19. November

We continued along the Portuguese coast heading south to Cascais, an upscale suburb of Lisbon: cycling, climbing, and beach walks were on the agenda. We explored Lisbon with its lively alleys on the hills and its many historical and modern buildings by ferry and bicycle.

At Cabo Espichel, we hiked on 140 million-year-old dinosaur tracks and then continued to the fishing village of Sesimbra. From our top camping spot, we could observe dolphins and admire the sunset before the fishing boats set sail.

Next stop was Sagres, a sleepy surfer town in this season, where beautiful bays and cliffs alternate.

We then visited several stations along the Algarve before crossing the invisible border back to Spain. At - according to the guide - Portugal's most beautiful beach, our neighboring car was broken into during our 2-hour beach visit (we were probably spared because of the clearly visible alarm system).

Cádiz, a historically interesting city, reachable via an imposing bridge, impressed us with its many students and tourists.

Now we are in Tarifa, the southernmost city of mainland Europe. A storm ended the over 14-day spell of good weather. But you can still swim in the "warm" sea at around 17 degrees Celsius.

From now on, the journey back home begins: after 2.5 months of comfortable travel towards the southwest, we have 2 weeks to cover the 2,500 km return journey in order to be home in time for St. Nicholas Day.