Monchique to Marmelete to Bensafrim to Vila do Bispro

I realized last night (2 nights ago) when I paid my restaurant bill that I had no money except for a few coins.  I know that morning I had slightly less than a hundred Euros because I took out a few coins to buy a Coca-Cola zero at breakfast.  I was only at breakfast for about 10 minutes because I was in a hurry.  I didn't notice my missing money until that night when I went to pay for a tip.  In all my years of travel, I Have never had anyone come into my room and take anything.  Thank goodness they left my credit cards. Bummer.    Okay so here is where my stupidity compounds the incident.  I thought Okay so I have been ripped off, I will get some extra cash and all will be fine.  Oh, no!  My debit card had expired.  I never thought to check the date.  Usually, they send me a card and I replace my old one.  No big deal. So I didn't know the pin of my Visa card.  I  never used it for cash. After several hours of phone calls with Visa, we agree to overnight mail my pin to my home address.  Dennis, my wonderful husband extraordinaire, tracks down the FedEx and gets the pin for my Visa.   What a guy.  He is in the middle of a bridge tournament. Except for some reason, Visa in Portugal won't let me withdraw cash. AAARRRGGG!  I first thought I only had one euro twenty.  I couldn't even get a diet coke.  Then, I emptied my suitcase and purse (many prayers) and found a ten Euro bill and a fifty-cent piece. You would have thought I hit the lottery.  Unfortunately, I am now down to five Euros.

Monchique was a pretty cool town.  I loved the statues that were all over town.

They seemed to lifelike.  

This alleyway was actually a part of the trail.

“The convent of Nossa Senhora do Desterro, Our Lady of Exile, was founded in 1631 by Pêro da Silva, who later became the vice-Roy of India. According to legend, the founding of the convent was due to a promise made by two sailors at sea who swore to build a church at the first site of Portuguese land. The legend also says that the founder brought with him a small ivory image of the Saint (sic), which the monks venerated after his death as a relic until in 1834 it was hidden to save it from the strong winds before being recovered by a local lady. Our Lady of Exile’s image is currently stored at the hermitage of S. Sebastião” I was trying to find the trail when this older Portuguese gentleman insisted that I come inside.

It was worth it but the only thing of particular note was this dedication to the Nuns.

I climbed up and up after the convent.  I lost the markers and wandered back and forth trying to find the official trail with no luck. When I finally, sort of lucked into finding the trail, I was showing five miles on my Garmin watch and the sign said that I was 2.8 kilometers (about 2 miles from where I started.  AAARRRGGGH.  The views were beautiful.  All and all, I found my hotel and I had an 18.6-mile day.

A long trail up-hill.  It has been warm here since I started.  I left this morning with my cropped pants, a tee-shirt, and my thin wool shirt.  Like to froze!  The wind was so strong and icy. I finally put on my rain poncho and it at least kept me sorta warm.  

More views.

I had to go under this gate.  I have never seen this.  The door/gate was pretty heavy but I managed to get under it.

The trail got really thin and over-grown.  

More beautiful vistas.

I got such a laugh.  These two guys were at a trail marker, looking confused and scratching their heads.  I had already spotted the next waymarker when they asked me what did I think of the fork in the road.  I confidently pointed in the correct direction.  Then I told them I had been lost every day for six weeks.  They are probably still at the intersection, scratching their heads.

That is a toadstool.  It was bigger than a dinner plate.  Wow!

My final destination for the day.

After a 20.2 mile day, Camino Ways, the company that I book my hotels with was wonderful in this no money crunch.  They arranged an included dinner for me at my hotel in the boonies.  I had pasta bolognese, an ensalada-mixta and two glasses of the most excellent white wine for dinner. I was allowed thirteen euros and I came in just under that.  I used a few coins from my little stash to leave a modest tip. 

Solar power everywhere I look.  I kinda like the gentle whirring of their arms.  

Again, the beautiful tiles.

This one had cattitude!  He practically dared me to walk past.  He did allow me to scratch his ears.  

Beautiful vistas.

Look what I found.  Yep...a snake--a rather long snake.  I have dodged every crooked stick and this was the real deal.  Just in case you are worried, I used the zoom on my camera to get this photo but I did do a side step to get past him.  He was alive because he stuck out his forked tongue at me. It was very cold that morning.  I was not dressed warm enough until I put on my rain jacket. I am thinking he was lethargic because of the cold. I think it is odd that I have not seen one lizard.  The conditions are perfect.  It has been hot and there are lots of rocks for them to sun themselves.

High above a lake.

God love those ears.

I have never seen so many solid black cats and kittens.  There must have been one active Tom in all of Southern Portugal.

Another twenty-mile day.  I had to walk about a mile along the highway to reach this Indian Restaurant.  It was well worth it.  I had to find a place that took credit cards.

   

I started with Honey Gobhi, a house specialty.  Gobhi is fried cauliflower in a creamy, slightly sweet sauce.  It was Yummy!

Then I had Chicken Labadar (not labrador like the dog) which was chicken in a cashew sauce.  Another house specialty.  I also ordered garlic cheese Nan.  I loved this meal.  So funny to have Indian food in Portugal.  The menu had the Indian items listed in Portuguese.  I went with the servers suggestions and I was delighted with my meal.

My waiter, who I suspect was the owner said it was their custom to give each customer a gift.  He brought me a most excellent glass of port.

I was just out of town the next morning when I spotted these guys. Look at all the little ducklings.

The famous Portuguese black pigs.

At about five miles I went through this very artsy little village.

I am not sure exactly what this represented but I have never seen art on someone's roof.

After many hours of walking,...A BAR!  They didn't have Coca-Cola Zero but they had two types of diet Pepsies. One with lime and one without.  I got the lime one and it was pretty terrific.  But I had hiked about 17 miles at this point.

This was a little bit fat city today.  Many gated mansions including this one.  I tried to see over the wall but it was just too high.

Beautiful trails. Like a postcard.

This was a pottery store.  I would have loved to have gone in but all I need to do is buy a bunch of pottery to carry along.

Look at these flowers.  At first, I didn't think they were real. They look like thousands of hanging baby carrots.  

So I found a restaurant that takes Visa.  The waiter was so funny.  When I first went in, I asked him if he spoke English and he said yeah with that suspicious teenager posture.  It made me laugh.  He turned out to be really nice, in spite of his teenager posturing. 

I really wanted to order the sole but since I am a pauper with an unlimited credit card, I ordered a pizza.  I didn't have lunch for tomorrow so I took the rest home and I now have lunch on the trail. In three days I have spent six of my eleven euros.  Tight budgeting.  I didn't have enough money for a tip.  I am holding on to my five Euros for a least one diet coke.  I asked the waiter if he could add the top to my credit card and they aren't allowed to do that. So I said, okay, Can I buy you guys a bottle of wine.  They were so excited.  They picked out one that was six euros and asked if that was too much.  I was happy to give them that because they were so happy. And I can't stand to be generous to the hard-working wait staff.  I decided many years ago, if I couldn't be generous then I should stay home.  

The past three days have been magnificent.  I am determined that this cash crunch is not going to take away one iota of my joy at the hike and the beautiful scenery.  I love a challenge. I usually mean that as a physical challenge but this whole hike has been a mental challenge between being lost and not being able to get cash.  My life lesson...beore you go on a trip...check the expiration date on your debit card. I check my passport about ten times but I never even thought of looking at the expiration date on my debit card.  I always bring two credit cards so if one doesn't work... Oh, well, a valuable lesson.

So until tomorrow...my last hiking day!