6. Etappe von Aljezur nach Arrifana

This last stage turned out to be the most difficult for me, even though the hiking guide describes it as relatively short. This may have been because I started out very relaxed and lost the way as I left Aljezur and relied on the advice of a local resident to go cross-country to the main road and uphill at the white house on the left of the road. This description took me far away from the fisherman's path and it took me some effort to find the right path again with the help of Google Maps. Happy and proud to have managed this, I managed the climbs and descents that followed with a smile and, finally back on the coast, rewarded myself with a refreshing swim in the Atlantic. I continued in the midday heat over lava rock that had covered this stretch of coast during the great earthquake of 1755. But soon the ground changed again to deep sandy paths that led through the lush dune landscape. The trail signs were really easy to miss here and I found myself cursing every now and then because I had to take a few extra turns.

So I arrived at the destination hostel in Arrifana completely exhausted, but recovered surprisingly quickly. Was it the cool shower or the cold beer? - It doesn't matter. In any case, the evening was long and wonderful, because all the hikers from this day's stage met up in the hostel bar, there were lots of nice conversations, a fabulous sunset and live music and dancing. So my first real hiking holiday came to a great end.

Today we're going back to Lisbon, where we have 2 full days to explore and enjoy the city. Hopefully I can still stand the hustle and bustle of the big city.