Day 61 – to Carrapateira (Portugal)

An old friend of mine, Karen from Netherlands, who I know from my cycle trips, had spent time in August in the south west of Portugal on the Rota Vincentina, and convinced me to come here also. So first thing today was the journey down there, which took about three hours. There is a slow section once over the border on really damaged roads.

I was keen also to get to the most southwest point in Europe, Cape St Vincent. Bikepacking.com have recently launched a new long distance route (the European Divide), from the far northwest corner of Europe, on the Finland-Russia border, to this point. A route that is mainly off-road, and looks quite tremendous; one day, maybe..

The town of Sagres neighbours Cape St Vincent, and despite the expected tourists, I was keen to have a wander there. It was mid-afternoon, and it’s wasn’t as busy as I expected. I had initially thought of staying here. It is possible in one of the big car parks, but there were hundreds of other vans in what was just a large open space, without view. During the pandemic the Portuguese police have been very forceful in enforcing a camping ban on all the beach car parks, but a German guy told me that only recently, this ban had been lifted.

Instead of staying in Sagres I headed up to Carrapateira, and just as it was going dark, about 5:30 pm, found a bar for a beer and consider options. Portugal is the same time as UK, so I gained an hour crossing the border. The bar-restaurant was appealing, and I soon got chatting to a couple of German ladies walking the Rota Vicentina in five days. Last year they had walked Hadrian’s Wall. As time got on, I ate at the restaurant, and decided the van could stay in their car park.

Roja having a dip with a German Labrador he met. These beaches attract a lot of surfers. Their vans certainly vary in quality, but all are very much taken care of.