Today we start at the port of Lagos. It is a pretty, old town with a rich history, including an eighth-century Muslim conquest and Europe's oldest covered slave market, but with it's cosy alleyways lined with white houses, Lagos has a lovely feel to it. This larger town is already quite lively on a saturday morning. We walk eastwards and follow a wide, long beach. At first along a nicely constructed decking path, but when the path ends, we continue on the beach. Walking close to the sea is actually quite comfortable. The beach is filled with beautiful shells, so we are soon beachcombing. The beach extends to Alvor and is only interrupted by a narrow river that flows into the sea. Unfortunately, no bridge has been built, so we have to walk around a large wetland a bit more inland from here. It's a beautiful 'Natura 2000' area and a clever combination of culture and nature. Salty lakes, small rivers and canals, dry stretches for cattle breeding, farmland, oyster and fish farms.
We walk past orange trees with big orange fruits that seem ready for harvest. We can't resist and try one. It's super juicy, but also very sour and bitter! Maybe it needs to ripen a bit longer... The bunches of bananas on plants a bit further down the road, show more clearly that they need a bit more time. They are still green, but a beautiful sight with the big red flower at the end.
At the end of this wetland, we need to follow a major road for a few kilometres. Unfortunately, there are no paths nearby, so there's no other option. But it's easy to keep a fast pace and we pass dozens of storks, a few blue magpies fly through the bushes along the road and the verges are again full of spring flowers. It all makes this stretch worthwhile again.
When we leave the main road, we quickly walk into the wetlands again. In the last stretch to the campsite in Alvor, we see many waterbirds on high stilts, wading through the water in search of food. A kingfisher flies by and at the end we even see a group of flamingos! What a beautiful area, it's so different from the past few days. A lot flatter, but beautiful! The Algarve really is a magnificent walking area.
