Arrifana to Carrapateira

Today we had to make our way back to the Fisherman's Trail from our hotel, which was a few km on streets and roads. Then we were back near the ocean with its great views. After this the trail curved inland through very pleasant countryside with lots of interesting flowers and shrubs.

At one point we had to cross a small steam on a board, which resulted in Gramie stepping in the water and filling her boots. This required a brief stop to empty her boots and wring out her socks.

In the afternoon we came to the star of today's show - the beach before Carrapateira. The wind was strong, which made for beautiful waves all along the beach. At the end of the beach there was a stream to cross, which most people waded through. The water was well over their knees so we decided to walk upstream to a shallower crossing. It still meant going barefoot and then trying to get back into our boots after dealing with the sand. Then it was only a km to our hotel. But it was via sandy paths. We have walked on sand for what seemed like hundreds of km on this trip. Practically every video on the Fisherman's Trail has mentioned the sand. We brought our gaiters but a surprising number of hikers did not and had to stop periodically to empty their shoes.

Dinner tonight included a great Portobello and goat cheese salad.