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Hiking Portugal Rota Vincentina Pt. 1 #270787
12/06/2021 10:25 AM
12/06/2021 10:25 AM
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 846
S
Sunset_Sammy Offline OP
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Sunset_Sammy  Offline OP
Traveler
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Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 846
Hiking the Rota Vincentina: Odemira to Sao Teotonio - A Long and Winding Road

I wanted to try my hand at trekking, since some friends I met sailing have done a few over the years. I found this route that goes through the Alentejo and Algarve provinces in southern Portugal. There are two networks of trails; the fishermans trail which follows the paths used by the local fishermen to get to the best fishing holes and the historical way. The historical way does not pass monuments and such but gets its name due to being the paths that were historically used to go from village to village. It was hard enough just carrying a day pack with water and a snack; I couldn’t imagine doing it with a basket of produce on my head to sell at the next village. I decided on doing three of the easiest sections which were consecutive with each other.

The advice online said the best way to get from Faro to Odemira, where I will start my hike, was by train and taxi. The train dropped me off at the Santa Clara – Sobia station. I expected taxis to be waiting, but this was more like a scene in an old western where the train stops, and the guy gets off in the middle of nowhere. There wasn’t even a chicken running around. I had some problems getting a taxi, the first one I called for called back over an hour later and said it was too far for him to come. On the bright side, while I was waiting a young German guy started playing what looked like a small kettle grill, he called it a hand pan, like the steel pan drums in the Caribbean, but without the annoying tinny sound. It was not amplified but the music coming out of it as he lightly tapped here and there was amazing, I’ve never seen anything like it.

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The train station at Santa Clara

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The hand pan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW4pYaxuXfo

A short clip of the hand pan

I was finally able to get a taxi and was soon at the Residencial Idalio, a nice little place at the top of the hill in the center of town. It was a house converted into a hotel, nice room with private bath. You ring the buzzer, and a lady comes out from the house next door to let you in and get you situated. She recommended a couple restaurants in town for my meals.

The one restaurant doesn’t start serving dinner till 7:30, but it is quite an event; it seemed the whole town turned out for dinner. The tables are small four-person size and when I got arrived there was a group of maybe four of them strung together, every time another group of people came it’s be “hey ba beep ba boop ba bop” and they’d add another table, by the time I finished my dinner it was strung out about 25 feet long.
I gave myself an extra day here to get situated, find the trail head, and gather any information I could. It was a good thing since my first full day was a Sunday and the information center was closed; it took me half a day to locate the start of the trail with about 5 miles of up and down hills under my belt. Not a lot to do here, but there are nice parks on both sides of the river that runs through the middle town. There seemed to be a lot of people traveling in camper vans, from older couples and families to groups of young hippie types.

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The town of Odemira

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The river through town

Monday morning, I packed my day bag and left my luggage in the lobby, I had arranged for a service that transports your bags from hotel to hotel as you hike the various sections. I walked down to the trail head and started out on my twelve mile plus journey. The trails are well marked, but you do have to keep a sharp eye out for the markers which could be on posts, trees or just painted on rocks. There is a mountain bike trail that runs 44 km to the next waypoint and it’s possible to rent bikes at tone end and drop them at the other.
The trail passed a lot of cattle ranches and cork tree groves, you could tell the ones that had recently been harvested by the bright reddish color of the underlying bark rather than the dark color of the trees that were starting to rejuvenate their bark. You basically follow the course of the river up and down hills, the path is wide and is used by farmers as a dirt road. I only passed one couple hiking in the opposite direction, two farm trucks and a guy on a motorcycle. About four miles in I was starting to have doubts and considering turning around but pressed on. Six miles along the trail crosses a highway and again I considered calling for a taxi, but except for the arch of my right foot, which I had strained while training for this hike, I was feeling pretty good. By the time I reached the eight-mile mark (I have one of those tracking apps on my phone) I knew I made the right decision to press on.

[Linked Image]

A recently harvested cork oak

The scenery wasn’t very spectacular, just pasture and some trees; occasionally I would pass a lone hacienda with a locked gate and guard dog. You cross the river on small bridges a couple times and after the stretch by the highway you follow the course of a stream also crossing it here and there. There was one point when I was on the top of a knoll, and I could see the path winding its way around the bends then it disappeared behind a hill and in the distance, I could see it reappear as it climbed a large hill on the horizon; it reminded me of the yellow brick road in the Wizard of Oz movie.

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The road goes on forever

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A lone cork tree provides some shade for a quick stop and a drink of water

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A small bridge carries the trail over the stream

The biggest hill is about nine miles in, I had been dreading it from the beginning, but allotted myself an hour, if needed, to make it up. It wasn’t as bad as I thought; I took a few breaks for water and to let my heart rate slow down. Finally at the top I was rewarded with shade from the eucalyptus forest the guide mentioned. I pressed a leaf between my fingers, but it didn’t smell as I imagined and was very faint. Being on top of the ridge there was a strong breeze and blowing through the trees did give the air a nice scent.
I continued walking in the shade of the trees until the trail intersected a few dirt roads. I followed the markers around a bend and passed a prickly pear cactus farm. The area was fenced in so I didn’t want to trespass and pick one, but I was hoping there might be a wild one outside the fence, no such luck.

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Approaching the eucalyptus forest at the top of the hill

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The trail goes through the forest

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And then continues past more pasture and farmland

The trail continued to wind over some small hills and past more ruins, finally off in the distance I could see a small town. When the dirt road finally turned to pavement, a driver motioned if I wanted a ride, I figured I made it that far I could go the rest of the way, even though my foot was throbbing. Walking down the main highway, the first town I came to wasn’t the right one; my destination was still about a half-mile away.

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Some of the abandoned building along the trail

When I finally made it to the town of Sao Teotonio, it was a good feeling to have accomplished the hike, I guess I’m in better shape than I look. My fitness tracker showed almost 13 miles in about 6 ½ hours; the elevation gain was over 1200’, the guide did show a steady incline from start to finish. I headed straight for the first place where it looked like they might serve beer. A couple old guys directed me inside when I inquired about cerveja. I ordered a liter bottle and finished that in no time, then got another with a chicken donner (gyro in a pita wrap). I picked up a bottle of wine to drink in the room and called a taxi to take me to the hotel that was located outside of town.

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The town of Sao Teotonio

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A well deserved beer

I had booked a room at the Enigma - Nature & Water Hotel, it was the closest and cheapest available, but was a swanky as the name would imply. Nice size room with a patio and great views of the valley below. I would have liked to have time to explore the grounds, but this was just an overnight stop. I had dinner at the restaurant on site as it is in the middle of nowhere. The food was good, a little more than I had been paying but that’s to be expected. Breakfast is included and was very nice and just what I needed to start the day.

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The sun is setting at the hotel

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The valley behind the hotel

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A great start to the day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awUNGf9A2s4

A panoramic video of a typical section of the trail


Drink all day at home, your friends worry about you; do it on vacation and they say "what a good time you're having". Save your friends needless worry, travel more!
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Re: Hiking Portugal Rota Vincentina Pt. 1 [Re: Sunset_Sammy] #270793
12/06/2021 10:55 AM
12/06/2021 10:55 AM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,486
Central Florida!
Carol_Hill Offline
Traveler
Carol_Hill  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,486
Central Florida!
Wow, you are an adventuresome soul, Sammy!! I would be concerned that there would be some emergency and no one would be around. Fascinating reading!


Carol Hill
Re: Hiking Portugal Rota Vincentina Pt. 1 [Re: Carol_Hill] #270936
12/09/2021 09:51 AM
12/09/2021 09:51 AM
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 846
S
Sunset_Sammy Offline OP
Traveler
Sunset_Sammy  Offline OP
Traveler
S
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 846
Carol, I carry a Spot locator device with me that has an emergency function and also had a good cell phone signal most of the way. Neither would be any use for a stroke or heart attack but I made sure I took plenty of breaks and kept my heart rate at a normal pace. I'm a firm believer that a man has to know his limitations, it took me 6 1/2 hours for the hike, the guide book says 4 1/2 is typical.


Drink all day at home, your friends worry about you; do it on vacation and they say "what a good time you're having". Save your friends needless worry, travel more!
Re: Hiking Portugal Rota Vincentina Pt. 1 [Re: Sunset_Sammy] #270938
12/09/2021 10:00 AM
12/09/2021 10:00 AM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,486
Central Florida!
Carol_Hill Offline
Traveler
Carol_Hill  Offline
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,486
Central Florida!
OK, thanks. You are still much braver than I would be.


Carol Hill

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