Distrito de Beja

We loved our Hostel. It was so clean and new and we had a great sleep. We got ready and were treated to a breakfast of fruit, yoghurt, beautiful mini baguette buns that were so fresh, meat and cheese, coffee and juices. We have a long day ahead of us as we walk close to 24 km to Zambujeira. We headed away after a short conversation with the lady next door who has a very friendly black cat and had been meowing so loudly as it walked along the fences outside our window last night! We had to walk past the town treatment plant on the way out and Anthony's comment, "Smell ya later!!" was fitting. We had a nice beach walk right away then climbed back up to the cliff trail. We were on a road for a bit which had a few warm up exercise stations. We had more sand walking for about 10 km. We saw actual dunes today. The conditions were cloudy to start the day, so the colors were darker and the sand redder today. The rock outcroppings were spectacular. We continue to see the beautiful flowers and succulents along the trail. Today we had forested areas with a lot of pine trees or bamboo and other low lying shrubs and trees. We came to a cliff area with steep steps down to the beach below. Anthony videoed for us and took photos as we descended and while on the beach. Here we had a bit of a drizzle but it didn't last long. We went inland to the town of Cavaleiro and walked around to look for food options. There was only one restaurant open so we stopped and enjoyed a lunch of pork, salad and some of the bun from our breakfast and a kombucha to drink. We saw a lot of locals coming in to eat as well. The food was very good. Joanne and I ate Anthony's little Nutella packs as our dessert getting back on the trail. This portion of the trail we saw the large storks and their huge nests on the outcrops of rocks. Some had their babies in the nests ready for food. The next portion of the walk was on dirt roads. It was very hot from this point on. It was 19 but felt like in the high 20's. Then more roads through bamboo and foliage on either side so not much to see. We came upon another bay with a momma stork and babies and from their we had a descent to a quaint fishing village in a bay and then a hill climb. From here we had a straight road walk for at least 3 km or so into Zambujeira. It felt long with nothing to look at. We just wanted to get to our hotel.
Our Breathe In. Was amazing. Another really nice, clean place. We stretched, showered then walked around town to find a place to eat. Our food was delicious. Anthony had an octopus salad, I had the pork tenderloin with salad and fries, Joanne had the sole with veggies and potatoes and Priya had the quinoa salad. We all tried the Feta covered French fries out of curiosity!! They came just as I described🤭🤔 The presentation of our food was so nice. We had rain while we ate. It didn't last long. We all had a hot drink together with some chocolate back at the Inn. We are all pretty tired so an early night😴Les mer