Flat and Sandy to Arrifana
We walk up early to avoid the burning sun in the afternoon. With the whole group we head to our last place this trail. Breakfast for the girls is almost finished when we reach the milestone 19 km. We do need to go 2-3 km further to our hostel.
Let’s do this!
Arrifana Walk = Average
It starts with a boardwalk to the beach, and we have to cross water. Luckily the water is not very high, otherwise you need to walk all the way back and go via the road. We take our shoes off and go and walk via the beach. We have the beach to ourselves.
We walk a long way via a sand path too. That makes this route more tiring. Eef says we walk in the Sahara. With only one climb it is easy for Jaap-Willem. The rest day, creme and magnesium tablets, helped a lot. I remember that Willeke didn’t feel wel when we almost arrived in Arrifana, it was 30 degrees back then, too hot. And now I notice why, the whole path is fully in the sun. I also remember that we went to The Bakery, a very nice bakery with chocolate cakes and other delicious sweets and snacks. By the time that we get there it is 16:00, already closed. Everyone is so disappointed. We rest and eat our chips and continue. This last path heading to Arrifana and then to The Bakery, is on the road. It is hot, and cars pass us. Not a nice ending of a caminho where we never saw asphalt. A Brazilian lady from The Bakery goes home and gives us a lift to our hostel. Everyone is happy again. The lady says that we need to come back for breakfast tomorrow. It is a good idea. Tomorrow it is Eastern and we deserve a real breakfast!
It is a really challenging path. We need to cross water again at the end.
Sleeping @…
The house that I booked is called Aljezur VIllas. It is a holiday home, with a shared garden, kitchen and living room. There are a lot of things for the kids, and they are very happy to play in the garden. There is a small mini mercado close by. Jaap-Willem buys some groceries and we cook dinner. The restaurants are far away and we are not going to walk more. There are tourists and also other pilgrims in the hostel. We chat for a while. They have two days here to rest after 6 days trail. Good idea to rest. We will do that to tomorrow and the day after in Lagos. The only thing we need to do tomorrow is to catch a bus in Aljezur.
Facts of the Day
Waking up: 6:30
Start walk: 7:15
Blisters: 0
Pains: 0
Falls: 0
Climbs: small one
Caminho (boring long straight flat paths): Yes
Steep climbs and descents: No
Arrival time: 16:00 (the house was 17 minutes walk further)
Time to relax after the walk: Yes
Trampoline: Yes
Table tennis: Yes
Swimming in the ocean: No
Swimming at the swimming pool: Yes
Read more about this trail here.
