Cumulative Information Actual Distance: 128.0 kms Stage Description - Stingy Nomads Highlights & Challenges "Highlights
Challenges
Overall an relatively easy (early meaningful elevation gains) 21.4 km day…slightly cooler temperatures 😊…mixture again of road and coastal walking. Leonard indicated (I was walking ahead) that he had a tumble however it thankfully happened in the sand dunes. Highlights for me were food and the fisherperson (male/female?) perched on the towering cliffs. Last night I had a chance to taste another Portuguese seafood delicacy Red Mullet! For those who thirst for a little new knowledge 😉  The RED MULLET is a small, reddish fish with three longitudinal yellow bands. It is found in the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean, where it dwells on the bottom of the sea down to 100 m. It forms schools and feeds on crustaceans and small molluscs and fish. It spawns in late winter to early summer, the juveniles remaining in the water column, moving down to the bottom when they reach adulthood. It is fished with trawls and gillnets. The two barbs under the red mullet’s chin are sensory organs that it uses to grope the bottom and find food.
Upon arrival in Praia de Arrifina I had a superb Octopus 🐙 salad. This may well be the best Portuguese food tasting yet!
This morning started off with a generous breakfast offering (included in the price) at the Hotel Vincentina. They were well organized and prompt. I left fully charged for the morning as we made our way out of Aljezur.     Just past this bridge we met Horst (Austria) who informed us that he was leaving a day early. His reason « yesterday I felt the Camino spirit was no longer going to be there…so I will spend 3 days in Lisbon ». Somewhat perplexing as I thought it was well known that the Fisherman’s Trail is more a nature walk than a Camino walk. We exchanged particulars…Horst reiterated that free popcorn awaits should I visit his movie theatre in Grein Austria 😊. Sorry to see Horst leave…he was good company. Breaking news…totally unrelated to the Fisherman’s Trail…John (Irish walking friend on the Kerry Way) informed me that an arrest has been made in the Michael Gaine murder. I commented at length on this in my Kerry Way blogposts. Essentially John’s 2025 theory was bang on! Never a doubt in my mind that John…a former Police inspector and Academy trainor was right. While John professes to have had zilch involvement in the criminal investigation…I wonder 🤔 Leonard had done his homework and at a critical walking juncture pointed out that the Stingy Nomad GPX tracks were actually following the Historical route and not the Fishermen’s Trail. The advantages of the Fisherman’s Trail was a nice section of coastal beaches ahead, bypassing some elevation gains/losses. The disadvantage was 4-5 kms of pretty tedious road walking. I was hesitating however I accepted Leonard’s recommendation and on balance it definitely was the right choice. Disadvantage  Advantages      However the highlight for me was to see the fisherperson perched on the towering cliffs in the distance. I had seen this scene in researching the walk and feel fortunate to have witnessed it. Again photos don’t do this justice…I have no idea how they can catch fish form such a height…how they can remain there in the wind…how they don’t freak out!!!   Well that’s a wrap for the day…tomorrow ~ 25 kms await us to Carrapateira. Leonard indicates there are route discrepancies between Stingy Nomad, the official Rota Vincentina guide book and Outdoor Active GPX files. We will have to huddle and figure this out. A few other photos from the day. 
    And finally a couple of very dangerous stream crossings 😉   |
Friday, 27 February 2026
Rota Vincentina The Fisherman’s Trail - February 27, 2026 ~ Day 6 Aljezur to Arrifana
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