Carrapateira to Aljezur . . .

Out early, without coffee . . . an hour to Bordeira, the first and last refreshment stop . . . and the cafe is closed when I arrive . . . Terrie turns up at 9 and gets the coffee on while I take the chairs off the tables . . . she is from South Africa, sailed to Portimao with her husband, loved Portugal, sailed again to the Cayman Islands (delivering boats both times) . . . settled there for a couple of years, living in fear of crime, as in South Africa . . . yearned for Portugal, divorced her Cayman Island loving husband, moved to Bordeira, took on the bar, which the owner had closed a year or two before in another marital disagreement . . . she is loving it and really getting to know the locals.
She helps with my understanding of the dynamics here . . . agrees the south coast is a disaster . . . says Padralva was restored by Portuguese lawyers from Lisbon, who have not paid all the owners . . . that the Portuguese soul is beautiful and distressed at losing the link with the land, albeit having been seduced by the money.

Back on the track, a lovely local dog joins me, trotting along with no fuss, seeming to say: We're not all like that nasty one yesterday . . . she turns back after a couple of kilometres, without saying goodbye . . . maybe she just likes having a human to take walking sometimes . . .

The route is beautiful again, the sound of the sea and the smell of honey . . . occasional stream to cross and a few showers of rain, the first I've seen in Portugal.

At lunch time the sea appears spectacularly, a great spot, if a little windy, for my bread and cheese.

Back inland and into Aljezur, meeting Chris, from Swanage, Dorset, who served in the RAF, then dealt antiques, before moving first to Spain, then here. He walked the Camino Frances a year ago, so we swap tales, then he points me to the Amazigh Hostel . . . the pousada de juventude being closed for a month . . . another surf place, good feel, thinking about an extra day, then Mark arrives from Raposeira . . . big waves forecast for tomorrow . . .