September 12 - This was definitely a day of ups and downs.

We slept in and then had some plums, cocoa, and bread for breakfast at the hostel, so we didn't get out of town until almost 9:00, but the dirt roadwalk was pleasant to the coast.

The official Fisherman's Trail route had us drop down to three separate beaches today. That also means three climbs back up to the plateau! Each climb was about 400 feet and some were steeper than others.

Since the hike today was only about 10 miles, we decided to divert off the official trail which went inland, and stay on the coast another couple miles before heading inland to Vila do Bispo. This meant adding two more of those climbs, but we got to spend some time walking along almost a mile of nice beach.

I'd really recommend doing this, but with one change. At a four-way intersection about 6.5 miles south on trail from Carrapateira, stay on the yellow/red marked trail rather than the green/blue Fisherman's Trail so you tend west to the coast instead of straight south to Vila do Bispo.

When you drop down to the first beach, which is Prais de Barriga, just walk out onto the beach and follow it to the left/South for at least 2 miles to Beach Castelejo where you can follow the road, then trail, Southwest to Vila do Bispo.

This gets you on the beach for a long, pleasant walk with only one additional climb.

We met a few more German hikers - surprise! But, the trail was not very busy today. We did see a trail friend from Austria named Katie so we're looking forward to maybe running into her again.

We stopped on one beach for a sardine and crackers picnic and on another for a snack while we watched waves crash onto the rocks.

The hike ended with the typical roadwalk into town where we are staying in someone's apartment that has been changed to a lodging similar to AirBnB.

The wind was very strong today and the sun bright. It was a great day for walking.

With a little effort looking for a place that would take more than just cash, we enjoyed a dinner of sea bass and grilled shrimp in a tiny restaurant that was full.

Vila do Bispo is the first town on this trek that has had a 'real' grocery store, AND it has an Aldi store that we might visit on our way out of town tomorrow.

Excitement for today: my floppy sun hat got whipped off my head by the strong wind and almost down a steep hillside, but we retrieved it before it got away.

Check out my current location on the map.