- Time of past OR future Camino
- Some in the past; more in the future!
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It definitely seems to be. We have seen about 11 others going north-south so far, which is the more popular direction. And there also seem to be more hikers who checked in to our hotel today after us.Walked with an Italian I met in Porto Coco otherwise only saw a couple of people walking north. I'll be curious to hear if it's busier now.
You could have written that about our walk on the Norte in 2018. My darling Rachel's feet also love the sand.Coastal walking is new to us, so it was fun to take our shoes off at times and dip our feet into the ocean. Walking on soft sand for much of the stage made it a little difficult, but Wendy’s feet love soft surfaces so we’ll take sand over cobblestones any day of the week!
The RV would be perfect for your darling as it’s basically been all sand so far!You could have written that about our walk on the Norte in 2018. My darling Rachel's feet also love the sand.
Thank you for the photos, they're fabulous!
That is a real change! During the whole route we didn't see 11 going either way!It definitely seems to be. We have seen about 11 others going north-south so far, which is the more popular direction. And there also seem to be more hikers who checked in to our hotel today after us.
We have heard 90% of hikers go north-south. I assume it’s because people arrive in Lisbon and the northern trailhead is close by (a two-hour bus ride away). You also have tailwinds walking north-south though I’m not sure whether hikers are really aware of this when they make their decision. The waymarking signage goes both ways.I’m curious as to why the preference is to go North - South? Do the websites promote it as such? I would think it might be a bit easier to walk north to keep the sun out of ones eyes....
Another possible reason is that not everyone walks the whole thing and the northern stages are considered the best ones for coastal scenery. So starting in Porto Covo and going as far south as time allows is what some hikers do.I’m curious as to why the preference is to go North - South? Do the websites promote it as such? I would think it might be a bit easier to walk north to keep the sun out of ones eyes....
I guess I’m so used to thinking of all the routes that go “north” to Santiago it’s hard for me to get my head around hiking “south”, lol.Another possible reason is that not everyone walks the whole thing and the northern stages are considered the best ones for coastal scenery. So starting in Porto Covo and going as far south as time allows is what some hikers do.
Maybe they are trying to even out their tansI guess I’m so used to thinking of all the routes that go “north” to Santiago it’s hard for me to get my head around hiking “south”, lol.
Thank you, I’m glad it brought back nice memories for you!Jungleboy,
Thank you so much for posting your descriptions and splendid photos of this walk south on the RV.
For my husband and me it has brought back memories of driving down this coast during easier times.
As you turn east towards Lagos perhaps you and Wendy would enjoy a meal at Praia Camilo. Perched on the seaside is a very good simple fish restaurant, O Camilo. Don't miss it.
...Bom appetito!
Could be because the RV area (coastal/surfing) gets more tourism, and from a different demographic that has a group consistently looking for vegetarian/vegan options. Possibly not so common in the interior.As for the restaurant, unfortunately we don’t eat fish but we’ve been pleasantly surprised by how well we’ve eaten on this walk compared with previous caminos in Portugal.
Definitely, and I’d add some expatriates to that reasoning as well. But those areas are still very remote, the villages aren’t big and the tourism is small-scale, so I still didn’t expect this many options!Could be because the RV area (coastal/surfing) gets more tourism, and from a different demographic that has a group consistently looking for vegetarian/vegan options. Possibly not so common in the interior.
We have heard 90% of hikers go north-south. I assume it’s because people arrive in Lisbon and the northern trailhead is close by (a two-hour bus ride away). You also have tailwinds walking north-south though I’m not sure whether hikers are really aware of this when they make their decision. The waymarking signage goes both ways.
Rota Vicentina Day 8: Vila do Bispo - Sagres: ~20km
Although this wasn’t our last day on the RV, it felt a bit like a bit of a victory lap nevertheless. It was an easy and flat walk where for the first 14km, it felt less about the journey and more about getting to the destination: the Cape of St. Vincent, the southwestern-most point of the European continent.
View attachment 122290
The Cape is basically the RV’s equivalent of Finisterre. It feels like an achievement to reach it and the ocean views are spectacular, but it’s overrun with tourists and gift shops and doesn’t feel anything like the rest of the walk. About 1km further on, there’s an old fort which only sees a trickle of visitors, so we had our picnic lunch there and were able to reflect on our walk in a quieter setting.
We then continued to Sagres, which I believe used to be the end of the route, but since it now extends to Lagos, we are continuing for two more days - only now we’ll be walking east along the south coast of Portugal rather than south along the west coast as we’ve been doing so far.
Thank you @jungleboy for sharing this walk!Thanks to everyone who followed along with us!
I’m sure the Easter period does exacerbate it a bit but certain parts of the Algarve coast are very touristy most of the year. That’s to be expected, of course, so it’s not a complaint, but walkers should be aware that after Sagres there is definitely a different vibe.I was wondering whether the fact that it's nearly Easter and that there could be school holidays might explain the number of tourists. Would there be fewer people at other times of the year?
I walked the RV in April 2019. I love the sand in small doses, but I was very relieved to have the deep sand finally smooth out somewhat eventually on day 3 or 4 after leaving Porto Covo...whew!The RV would be perfect for your darling as it’s basically been all sand so far!
Thank you@jungleboy, I've loved following along, better late than never, having just returned home from vacation. Your beautiful photos and route descriptions brought back many memories for me.
Thank you for sharing your experience on the RV!
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