After a quiet few days relaxing and a walk into Lagos to get more wool for the jumper I am knitting for Scruffbag, we decided to undertake our longest walk so far, the 12 plus miles from Figuera to Sagres.
The first stretch of the walk passes through farmland dotted with fig trees and almond trees, after which there is a fairly steep climb up to the clifftop.
The walk itself is strenuous with much climbing of cliffs and descending into valleys but it is well worth it, passing many beautiful and isolated beaches and passing through woodland and scrub.
Luckily for our poor legs the final stretch into Sagres is relatively flat
We definitely needed a day of rest after the long trek! After market day on Saturday and a shortish walk to Bergau on Sunday, we were ready for the arrival of our friends Nick and Liz late on Sunday evening
Nick is a keen bird watcher so the week featured visits to many local bird watching spots. On the first day of their visit, after a morning spent wandering round Luz, we drove down the road to Boca de Rio, a marshy area that had been underwater when we arrived in January but was now mainly marsh with a small flow of water at the edge flowing into the sea. We enjoyed a walk around the edge of the marsh and saw finches, egrets and stonechats and what was possibly a cuckoo.
Next day it was off to Alvor again for lunch and another wander round the boardwalk looking for birds. We did see more birds this time than we had with Geraldine and Gordon but not, unfortunately, the elusive bluethroat that I had been looking for,
After Alvor it was off to the nearby marshland for early evening. We were there 4 years ago and it was teeming with birds, including a flock of flamingoes. However, this time there were two large breaches in the seawall, which had completely changed the salinity. Although we saw birds, they were far fewer in both numbers and variety, although we were rewarded with the sighting of a short eared owl as we returned to the car park.
After a quiet Wednesday with cloudy weather, we decided upon a long drive over the mountains the next day to the neighbouring region of Alentejo. Nick had heard that there were large groups of bustards to be found on the steppes and was keen to see them. Unfortunately we were out of luck on the bustard front apart from the wooden model at the entrance to the nature reserve but we did see some big raptors, including some large Spanish eagles too high to photograph and lots of close range storks.
On Friday we headed out to Salgado, a wetland reserve near Albufeira, where we had been told we would find lots of wading birds. We were certainly well rewarded. I was particularly impressed by a pair of spoonbills and we could even see flamingos in the far distance.
On the way home we were headed for another site for early evening, a good time to see birds. Unfortunately we got hopelessly lost and ended up in an area full of camper vans. As luck would have it, however, just as we were about to leave, a flock of hoopoes decided to grace us with their colourful presence
On Nick and Liz's last day with us we began the day by visiting an area of dunes on the west coast where we had been told we would see the emerging spring flowers.Not only were we rewarded with lots of floral beauty but also by a beautiful wild and windswept coastline.
Leaving the dunes we drove to the mouth of the Aljezur river for a walk and a picnic lunch. Apart from a lone kestrel, birdlife was sadly lacking but the scenery was beautiful and the weather was again warm and sunny.
All too soon the week was at an end and we waved our friends goodbye, settling down for another week together before our last visit from friends while we are here in Luz.
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