September 13 - Friday, the 13th, what could go wrong? Well, nothing actually. Today was a very pleasant uneventful day in which we reached the 'Edge of the World'.

After what is becoming our typical breakfast of fruit, yogurt, and granola, we walked out of Vila do Bispo on our last southbound hike in Portugal. Our 13 mile hike was all on dirt road except for about 3 miles.

Once we left town, we could see forever in all directions since the plateau here is so flat. Water towers that we had passed days ago were still visible on the horizon and the edge of land where Portugal dropped to the sea was ahead of us.

Surfing is big business around here and we've become used to surf school vans flying past on roadwalks. This morning was the same, but that was the only traffic on this fairly peaceful hike.

We reached the western cliffs as we've done for the past week and followed them south to Cabo de Sao Vicente lighthouse where we could go south no more. This is known as the Edge of the World because it is the most southwest spot in Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula and Europe. It's the last but of land sailors would see when seeing off on adventures.

Today, it's more of a tourist trap with tour buses and gaggles of people stopping for selfies and then moving on. We found a sheltered spot for our sardine lunch and then hiked up the road.

From here, we take a big left hand turn and will be hiking east along Portugal's south shore for a couple days. Right away, the sea below us is a different color and is begging us to jump in. But as we're still over a hundred feet above that's not happening for awhile.

The last part of our hike into Sangres consisted of a wonderfully wide and smooth walkway along the road and some trail along the cliffs. This bit of trail, as well as a small section just north of the lighthouse, was extremely rocky rather than the sand we've become accustomed to.

Tip: If you are tempted to just walk the fast, easy road into Sangres from the lighthouse, you you will miss the first very beautiful views down into the 'new' ocean. The small extra distance and rougher trail are worth it.

Arriving in Sangres around 1:30, we found our lodging for the night and then headed to the beach which was just a 10 minute walk. It was beautiful, but the water was as cold as any mountain lake I've ever been in! Maybe as we head east it will warm, but I doubt it.

After our beach rest, we did our usual showers, groceries, and then dinner so we're ready for our penultimate day of hiking tomorrow.

Check out my current location on the map.