Fishermen’s Trail Day 10

We had breakfast on the terrace on the east side of the house where we stayed. It was sheltered from the constant sea wind, and we could enjoy the morning before it got too hot in the sun. Even though the apartment itself wasn’t great, the bed was comfortable, which is a plus.

Today’s 22 km (13.7 mile) stage from Zambujeira do Mar to Almograve was almost entirely along the ocean cliffs. There were a few kilometers on a paved road and through a forest a bit away from the cliffs.

The stage was also interesting and varied in terms of geology, botany, and birds. First, the birds: We’d heard there are storks nesting in the cliffs along the Fishermen’s Trail, and today we finally got to observe this! We saw close to a double-digit number of nests with active breeding. They’re well-placed, often on top of pinnacles on ridges extending from the cliffs. The birds are huge, and so are their nests. There were chicks in all the nests where hatching had occurred, and one of the parents was always watching. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any instances of the other parent bringing food. It would have been amazing to see these huge birds flying in.

Today, we also saw many different cacti, and for the first time here in Portugal, we saw a type that we saw a lot of in the Arizona desert last year. It was especially fun to see it blooming here. Cactus flowers often have intense and vibrant colors.

The geology—the bedrock—changed a lot on this stage. We could observe it in the color of the bedrock and loose materials, but also in how the vegetation could suddenly grow and be green on the steep cliffs. The layering in the rock formations also became very clear, especially where the rocks had been folded over time into incredible curves, as if they were dough that had been kneaded.

We had lunch in the small village of Gavaleiro, roughly halfway through the stage. In Almograve, we’re staying in a large and lovely apartment in a relatively new house with two bathrooms. There are terraces on both sides of the house, and a balcony off our bedroom. On the kitchen counter, there were two bottles of liqueur and one bottle of port wine. It was a stark contrast to yesterday’s apartment. We could easily stay here for several nights!