Fisherman's Trail Day 8 - Carrapateira to Carrapateira (coastal loop)

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
10/2/2024	8.5 miles	5 hours 39 minutes	395'	2.9 mph	657.3 miles

Today was scheduled as a rest day in Carrapateira, but we decided to do the coastal loop hike that was scheduled for tomorrow. It was listed as a cliff walk. It was fantastic! We started with a walk into town and then through farmland and hills, eventually making our way to the ocean. These were some of the best cliffs we've seen. We saw 12th century fishing village ruins. Huge waves today, crashing into the cliffs, and crazy fishermen on the sea stacks. Our hike took a long time, even though this was our shortest day. We did stop at a beach for a break. I soaked my feet. The waves were rough, and we watched beginner surfers being tossed around in the waves - it didn't look like fun. 

We ate a huge dinner in town. We were hoping to go to the beach for a sunset, but it was too cloudy. I got to speak to Glen on the phone for the first time since the hurricane. I was so glad to talk to him!

Beautiful spot to eat breakfast outdoors.

So much food! And so good!

Snails crawling up fennel plants which grow wild

Huge rosemary plants are common here.

Farm dogs luckily fenced in

Eucalyptus trees are common here.

Mastic

We watched this fisherman to see if he caught any fish. He did, quickly.

Huge waves - but notice the fisherman out there on the sea stack!

These fishermen chose an easy spot to fish from.

Dinner in town. We ate a lot of olives on this trip.

Taking a late walk into town.

Fire pits every evening.
I enjoyed them, but smelled quite smokey afterwards.
Had a great conversation with a mother/daughter couple who happen to be 
doing the same hike our group is doing next year, starting on the exact same date!