Cachopo to Cabeça do Velho

What a goat rope today was.  Jeanne’s wild adventure!  It was my ideal kind of hike. Long steep uphills and long downhills.  Kept thinking I was going to die on the uphill sections (Alps hard) and on the downhill sections...nothing to it. At about mile 13 I got so lost.  I knew I was on a trail but it wasn’t the right one and I couldn’t find the right one.  From high atop the mountain, I could see a village.  As I was approaching the village, I saw a sign for Barranco de Velho. That was where I wanted to go!  Okay, I’ll just follow the road.  Good plan until the road ended.  There was a trail but it was so overgrown that after about a quarter of a mile  I turned around and headed back to the village...about 2 miles away by this time.  And then on to the next village. At two o'clock in the afternoon, the is no one stirring in Portugal and no cars on the road.  I am not above flagging down a car. I got out my phone and it said Vodaphone.  OMG! Service!!!  Hallelujah!  But who the hell do I call? I don’t even know where I am.

Finally, I found the exit sign for the town and I called the hotel.  The woman was very busy with the lunch crowd. but she gave me a number to call. No one answered.   Meanwhile, I also called the luggage service and he lives an hour and a half away but said it would come for 150 Euros.  I understand that it is more than three hours of his time so I said okay. Desperation will certainly make you pay more money.  Getting a Taxi is not as easy as I thought. Right after that, I looked down at my phone and it said Nos.  I was practically in a panic, walking back and forth wondering where my phone service went.  And I thought maybe they might need to call me.  My phone rang and it turns out that Nos doesn't mean no service. All that angst for nothing,   Whew!

About ten minutes later this jolly little man pulled up in a tiny blue car.  He showed me the hotel card so I quickly contacted the luggage man to cancel and hopped into the car. Just in case you think this all happened really fast, all of this took about two hours. The elderly man didn't speak English but he sang along with the radio in Portuguese.  He had one of those likable faces. I really love the Portuguese people.  In general, they laugh a lot and seem to enjoy life.

It was Mr. Toad’s wild ride but I could tell he had driven these roads before and was a good driver.  WhenI got to the hotel he indicated that I didn’t have to pay him. I insisted he take 20 Euros and felt as if I had gotten a bargain. I walked just short of the distance I was supposed to.  It was just the ending that was my problem--17.8 miles total. Today was magnificent but I didn’t want to take a chance of not finding a village with cell phone service.  I made a good friend while I was waiting.  A shepherd mix of about 50 pounds sat on my lap on a bench and licked my face periodically.

Those are pumpkins down on the right side.

The hills were dotted with these old windmills as well as the tall modern type.

Nothing really shows the height of these grand mountains. Today was a bear of a hike but I loved it.

These bushes grow in abundance in the mountains.  I liked the red and yellow berries.  Too bad they weren't edible.  I did have a great lunch.  I had chicken breasts the night before and they gave me three of them so it made for a dandy lunch.

This was a new structure. I am guessing some romantic soul built their castle high in the mountains.

Look at these unusual goats.  I think the one on the left needed more fiber.

Those tiny squiggly lines are roads.

This is my beautiful hotel and the man leaning against the wall speaks English.  I think he is the owner or manager.  He is so funny and friendly.  They have Coca-Cola Zero.  After four days with no Diet Coke, what a welcome blessing.  Internet! Phone Service!  Hot water and good food.  All is well! 

For anyone of my wonderful friends who might worry about me...Don't.  This area is so mountainous, I can always spot a village and I am not afraid to throw my self at some nice person's mercy. Almost everyone in these villages is pretty senior.  If push came to shove, I think I could take them.  LOL

Alcoutim to Balurcos to Furnazinhas to Vaqeiros

Greetings to all.  I have been in the most remote area of Portugal.  No internet and no cell phone service for three days.  Can you imagine!  Just like Appalachia.  In fact, Dennis got worried and called the hotel where I was staying to make sure I was okay.  Wasn't that nice!

My first walking day.  This was the first way-marker for Section one.  

And this is the only sign that I have seen that showed it to be a Camino. 

I always love these horned sheep.  These are bigger than normal sheep.

Beautiful flowers and plants along the way.

This was the only touristy thing I saw today.  

These tall spires were behind a fence with a gate but the gate was unlocked and I could just walk right in. I wandered around them for about two minutes wondering why I had walked up this big hill, out of my way,  just to see them.  

I love babies!

My total distance for this day was 20.2.  This was my hotel.  It was nice.  The room was great but there was nowhere close by to eat.  The owner didn't speak any English but he did communicate there was a restaurant down the highway in 1 kilometer, (6/10ths of a mile.)  Of course, I waited until about 7:30 because I know the Portuguesa eat late.  I started down the darkest highway imaginable.  I walked about a mile and a half and there was no restaurant. The good news was there were no cars on the highway. I gave up on this idea and walked back and walked around the small town.  No restaurant. I gave up again, went back to my room and ate two protein bars.  Between the weak internet and my experience with dinner, I wasn't exactly a happy camper.  The hotel owner and I had agreed on a breakfast time of 8:30 so when I got up the next morning to have breakfast, there was no breakfast and no owner. I was a bit miffed. After about 20 minutes, I wandered around from door to door, knocking and trying to find someone.  Something warned me not to be the ugly American so when I aroused the sleeping owner and his wife, he communicated to me that there was a time change the night before. I was totally red-faced and apologized numerous times.  Oops! I hate it when I am wrong.

So the next day, I passed so many beautiful flowers.  I took many more photos than I am sending on this blog.

Nothing exhibits the depth of this beautiful countryside.

And from the desert landscape, I begin to see the greenest of green trees.

First I thought this was a high fence but as I rounded the corner...

I saw that it was a crumbling structure.  Amazing that someone put these rocks together and they lasted for centuries.  My hotel person (later on) told me that the white-painted houses were for humans and the unpainted rock structures were for animals.  She also told me that all of the people who could put these stones together were old and dying.  It is a lost art.

Such a beautiful landscape.  

I can't tell you how many black cats and I mean totally black cats have crossed my path.  Not that I am superstitious but it does give me pause for concern.  No point in challenging the point. 

So many of these little roof decorations in Portugal.  And they are all different.

Such unusual Cactii. 

Beekeeping is very popular in this area.  It seems that I don't walk very far before I see even more bee boxes.

I found this very interesting.  Cane is abundant in Portugal.  This was a homemade windmill that waved back and forth over the grapevines.  

I would think this was an area to stop and look but there was no pull off or other reason to stop.

I have seen these scarecrows all over the place.  This was in the center of a traffic circle.  If you look closely there is a booze bottle near his mouth.

Beautiful scenery.  That is not fog but clouds.  I have had my head in the clouds for years but not very often is it literal.  LOL

Although my true love cat is a black and white...an all-white cat is pretty cool.

This is an old fashioned cistern.  My grandparents had one and we would lower a bucket with a dipper in it for cool water.  That moon looking thing is the water.

A fire watchtower.  Evidently, Southern Portugal is much like California...droughts and many fires.  I walked right beside this and I will admit that I didn't want to expend the energy to climb to the top.

Look at the two beautiful babies following the local man.  They were pretty jazzed up.

This is my humble hotel.  I had a teeny-tiny room for two nights with barely room for a twin bed.  My bathroom was down the hall but I wasn't sharing it.  For some reason, my photos of the owner will not upload.  This was the closest I have ever come to staying in someone's home. This town was once 300 people but is now about 40.  She and her husband came here because the government is trying to get young people to come to these villages.  They were given a great deal on buying the property.  They are the youngest people in town with the exception of their 2-year-old son.  The next youngest person is 53 and everyone else is 75 plus.  I am guessing they were about 30.  She told me that her son has many grandfathers.  My first-night meal was the most incredible chicken stew.  I started the meal with home-grown tomatoes and local goat cheese with basil and then came the stew. The stew had chicken, carrots, and potatoes with rosemary. The stew was made by a neighbor who was pretty old (I know it is all relative but the people look much older than they are)  This woman laughed all the time.  She took great delight in sneaking up on me and then saying something.  It was worth the temporary terror just to hear her laugh.  What a delight. For dessert, I had orange slices from the tree by their house.

The owner gave me a tour of the town and this little studio belonged to the town basket weaver.  He gave me a demonstration. Earlier this year twelve artisan students came and spent two weeks with him and then weeks in the nearby villages learning the old crafts.  All of the young people are leaving for cities and even other countries so the government is trying to entice people into these villages.   The population used to be 300 but now it is forty.

My second-night meal started with the delightful carrot/sweet potato soup. I actually had a dining companion... a girl from Belgium. We were both so excited to have a dining companion that we probably sounded like two magpies, chattering away.  She was in her late twenties (?) tall (6'2), skinny as a rail and she told me she was pregnant.  She sure didn't look it.  Even though she was only two months along, the trip was becoming difficult.  Of course, she was sleeping in a tent and carrying a 40-pound backpack.  She was taking the bus and going home.  She seemed excited about the pregnancy and as so common in those northern European countries, there was no mention of Dad or a husband.  And we thought we were so liberal in the 60's and 70's!  It's a different world.

Our main course was a kind of stir fry of fresh-caught cod, potatoes, peppers, and onions (straight from the garden)...no rice  What a treat!  I only ate half of it and had the rest on the trail today for lunch.   This was such an amazing experience.  Never have I been like an invited guest in the home of another country. I will cherish this experience forever.  And for dessert, we had the wonderful orange slices.

This made me laugh.  If you have never papered anyone's lawn or been toilet-papered, you won't understand this and I am guessing your life as a teenager was somewhat dull.  As it turned out this was plastic to cover the grapevines but it had rotted away to look like it had been toilet papered.

Beautiful scenery.  I swear that today was the hardest 10.5 miles I have ever hiked.  It was like hiking the teeth of a saw.  This trail was designed by some sadistic so and so and I am sure the is laughing from his grave.  Nothing but severe uphill and then severe downhill.  I can only imagine what tomorrow is like.  Some several people have warned me (and then laughed) how hard the 18.5 miles of up and down is tomorrow.  I need prayers!!!

Too bad this wasn't open when I was hiking the trails.  It is my understanding that this trailer comes through and bakes fresh bread for the villagers.  YUM  I had a really good dinner.  First, I was going to have the chicken stew until the waiter told me it was prepared with chicken's blood.  EEEugh.  No thanks.  He recommended the grilled chicken with fries.  It was delicious.  I have two chicken breasts left for lunch tomorrow.  Those baggies in my purse are the best.  So I will sign off for today.  It is so hard to publish a three-day post but hopefully, I said everything I wanted to say.  Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite!

The Beginning of the Via Algarviana or Camino Algarviana

Oi (Hi)  from sunny Alcoutim Portugal. I arrived yesterday after a long journey, from Louisville to Charlotte (ran for the next flight) to Madrid (3 hour lay-over) to Fero Portugal. It looked like we were landing in the ocean. I thought my luggage had not arrived so I went to lost and found.  I heard the Iberia rep tell the man in front of me that if they found his suitcase in Madrid, it wouldn't be in Faro for two days.  I assume that meant that there was not another flight that day or the next.  ARROW prayers.  God must had heard me because just  then I saw a man pulling my suitcase and three others to the lost and found.  Whew!  I was thinking can I hike with no supplies and in my sneakers?  My pack was pretty heavy because I was carrying my iPad, phone, iPod and tablet in it.  Nothing useful for hiking AND I didn't have the information for each night with me.  Double whew. Then I had an hour plus ride to Alcoutim. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to have my suitcase catch up with me.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  This described Alcoutim from one o'clock to four o'clock.

I saw these crocheted tree protectors out side an old folks home.  They were made of a nylony type of yarn.

Alcoutim is a beautiful village. It is located on the Portuguese side of the Guadiana River, which separates Portugal from Spain.  In the photo above, you can see the Spanish town of Sanlúcar de Guadiana.

A closeup shot of the windmills of Sanluca, on the Spanish side.

Charming sailboats are parked along the river.

All of the houses are whitewashed and have red tile roofs.  This town reminds me of my hike of the Sicilian volcanoes several years ago.

If you look closely, you can see purple grapes  hanging from he center of this arbor.

The town church was built in the 13th century.

The main altar

What I really loved were these hand-painted altars near the main altar.

I decided to walk up to the old Castle and this was thre gate looking out. I thought the wroght iron was impressive.

Look at these birds.  I don't know for sure what they are but they ounded like humans llaughing.    He He  he he he.

My lunch, overlooking the river.  Goat cheese topped with a local honey and rosemary.  It was served over freshly baked bread. Even if yu wanted to fly over here. you would  be too late.  I polished the whole thing off, over looking the river and a sea of bicycling men in tight shorts.  Whoo hoo.

The flag of either the town or the castle.  It was flying proud.  Today was beautiful, strong winds, sunshine and about 70 degrees. 

If you are geographically challenged, like me the link will show you where  Portugal is.  It sits beside the Southwestern side of Spain.

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So until tomorrow...Buen Camino!