Arrival in Faro – Monday 18.03.2024
Today it’s finally that time again. In the morning I put on my hiking boots, take my backpack and leave my apartment. My mother is kind enough to take me to the airport. We get there shortly before 1 p.m., have a coffee in the parking lot and eat a piece of cake. Then I say goodbye and go through security. While I’m waiting to get on, I at least have some time to prepare for the PCT.
A short time later I’m already sitting on the plane and after a little delay we finally take off. Since I’m taking a short nap again, the almost 3 hour flight goes by quickly and I’m really excited again when we approach the landing, where we get a beautiful view of the city of Faro and the sea.
We finally land shortly before half past seven local time. While I was still on the runway, I could smell the sea and it immediately gave me that holiday feeling. It takes me about 15 minutes by bus to get to the city center, where I have booked accommodation for tonight. After checking in, I left the room straight away and took a short detour to the harbor, which was less than 5 minutes away.
Unfortunately, since it was already dark, I couldn’t see too much, so after a few minutes I went looking for something to eat.
Since I was by the sea again, I actually wanted to eat fish or seafood. Strangely enough, all the restaurants in the immediate vicinity only served burgers or pizza, so today I had to settle for a burger again. At least it tasted pretty good.
Afterwards I went back to my accommodation and soon went to sleep.
Continue to Vila Real de Santo Antonio
Today I got up early again. I had a quick breakfast at the accommodation and then packed my things again.
I ran straight to a supermarket to get something to eat for the next few days. On the way I took a quick look past the harbor and took a detour to a church that looked interesting from the outside, which wasn’t just because of the stork on the ledge of the roof.
In fact, there was a lot to see inside.
Behind the church there was a small garden and a chapel that took some getting used to, in which all the walls were decorated with bones and skulls
Afterwards I went straight to a Decathlon, where I got a gas cartridge. Equipped with everything I needed, I walked back into the city center.
Since I wanted to continue east today to the border with Spain and the train wasn’t supposed to arrive until half past 12, I walked along the water to the old town. On the way, the old city wall was also visible, which separated the old town from the seaside promenade.
After walking around the city walls, I checked out the city’s cathedral.
The church was very magnificently furnished and there was a lot of gold visible, which once again showed the once glorious times of Portugal. I found the tile art typical of Portugal particularly beautiful.
Various items from older eras were exhibited in the associated museum.
I then climbed a narrow staircase to the bell tower. From above I got a nice view over the city and the harbor. Further back the airport was also visible and I could see planes approaching.
When I finished the tour and looked at the clock, I realized that it was already 11:10 and I only had 12 minutes to get to the train. So I quickly left the old town and made my way to the train station. Even though I was in a hurry, I still had to stop for a moment to take a picture of the beautiful fruit trees and the storks on the roofs of the city. After that, things went on even more quickly.
When I arrived at the station building, I bought a ticket at the counter and then got on the train that was already waiting at the platform.
A short time later I drove further east for over an hour. At the beginning we went directly along the sea and later passed increasingly past orchards and salt plants.
We arrived in Vila Real de Santo Antonio shortly before 1 p.m.
Since it was lunchtime, I stopped at a restaurant by the water and had some grilled fish.
After eating, I sat by the river for a while and listened to the sound of the water. Across the river, which marks the border between Spain and Portugal, parts of the Spanish town of Ayamonte were visible.
Since I didn’t want to start walking from here until tomorrow, I later walked around the city a bit and looked at various sights. Unfortunately, the city’s lighthouse, which you could still visit before Covid, was still closed and so I could only view it from the outside.
In the afternoon I went to my current accommodation. On the balcony I wrote a bit on my blog and watched the first stages of my hike. Afterwards I took a long bath, then read a book and enjoyed the peace and quiet in the fresh air. When the outside temperature was over 20 degrees, it was really pleasant and after the last few stressful weeks at home, it really felt like a vacation to me.
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