The Fishermen’s Trail, Southwest Portugal - Day 3 - Almograve to Zamujeira do Mare

The Fishermen’s Trail, Southwest Portugal - Day 3 - Almograve to Zamujeira do Mare

Another sunny day was forecast and we were really looking forward to more views, beach walking and possibly storks on their nests which are built on sea stacks. In view of a longer day of walking (14 miles), we requested breakfast at the youth hostel where we stayed at 7.30am instead of 8.30am as it advertises. A few others did the same, and we were presented with a nice buffet and coffee.

Leaving at 8am, we turned right, (signed for centre) at the roundabout, passing a church, again right, then left downhill passing large bamboo plants, a waste water station, then down to the beach. The path turns left going up a signed steep hill. It was a beautiful morning beside the crashing sea. We walked along the cliff tops to a car park. (8.30am 1 mile). (Alternatively, the beach road could be followed from the roundabout (straight ahead), saving some time and effort). We decided as the tide was out, to walk along the beach, as we could see in the far distance stairs going up to a building on the cliff. Leaving the beach, we walked along a wide track, with a gym circuit along the way. Just before the road dropped to a tiny fishing harbour, we turned left by a sign, along a red path.

We followed the path along the cliff tops, but at some point, amongst pretty pine trees missed it. (4 miles 10.00am). We went south, joined a main road and followed that into the village of Cavaleiro (10.50am) meeting other walkers who had not got lost! We stopped for coffee and toast in Restaurant Rocamar, the very friendly English-speaking owner told us of the beautiful beaches we had missed, and that we needed to go back to visit them-we decided to continue instead-feeling there were more beaches to come. Leaving the café at 11.15am, we followed the signs along the road towards the lighthouse at Cabo Sardao, after ten minutes there is a blue arrow to the right over the fields to the coast. There are plenty of bird and vegetation information boards here, and boardwalks with views

After the beach there is a long boring walk along a straight track away from the coast, with small bushes on each side, and no shade from the very hot sun. Eventually we arrived at a beautiful beach with a couple of people on it, the path down was so steep we could not make out how they had made it. We sat on the cliff top overlooking stork nests for lunch. (1.50pm) happy with the 11 miles done.

Heading towards the old fishing cottages, we went down steep steps to an old fishing harbour, steeply up again, passing a restaurant and houses at Entrada da Barca. The path then runs alongside the road, passing outdoor gyms on the way. From here you can continue up the main road into town, or we followed the signs to the right, and once more found ourselves overlooking a beautiful beach and cliffs. We decided not to take the steps down to the beach, but continued through the vegetation along the board walks, before arriving in the town of Zambujeira at 3pm, and a chapel overlooking the ocean. Our accommodation of Hakunda Matata Hotel was very conveniently located on the route. It has private rooms, as well as dormitories, and a very friendly English-speaking owner.

Zambujeira is a larger town than the others visited, it has a pharmacy, supermarket, post office and many restaurants. It seemed to be a new town with not many old fisherman's cottage remaining.

We ate dinner in Rita restaurant, very near our hotel, with wonderful views over the ocean. The portions served are very large.

Distance 14.6 Miles (23.5km)

Duration of Walk 7.2 Hours

Average Pace 30 Min/Mile

Steps 43715

Elevation Gained 885 feet (270m)

Websites used

https://hakuna-matata-hostel-zambujeira-do-mar.booked.net/ Hotel

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g312711-d9975096-Reviews-Restaurante_Rita-Zambujeira_do_Mar_Odemira_Beja_District_Alentejo.html Dinner