Walking the Fisherman’s Way ,and The Historical Way “2021”

THE BEGINNING,

  It feels strange, with the Covid pandemic and two years of minor isolation at home, I finally get to go and do one thing I love,,,,WALK.

Not just to walk, but to Ultra Walk, to experience new countries and new people, to get that warm burn in my legs from the uphill climbs, and the ache at the end of a long day of hiking on the "way", To drink local red wine at sunset and to eat clean food in a tiny local  beachside cafe with my friends.

Im sitting on the carpet of my office looking at Leonard, for those who have followed me before, you know Leonard, "Leonard the Girl Elephant". Leonard my backpack has done every step of all my walks that count, there are new designs and lighter and better materials on backpacks today, but the thought of upgrading and leaving Leonard behind isn't an option, we go till there is no more walking left, she and I.

I like my blogs to read in order, so I date them backwards, this way the first intro page always comes up first. to read, read down like a book, scroll down to see latest posts, and when the scroll stops, to continue, click on the opposite you need. click on "older posts" to get "newer posts".

The Historical Way, this is where we will start, then after a few days we will merge on to the Fishermans Way at the coast. We will continue down the coast where both trails will merge together again and we will walk on into Cabo de Sao Vicente, the most southwestern point of continental Europe, and the southern tip of the Portuguese Algarve.

This is the end of the journey taken for centuries by pilgrims walking in the steps of St Vincent

In the 4th century AC, a pile of human remains washed ashore on this far flung rocky outpost, then known as Roman Lusitania, this cadaver belonged to Vincent of Saragossa, a Christian martyr slaughtered by Emperor Diocletian. His body and flesh were supposedly protected from the vultures and scavengers by vigilant Ravens, whos descendants still reside along this coast today, These birds are depicted on the Coat of Arms of Lisbon for this service, and in the 12th century, Vincent's remains were transported to Lisbon where they are interned today, and this rocky promontory was renamed " Cape St Vincent."

Although the Historical Way, and the Fisherman's Way, are not officially part of the Camino Route to Santiago de Compastella in Spain, there is no doubt that many of the paths (ways) that we will be walking, were once used by pilgrims trying to get to Lisbon, and then to join the Camino trail north into Spain from there.

I walked that particular route when I started on my 1000 mile hike to Santiago de Compostela a few years ago.

Over the past few years, local organizations have worked diligently to link up the trails that have been used for centuries, and build them into two paralleling trails, all the way down the Algarve coast. These are the Historical Way, and the Fisherman's way, also known officially as "The Rota Vicentina" Way.

 I'm walking with my mate Bill, and his significant other, Paddy. Bill and I walked together, the 500 miles of the Camino Francaise in Spain two years ago, sadly, Kaz who walked with us then as well, and be came famous for seeing a five legged wild horse,, wont make this trek as the Australian government have decided not to allow anyone our of the country just yet. Its hard to grasp that they would do that to all the  Aussies, but with the troublesome characters like in Kaz,s case, understandable.

We all land in Lisbon on Oct 15th, 2021, where we meet up, grab transport by bus for a few hours, and head off to Santiago do Cacem for the night. This is ground zero for us and where we start the walk of almost 200 miles. Cant wait

GETTING READY

Like I said, I'm sitting here looking at Leonard, trying to remember just what to take. Two weeks of walking does not require much for the experienced walker, but for some ungodly reason, i seem to have packed for the apocalypse.

 Not like I don't have the experience, but seems all my trips start by packing this way, so this is where I pair down my belongings to about 12 lbs in weight, and that included Leonard. Minimum provisions and clothing means, someone is going to be smelly at some point.