
At last,
The Caminho Portugues is a quiet and peacefull spiritual walking trek, more than the Caminho Frances. It gives you a very good idea how in the old days many of the beautifull small cities live was going on. It is more than worthwhile to take you 10 or 12 days of walking along an undiscovered landscape with plenty of variaties in nature and culture. I wish you a very pleasant trip and if you want to react, please do at roelportugal@gmail.com
This ancient road is running from Porto to Santiago. You can start at the Se (Cathedral) and end up in Santiago do Compostela at the "Se". There is a connection with this route from Lisbon, through Fatima to Porto and if you have the energy, go west and finally end up in Finisterre after picking up your "credencial" in Santiago do Compostela.
This is a pilgrimage walking expierience which at least started in the 14th century. After there were bridges built in Ponte de Lima and Barcelos, it was easier to get in Santiago through a more or less straight line instead of getting along Braga crossing all kinds of rivers.
The cities you meet are in headlines Rates, Barcelos, Ponte de Lima, Valenca, Tui, Redondela, Pontevedra, Caldas de Reis and Padron. The Rio do Minho is the borderline between Portugal and Spain with two cities on each side of the river, Valenca and Tui.
In general.
What surprises us was the excellent "refugios" ( pilgrim sleeping facilities) in nearly stop on the way. The facilities are relative small ( from 20/50 people) with excellent places in Ponte de Lima, Pontevedra and Padron. The signs on the way are far more better in Portugal than in Spain. You hardly need any guide until Valenca, so well marked. When you start in Porto, you might skip the city walk until Araujo, because it is a very heavy traffic road. The alternative could be to make a city walking trip in Porto and take the metro/bus to Araujo. From there until Vilarinho the road is better. In Vilarinho you only find a hostal which is not very convenient. We got the bus to Vila do Condo where you have excellent pensions to sleep for the night. Take the next morning bus around 07.00 hrs back again to Vilarinho and proceed your walk from there to Rates and Barcelos. On the way you can find enough possibilities to eat/have coffee, however it is more easy to have lunch on midday than having a meal in the evening, especially in Portugal in the evening a lot of restaurants don't have a meal available. This is more or less the same in Spain but in bigger cities there will be no problem.
The season to do the pilgrimage can be best done in April/May and September/October. We did this one in June and it was in the afternoon in fact too hot to do the walk.
Highlights of the Pilgrimage.
To start with, Porto is a fantastic city where you can spend easily a couple of days to explore the inner city which remind us of Napoli 20 years ago. There is excellent transport to the outskirts of the city ( beautifull designed Opera house).
Ponte de Lima is a beautifull city on the river "Rio Lima"; it is presenting itself as the flower city of Portugal and as a speciality the producer of the "Vinho Verde", a young fresh wine.
One the most green treks we did was the caminho from Lima to Valenca, except for the last few miles.
If you reach Valenca, please go to Tui for the "refugio" because it is beautifull constructed near the Cathedral and a lovely place to set off for a good meal and evening break.
Be prepared for the most bad part of the whole caminho if you go from Tui to O Porriono. You walk at least 5 to 7 miles along factories and traffic roads!!!
Guide information
There are several guide books with details of the treks, sleeping and eating facilities. I only know one guidebook which is, Caminho Portugues Porto Santiago, the portuguese way: ISBN 972-9051-27-5; Copyright, Associacao dos Amigos do Caminho Portugues de Santiago.
At last,
The Caminho Portugues is a quiet and peacefull spiritual walking trek, more than the Caminho Frances. It gives you a very good idea how in the old days many of the beautifull small cities live was going on. It is more than worthwhile to take you 10 or 12 days of walking along an undiscovered landscape with plenty of variaties in nature and culture. I wish you a very pleasant trip and if you want to react, please do at roelportugal@gmail.com
Sunday, April 18, 2010
General conditions and advice for walking
The content of this website has been developed with great care. Expirience has taught us that nevertheless information can be out of date or invalid. Songlines walking is not responsible for any damage whats however, direct or indirect to information that is publised on this website.
Therefore we recommend that check the information by contacting us through e-mail to check prices and conditions.
Recommondentions for booking and walking
1. Take a (travel) insurance
Therefore we recommend that check the information by contacting us through e-mail to check prices and conditions.
Recommondentions for booking and walking
1. Take a (travel) insurance
2. In case of walking even if you go to Portugal
- Take rain clothing
- Warm sweater, fleece
- Walking sticks, walking boots
- Headlight or lamp
- Sunhat, suncream (be aware of UV factor)
- Can for water
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Mata Nacional de Barao
Walking the mata nacional. Above the village of Barao de Sao Joao there is "floresta de pinheiros", called the Mata. Barao de Sao Joao is easy to acces from Lagos. Either you come from the A22 high entering or your follow the sign Bensafrim in Lagos and follow the inner road, When you at the end of the A22 a roundabout, turn right to Bensafrim, cross the village and at the end follow the sign " Zoo of Lagos" which is heading to the village of Barao. On the top of the hill you can see the village, follow the road until you arrive at the church on your left hand, turn left and immediately go right. Follow the road to Sao Miguel. Turn right on the first road you meet at your right side, go along the cafe "Palmeira" and follow the small road upwards the hill until you are outside the village. Park your car and start your walk.
Vila Nova de Milfontes-Vila Nova de Milfontes
The Milfontes walk starts actually between the town and the fish harbour NW of the town. V.N. (Vila Nova) de Milfontes is lying about 20 km below the town of Sines. Nearby villages are Porto Covo (north of Milfontes) and Cercal more inland. Milfontes itself has a great position regarding to the estuary of the Mira river. The village dated from the year 1468, founded by the king D.Joao II. The first settlers were prisoned people for minor delicts. In the ancient times it has been attacked several times by pirates. For that reason a fortress was build in 1602. The fortress is called Saint Clement's Castle.
You start your walking tour outside of Milfontes. If you enter the city follow the sign " Praia's". At the end of signed street you turn left and straight on. You enter more or less the lower parts of Milfontes and follow the sign to the fish harbour ( turn right). The road brings you to the outskirts of Milfontes and follow the paved road. You can park your car halfway to the fish harbour. On your right you see sandy roads crossing the landscape. Pick up one of those tracks ( it is possible to do it by car) and head for the coastline. At this point you have to follow the pathes at the top of the cliffs. After an hour walk you enter the beaches of " Praia de Malhao" . There are some obsticles on the beach to walk all the way through but not impossible to cross a few small cliffs. At a certain point on the beach you notice Porto Covo and "Ilha de Pessegueiro". Here you have to decide to walk to the top of the cliffs. From this point you can follow the sandy path inlands and just before you enter the forest you have to go to your right, heading for Milfontes. Because the landscape is rather flat you can keep an eye on the ocean to follow the right track back to your car. The area is lovely, easy to walk, sandy dunes, predatory birds, rabbits and a lot of small birds, populating the bushes underway. The duration of the walk is more or less 4 hours, of course depending on the speed you walking. After your walk there are enough opportunities to visit the town and have a coffee or late lunch breake. Enjoy it!!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Lagos - Cabo Sao Vicente
Starting in Lagos. The ancient city is approx 2000 years old, with many famous inhabitants and passants like Gil Eanes, Columbus, Dom Infante Enrique , and Vasco da Gama. The original name was Lagobriga. The inhabitants were Romans, Phoeniciers, Carthageners etc. In 1755 there was a huge earthquake which destroyed a great part of the city. From that time the influence of Lagos was minimized and later on Faro became the capital of the Algarve. But there are still a lot of history buildings and musea left which makes the city an attractive starting point for our walk. Short information of the track:
Lagos (Forte da Ponta da Bandeira), Porto de Mos, Luz, Burgau, Boca do Rio, Praia da Salema, Praia das Furnas, Ponta da Torre, Praia do Barranco, Ponta dos Caminhos, Praia do Martinhal, Sagres, Cabo Sao Vicente. It is a route in total of approx. 60km, with an average of 15 km a day you can cross the coastline in more or less 4 days but maybe 5 days would be more comfortable. Places to spend the night could be Burgau, Salema, Figueira (a little inland) and Sagres. After Salema it will be difficult to find a sleeping place at the coast, so you have to find a small village inland. From Cabo Sao Vicente there are buses back to Sagres and from there you can travel to Lagos again.
You start at the crosspoint of the old and new city, at the Bombeiros station. You cross the street and follow the sign of "Praia de Ana", a beautifull city beach. From their you follow the signs
" Ponte de Piedade". It is about a 2 km long peninsula with on your left hand a really magnificent coloured rock formation . You can cross the edge on the left side of the paved road and you follow the trail until the lighthouse.
From the lighthouse you can see on a clearly day the peninsula of Sagres where on that peninsula there is also a rememberance of Dom Infante Enrique.
Walking to Luz you cross the paved road and now you walk on the left side of the peninsula. As long as you keep the path which is easy to follow, you can see the small beach ahead of you. At a certain point you enter a couple of villa's. It is possible because of a fench of one of the villa's you are forced to make a little turn through Porto de Mos ending at the beach. Cross the beach and just follow the sandy road uphill, leaving all the new villa's on your right hand. From that point there is access to the sandy roads towards Praia da Luz. The rock formation is very steep, so don't come to close to the edge, especially in wet wintertime!!! Arriving in Luz you leave the beach on your lefthand, go after the square a little to the right following the paved road. After the village you have access again to follow the sandy road again along the ocean side. When you reach Burgau, at the front you have a restaurant, just follow the road down the hill and you enter the small square just before the beach. Here is the possibility to stay for the night, you have choice enough for hotels, pensions, rooms etc.
Also in Burgau you have to follow the road for a little while heading for Salema. Just after the villa's you can turn left heading for the coastline path. From here it is more or less 6,3 km to Salema and from now on the world will be emptier for you, because you are entering the Costa Vicentina. A natural park starting at Burgau and stops in Sines 120 km above the cape Sao Vicente. From here signs are rare but if you just follow the pathes along the coastline you cannot mis the diverse beaches you cross. Sometimes it is a wise decission to make a u-turn because down hill to the beaches is to steep. I would recommend to stay in Figueira, it is and inland village but there are hardly any possibilities to stay for the night. From here you can start the start for your trip to Sagres. Praia da Figueira is your starting point and from there again follow the coastline. It is a rough area, sometimes you have to make a large u-turn to enter the coastline again because of steep mountains or rivers. In distance to Sagres is not that fare but in time you are underway 6 or 7 hours. Eventually you end at "Praia do Martinhal", a huge new developement project, but the beach and the sight at Sagres are very beautifull. I would suggest you end your day at Sagres and find a good sleeping place. That means you have time enough for your walk the next day to the cape. To finish your trip and end at the most SW part of Europe, just follow the main road to the end of the village. Because of military equipment you have to walk along the main road to the cape for approx 2 km and then you can cross the land to the coastline. Watch the little church on your way to the cape. Because of the "fjords" sometimes you have to walk to the main road and back to the ocean front and than as a reward..... The "Cabo Sao Vicente". Steep rocks, fisherman who are fishing from very dangerous points and let us say, from eleven am, the tourist bushes are waiting for 20minutes to let people take the pictures.
Ignore them and celebrate your own achievement. I am sure you will enjoy this walk because there are so different landscapes you enter on a relative small scale distance. Beautifull sights to the inland and especially silence. Let me you know if you did like it!!
Lagos (Forte da Ponta da Bandeira), Porto de Mos, Luz, Burgau, Boca do Rio, Praia da Salema, Praia das Furnas, Ponta da Torre, Praia do Barranco, Ponta dos Caminhos, Praia do Martinhal, Sagres, Cabo Sao Vicente. It is a route in total of approx. 60km, with an average of 15 km a day you can cross the coastline in more or less 4 days but maybe 5 days would be more comfortable. Places to spend the night could be Burgau, Salema, Figueira (a little inland) and Sagres. After Salema it will be difficult to find a sleeping place at the coast, so you have to find a small village inland. From Cabo Sao Vicente there are buses back to Sagres and from there you can travel to Lagos again.
You start at the crosspoint of the old and new city, at the Bombeiros station. You cross the street and follow the sign of "Praia de Ana", a beautifull city beach. From their you follow the signs
" Ponte de Piedade". It is about a 2 km long peninsula with on your left hand a really magnificent coloured rock formation . You can cross the edge on the left side of the paved road and you follow the trail until the lighthouse.
From the lighthouse you can see on a clearly day the peninsula of Sagres where on that peninsula there is also a rememberance of Dom Infante Enrique.
Walking to Luz you cross the paved road and now you walk on the left side of the peninsula. As long as you keep the path which is easy to follow, you can see the small beach ahead of you. At a certain point you enter a couple of villa's. It is possible because of a fench of one of the villa's you are forced to make a little turn through Porto de Mos ending at the beach. Cross the beach and just follow the sandy road uphill, leaving all the new villa's on your right hand. From that point there is access to the sandy roads towards Praia da Luz. The rock formation is very steep, so don't come to close to the edge, especially in wet wintertime!!! Arriving in Luz you leave the beach on your lefthand, go after the square a little to the right following the paved road. After the village you have access again to follow the sandy road again along the ocean side. When you reach Burgau, at the front you have a restaurant, just follow the road down the hill and you enter the small square just before the beach. Here is the possibility to stay for the night, you have choice enough for hotels, pensions, rooms etc.
Also in Burgau you have to follow the road for a little while heading for Salema. Just after the villa's you can turn left heading for the coastline path. From here it is more or less 6,3 km to Salema and from now on the world will be emptier for you, because you are entering the Costa Vicentina. A natural park starting at Burgau and stops in Sines 120 km above the cape Sao Vicente. From here signs are rare but if you just follow the pathes along the coastline you cannot mis the diverse beaches you cross. Sometimes it is a wise decission to make a u-turn because down hill to the beaches is to steep. I would recommend to stay in Figueira, it is and inland village but there are hardly any possibilities to stay for the night. From here you can start the start for your trip to Sagres. Praia da Figueira is your starting point and from there again follow the coastline. It is a rough area, sometimes you have to make a large u-turn to enter the coastline again because of steep mountains or rivers. In distance to Sagres is not that fare but in time you are underway 6 or 7 hours. Eventually you end at "Praia do Martinhal", a huge new developement project, but the beach and the sight at Sagres are very beautifull. I would suggest you end your day at Sagres and find a good sleeping place. That means you have time enough for your walk the next day to the cape. To finish your trip and end at the most SW part of Europe, just follow the main road to the end of the village. Because of military equipment you have to walk along the main road to the cape for approx 2 km and then you can cross the land to the coastline. Watch the little church on your way to the cape. Because of the "fjords" sometimes you have to walk to the main road and back to the ocean front and than as a reward..... The "Cabo Sao Vicente". Steep rocks, fisherman who are fishing from very dangerous points and let us say, from eleven am, the tourist bushes are waiting for 20minutes to let people take the pictures.
Ignore them and celebrate your own achievement. I am sure you will enjoy this walk because there are so different landscapes you enter on a relative small scale distance. Beautifull sights to the inland and especially silence. Let me you know if you did like it!!
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