Digital Diary - Road Trip Through Portugal and Spain - The Coast

After weeks of notifications that flights to Lisbon were really cheap, I finally caved and bought myself a ticket. Brian and I really enjoyed our time in Portugal a couple of years ago, and I was excited to get back and explore a bit more. Work has been a bit of a nightmare the last couple of months, so I was excited to get outta town, to a place where I didn't know anybody and couldn't understand anybody, and just have a good, old-fashioned, solo adventure. I landed in Lisbon by about 9 am, got my rental car, and headed towards the Sintra coast. It was sunny and 70 degrees and the flowers were all in full bloom and it was just beautiful. Apparently, Portugal and Spain finally got a ton of rain after a couple of really dry years, so everything was super green and lush. There were boardwalks down to the sand and a series of trails winding along the cliffs that went on forever.

I walked and soaked in the sun and hiked and climbed and explored for several hours and found a thousand different little coves and beaches and even some ruins.

The farther north I drove, the higher the cliffs rose and the more dramatic the coastline became. But the road didn't directly follow the coast, so I'd find a random, washed-out dirt road pointed in the general direction of the ocean, drive as far as I could, and then I'd go the rest of the way on foot which resulted in many, many miles of hiking that day. 

I finally arrived in the cute little surf town where (I'd thought) I'd booked my hotel for the night. Unfortunately, I'd messed up and booked it for 2026 instead of 2025, but they had a room available and were more than happy to accommodate me...thank goodness. Another great reason to travel off-season! I got takeout pizza, took a long shower, and hit the sack early.

The following morning started out a little chilly so I ate breakfast next to a cozy fire and then started my road trip down the coast towards the Algarve. 

Along the way, I stopped no fewer than a dozen times to walk along the coast and down to empty beach coves.  

There were vast fields of wild yellow lupine growing right up to the cliffs overlooking the water and the sweetest cows and it seemed like every spot was more beautiful that the last.

As I approached my destination for the night, I cut back through the most beautiful green rolling hills glistening under the golden hour light. 

My GPS directed me to a grouping of businesses and I got out to see if I could find my hotel. I wandered around for a bit until a construction worker took pity on me and offered to help me - though he spoke no English and I spoke no Portuguese. I asked for "hotel" and he showed me a door and signaled for me to knock really hard on it. I knocked a few times but there was no answer. I gave up and went to the car to WhatsApp the hotel to figure out where exactly it was. I Googled it to see photos of the entrance and realized that it was actually across the street from the building that I'd been lurking around for the previous 30 minutes. I got settled in, and then set back out to explore. 

I ventured down a really rugged dirt road in the general direction of the Atlantic until it became so sandy that I didn't really feel comfortable driving any further and set out on foot. I passed a guy with his bike coming back up from the beach and nodded at him as I went on my way. I got to the beach and there wasn't a single other person there. It was almost a little creepy because I didn't have any idea where I was, had no cell signal, and was on this wild coast and I've never felt so tiny and insignificant. I thought about if something had happened or if they guy with the bike came back and how easily it would have been to have just made me disappear. It was strange. I find myself thinking about things like that more frequently than I ever used to, for some reason. 

I walked along and watched the sun set and the tide roll out and the waves farther down south crash and make a mist in the air that the light bounced off of and it was lovely. 

After a bit, I trekked back to my car and went back into town and to the most incredible little Argentinian restaurant for dinner.

They only took cash so I had to find an ATM and it was freezing but I got some and took it back and then the waiter gave me some tiramisu for free to take back to my room for the night and it was probably the best tiramisu I've ever had. It was good day.