Madeira Levada Walk: Marocos, 9/25/14

Our first Levada walks. Levadas are narrow waterways that carry water from the mountains to where it is needed for farming. Next to the Levada is a narrow path used by maintenance crews and by walkers.


This is farm country. Can you imaging farming in a place without any level land? All arable land is terrassed.

Our guide gave us a lesson in botany - above: sugarcane.

Cherimoya.

Bananas everywhere.

Papaya.

Yams. The guide said, "if you eat a lot of these you will live to be a 100."

The Marocos levada changed to the Ribero Frio levada after crossing the tunnel.

Can you imagine living in a house without road access, just steep stairs.

Portugal Coastal Hiking 9/19/14

Day 6: Salema to Sagres. The plan was to hike from hotel to hotel. The day was rainy when we started out so Jim, I and 3 other hikers opted out for the first leg of the hike.  We drove to the lunch stop, a delightful small beach where several surfing schools were teaching beginners how to surf.

I spent my morning walking up and down the beach and decided to pick up trash.  Made several trips to and from the garbage can and recycle bins.  After a while, a lifeguard came up to me and said, "thank you for doing this." 

Lunch was at a small cafe on the beach. Note the menu in Portuguese and English, and the numerous fish selections. I finally had grilled sardines that I remembered so fondly form my au pair days in Malaga.

We moved into the Algarve region of Portugal yesterday and hiked part of the Via Algarviana in the afternoon, 6 miles along the coast to Sagres.

Sagres beach .... Almost there.  Our guide Nuno holding up the victory sign.

A great thank you to our three guides, all our fellow hikers and REI for making this trip a success.

Our favorite food on this trip: sweet, juicy, succulent locally grown oranges.

A fitting finale: spumante and mimosas for breakfast.

Portugal Coastal Hiking 9/18/14

Day 5: 8.5 miles of hiking along the Alenteja coast on the ....

Rota Vicentina from ...

Zambujeira do Mar to .....

Odeceixe beach.

Another stork's nest perched high on a cliff.

Trekking up the hill.

Portugal Coastal Hiking 9/17/14

Day 4: Almograve to Zambujeira do Mar. Ten miles of hiking the coastline along the Rota Vicentina in the Alentejo region. My favorite hike of the week because of the splendid views.

Invasive ice plant.

Soccer field along the coastline.

Stork's nest along the cliff. The storks had already migrated. They return every year to the same nest and keep adding to it.  It can weigh over a ton.

Another steep descent!

All 14 of us.

Portugal Coastal Hiking 9/16/14

Day 3:  Hiking 3.3 miles in Arrabida Natural Park. Our shortest hike of the week and also the one with the most rain.

Remember the Franciscan Convent from Day 1?  Here are four small dwellings the monks built to live in isolation for extended periods of time.

Portugal Coastal Hiking 9/15/14

Day 2: We hiked 4 miles along the coast line from Praia Grande - see above - to Cabo da Roca, the most western point of continental Europe. 

Just a little steep - lots of up and down on this trail...

An ice plant variety brought in from South Africa to stabilize the dunes over 100 years ago. It has taken over the landscape and crowded the native variety.

Our guide collecting garbage along the way.  Unfortunately, we found the beautiful coast line in less than pristine condition.

In the afternoon, we toured Sintra Pena Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. Above,  Neptune keeping guard.

Portugal Coastal Hiking - 9/14/14

First day of our REI week-long hiking trip along the southern coast of Portugal: Lisbon to Sagres. From Sintra, we hiked 6 miles down to the village of Cascais, in the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. We walked through forests, along a rugged coastline with high cliffs and past long stretches of beaches.

In the afternoon we visited an austere Contemplative Capuchos or Franciscan convent. The monks believed in living in simplicity and in harmony with nature.  Thinking a head of their time, I say :)

It was our first introduction to cork trees, found all over southern Portugal. The monks used cork to line walls and windows for warmth.  Cork is a sustainable and renewable resource. Removing the bark from the tree does not affect the health of the tree and is done every nine years.