This was a fun hike. Shortly after leaving town we crossed a very shallow river that took us to Praia da Bordeira, a beach that we estimate was a least one mile wide. The previous day we scoped out the beach and realized we could cross over and walk in the river instead of walking in the deep sand or taking a longer land route. This beach was beautiful. At the end was a steep incline to the cliffs, but we are now very accustomed to hiking these cliffs.
One thing new with this hike — it was the first time we experienced deep sand along the trail on the cliffs and in the interior. For the previous five stages we only had to deal with sand when we crossed a beach; the bigger challenge was climbing up and down the cliffs. Now the cliff climbing was not as frequent, but the sand became a challenge. Unlike walking on a mostly flat beach, we were now climbing and descending large hills with a lot of sand — think of walking up and down sand dunes.
This hike also took us deeper into the interior. The wild flowers are bountiful and in full bloom. The attached picture gives you a sense of the beauty (and those of you who know Julie, know that she is a very happy girl in this setting).
Beautiful picture of you, Julie! You look so happy!