2 February to Vila do Bispo

As I prepared to decamp the sunrise was deep red through the pine trees of the campsite. Maybe a shepherd's warning however the day was sunny with a north wind keeping things cool. First I walked to Cabo Sao Vicente where the Via Algarviana and a few other long distance paths start. Cabo S Vicente is the south-west corner of Europe and lacked the commercial enterprises selling soft drinks and souvenirs you might expect. There was a lighthouse and some buildings that you cannot access, cliffs (with a few fishermen precariously fishing off some ledges on them) and a lot of open ocean. As in other places along the coast there were a number of motorhomes no doubt escaping, like me, the inclement weather in Northern Europe.
From the cape the path follows small roads and tracks through flatish landscape often left to grow wild and used for sheep grazing or hunting. Coming from the British winter I was struck by the number of flowers, daisies in densely packed patches, various yellow flowers and others I could not identify. A short day today at 22 km from the campsite.

Road north from Cabo Sao Vicente

I stayed the night at Vila do Bispo, in the Casa Mestre guesthouse. Two other hikers were staying there but they were heading north on the GR11. They were cooking pasta in the communal kitchen but I was keen to try the local cuisine. There were many restaurants in Vila do Bispo, most of them closed. I went in the first one open as their only customer that evening. As I had troubling identifying something on the menu that was actually available I asked for a recommendation. Pigs cheeks were suggested, not on the menu but better than the name suggests served as a casserole and very tender.