First time hiking consecutive days and carrying all of our gear, however we were able to take advantage of a timely low tide and cut about 6km off of our route, as described the previous day’s post. This section is still rated “hard” as there was a lot of hill climbing/descending and a lot of deep, soft sand. We really felt it at the end climbing up the final hill (on hard pavement) taking you from the beach to the town that overlooks the ocean.
Low tide was fortuitously at 0820 and we crossed the river at about 0830. The water barely came to our knees. Because it was the very beginning of a challenging day, we took our time making sure our feet were free of sand and completely dry before continuing on our hike.
We stopped at a cafe about two hours into our hike and both ordered a terrible ham and cheese sandwich. We didn’t know this of course when we ordered, but the bread was so thick, hard and tasteless that no amount of mayonnaise or mustard could hide our disappointment (and oh by the well, they don’t give you mayonnaise or mustard!). We did however meet an Australian about our age who was taking a quick break from work to hike a portion of the trail. We told him about the laptop and tablet we were carrying and he laughed, commenting that he also brought a tablet and three books (which he had to yet crack open!) The neat thing is he subsequently checked into the same guest house as us a few hours later and we ended up going out to dinner with him. You meet really nice and interesting people on these hikes.
As stated earlier, the very last section was very difficult. Julie had a blister on the bottom of her pinky toe that was flaring up badly and my Achilles and heel decided to act up. Every step hurt that last uphill kilometer. That said, we learned that we quickly recover once we get off our feet, take a shower, do some minor foot surgery, and put on our sandals. We still walk a little gingerly to dinner, but not as bad as it sounds.
The guest house was a unique experience, in a very positive way. We were outside the small entry gate around normal check-in time when the hosts popped out the front door. They were over-the-top welcoming. We set down our packs and limped over to the dining room table where they offered us drinks and cookies. The host then opened a local bottle of white port wine (never knew they made a white port) that was delicious. While the wife took down our passport information (a requirement in Spain and Portugal), the husband explained that they provide a free breakfast and we are welcome to any food in the fridge (to include the rest of the port wine). None of this was advertised when we booked the room so quite the bonus. Even better is they had a washing machine and we needed to wash pretty much all of our limited clothing. We asked if we could use it and they said to put our clothes in a basket and they will wash and hang our laundry. Unbelievable. We learned they use to own and operate the town pharmacy for 17 years. He was from Lisbon, but studied and traveled throughout the world. She was from Cambodia. They had furniture, artwork and trinkets from all around the world — the house had a very eclectic style, but was still very warm and homely.
After dinner we climbed up a narrow spiral staircase that took us to a balcony where we could sit and enjoy the sunset. Another great day.
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Accommodation: Duna Parque Beach Club; €60/night