Day 5 on the Rota Vicentina

The Fisherman’s Trail

Vila do Bispo to Cabo de San Vincente 14.5 km/9 miles

You can find all of the Rota Vicentina posts here.

We all woke up well-rested and happy for our final day on the trail.

The breakfast at our guest house, Pure Fonte Velha in Vila do Bispo, was absolutely gorgeous, so we filled up before hitting the road.

Once we finally got going, we walked from the village toward the sea, through wildflower fields and over dusty roads.

We continued on our last day with our theme of not being in a hurry, trying to soak up these last hours along the cliff tops.

From early in the morning, we could see the tiny speck of the lighthouse that we were walking towards.

We knew we would reach it eventually. There was plenty of time and we were loaded up on snacks.

We talked as we walked and as we sat looking out at the waves rolling up on the beaches and rocks below. We had all finished telling our life stories so we talked about our hopes and dreams for the years ahead. And where we’d like to travel to next.

The last stretch was super rocky, so you had to watch your steps. We could also see more and more people, as the lighthouse receives a lot of visitors.

When we reached the lighthouse, we walked around a little while and took some photos. It was kind of busy right inside the main area, and we were all hungry and tired. So we found a food truck outside the main gates and had some lunch while we waited for the bus to town.

It’s funny how sometimes getting to the end is a bit anticlimactic. Especially on a walk like this one where the sum of all the views during the days of walking by the ocean was far more impressive than the lighthouse itself. But still, we had the feeling that we did what we set out to do.

We had to wait a while for the bus so we ended up sitting around on the ground playing cards. We got so tickled and laughed so hard that when the bus driver arrived, he joked that he was not going to let us on the bus because we were too loud.

I think the giddiness was the feeling of finishing the sweet week of walking washing over all of us.

When the bus dropped us in Sagres, we checked into our place and then headed to the beach for a celebration sangria, followed by dinner at a place called A Sagres. Another favorite meal for sure.

The charming restaurant owner told us which dishes were the best. We took his advice and ordered all his recommendations. More fish soup and shrimp and mussels and yummy garlicky buttered bread to sop everything up.

It was a perfect final night on the Rota Vicentina.

The next morning we caught the bus back to Lisbon for one last night together, but this was our final night by the sea.

Goodbye Rota Vicentina! I’m sure I’ll be back one day. It’s just too beautiful not to return!