Day 173
6 hrs*, 10 .0 kms

Not quite sure what else to explore here in southern Portugal. I would like to go all the way to Sagres, the southwesternmost tip of Europe, but it looks like the town there is very small, so I don't know if there will be any transportation there... luckily there is... So next morning I'm off to Sagres.

The bus drops me off in a windswept village on a vast plateau next to a steep drop overlooking the ocean. There's a small beach area that ends abruptly and then it's nothing but fearsome looking cliffs. On a penninsula jutting out into the sea, it looks like there's some sort of fortress, so I figure I should check it out.

There's something surreal about this place. You look one way, and it's calm, flat, treeless plains as far as you can see. Look to your right and land abruptly disappears into the abyss, and it's churning waters, and then open seas that go on forever. This place was known to the Romans as then "End of the World" . As far as they knew, this is where land ended and never began again. With a little imagination you can feel what they felt, gazing off into the horizon wondering if there is anything out there to the west other than water... knowing that anyone who dared venture out to find out would never come back.

Obviously, the Atlantic Ocean is not the Vast Unknown to me--it's just a little puddle that I hop across from time to time. But there are some unknown horizons in my life (this year ahead, for example). So this place and moment does suddenly have a special significance.

And suddenly I have a thought: I should do a Superhike, right here. An "End of the World" Superhike. But instead of heading out from here to to the sea, I'm going the opposite direction: inland, to take the first steps into the unknown new adventure, which is this year ahead.

The Southwestern Tip of Europe

I wander around the fortress, and the perimeter of the island where a couple hardy local fisherment are casting their lines into the churning sea far below . In one spot there a scary pit that opens up in ground--a sea cave withe the waves eating away at the rock far below.

But this isn't the tip of Europe yet... there's another penninsula a couple kilometers up ahead. I guess I can't quit now... I head on down the road, then veer off to follow along the rugged cliff instead.

Always keeping my eyes peeled for a good spot to do a video clip, I find one that I can't resist: If I set up my camera just right, I can hurry around and perch atop a little natural bridge, with the churning sea far below me... This will either be a cool little souvenir video of my trip--or this video could make me very famous... posthumously...

As I approach the Southwestern Tip of Europe, I suddenly realize that I just a few months ago I reached the SouthEASTERNmost corner of Europe: Astara, Azerbaijan (although I personally consider the Caucuses to be part of Asia--but that's another story) . Not only that, but I've actually covered the entire distance by land--although not all in one trip: Sagres- Algeciras: 2012... Algeciras-Paris-Budapest: 2009... Budapest-Istanbul: 2006... Istanbul-Astara, Azerbaijan: summer of 2012.

Can't really boast a whole lot--as I did the entire journey sitting on a bus or a train... but quite a journey nonetheless...

At the "End of the World" there's a lighthouse with another little castle right at the very tip. Next to the cliff on the northside is a plaque marking the spot where an adventurous German got a little too close to the edge... Hmmm, foolish fellow... Of course, I would never do anything like that...

Oh yeah... never mind...

Not wanting to retrace my steps, I hitch a ride back to Sagres with a young Portuguese surfer couple. The fellow tells me of his adventure of trying to make a living in the US as an artist...