Two really cool things about this easy hike. We were walking along the coast when a single hiker passed us and started climbing down a steep, decrepit stone stairway to the beach using a rope. There was nobody on this long beach. We were miles from any parking lot. After walking about 1km we saw another stairway and decided to take it down to the beach. There was nobody there. In the distance we could see the other hiker making her way towards us. We tossed our packs onto two large rocks on the beach and walked over to multiple tide pools that formed as the tide receded back into the ocean. It was so heavenly and peaceful. The neat thing is that over the next 30 minutes other hikers heading south started coming down onto the beach. In a short period of time there were probably 25-30 hikers, all with backpacks, spread out across the beach enjoying the sun, sand and waves. Everyone there was a hiker on the Fisherman’s Trail.
The other cool part about this hike was taking the very small ferry boat (pictured) across the river to enter the town of Vila Nova de Milfontes. As you can see it only holds about eight passengers. This ferry has been in operation for 50 years — they do tours of the river, and of keen interest to us and our fellow hikers, they ferry people across the river. It only saves about two kilometers off the hike, but more importantly you get to enjoy the views of this very scenic river and the town. By the way, this is the first river we saw on this entire trip that fully emptied into the ocean and was navigable — all the others petered out and only reached the ocean during high tide. In the picture you see a castle that is now a private residence. Once we landed and walked by the castle, we saw they had turned the moat area into a beautiful garden. Classy. Also in the photo, if you zoom in and look very closely at the far left tower, there is a White Stork in her nest with chicks. We came upon this nest later that afternoon when walking around town.
The funniest part of this stage was our accommodations. It was an apartment in a small resort that was very popular with young families. The resort had a 10 foot deep pool (won’t find one of those too often), a decent restaurant and a very friendly and helpful staff. All that was normal, however when they gave us the keys to the last available room we quickly noticed the name — “Baby Boom”. When we opened the door we were pleased to find a crib and bassinet in our bedroom, kiddie art on all the walls, as well as numerous toddler toys filling the apartment. It made us laugh. Oh by the way, the apartment also did not have AC, no fans, and no screens. Fortunately it was not a hot night and we were able to get a good night sleep.
It feels like being there. What a great site to behold.