Why the Best Adventures are Unplanned

I was lucky enough to spend the month of November of 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal. Being in the hub of a vibrant city enabled me to access cheap flights and rental cars to get off the beaten path and explore some of the best sights that Portugal had to offer. While Portugal wasn't the cheapest country by any means (being in Europe) but it afforded some incredible coastline.

West Coast is the Best Coast

We set out from Lisbon in a convoy of classic UMM jeeps. We headed West towards the picturesque Sintra region to visit some stunning coastline as well as the most western point in continental Europe, Cabo da Roca. At Cabo da Roca, we had some Ginjinha(Portuguese sour cherry liquer) to warm up, as well as some Port wine, of course.

This visit included a stop for lunch at the picturesque village of Azenhas do Mar for a nice, local seafood lunch.

We were meant to drive by the palaces in Sintra, but shortly after we arrived at Cabo da Roca, it started pouring rain and was as dark as night. As we wound through the forested back roads of Sintra (getting incredibly carsick), we abandoned the mission and headed to the train station to go back to Lisbon.

The Azores Islands

The Azores are a set of nine volcanic islands way off the coast of Portugal. Cait and I decided, relatively on a whim to leave Lisbon for the weekend and fly out into the ocean to visit the Azores islands; specifically the Island of Sao Miguel. This weekend would prove to be memorable for several reasons.

After a short flight we arrived and picked up our car at the João Paulo II airport. We then hit the road North across the island to check into our Air Bnb. Along the way we had a very scenic drive beside verdant fields, thick groves of lush trees and rough, high stone walls which separated farmers' fields. Upon arrival we were greeted by an incredibly friendly host with a plate of fresh cookies, cheese, mini melba toasts, a package of fresh, fluffy flatbread, butter and two different kinds of local liqueur. After having an impromptu feast and hastily dropping our bags we hit the road and headed West to explore the island.

It seemed like a beautiful day until we started climbing up towards the volcanic crater and purportedly the best views on the island (Lagoa das Sete Cidades) on the West side of the island. It seemed like we were driving into a cloud, then the rain and winds hit us. We found a parking spot, and decided to walk towards what looked like an unmarked trail at the back of the lot. Being intrepid hikers, we set off through the dense foliage into the unknown. As we walked, the trail became narrower and more muddy, and our path was obscured by humongous leaves, soaked with water from a recent rainfall. As we began to question whether this was indeed a path at all, we hit an abrupt rise in the path up to a ridge - where we could see, just barely through the clouds, the ocean. We followed the ridge until we came to an abandoned hotel.

We found out later that this was the Hotel Monte Palace, once a sprawling luxury hotel with incredible views of the island, only in use for two years in the '90s, since abandoned. It was initially manned by a security guard, but now sits completely empty, all furniture and appliances looted. We jumped a short wall to gain entry and it felt as though we were in a post-apocalyptic zombie movie, complete with spray-painted warnings that "death is here". You can imagine the glorious place that this once was, but is now moldy, waterlogged and incredibly dangerous, with open elevator shafts and pitch-black stairwells leading into a mysterious basement.

All the Hot Springs!

So what better activity to undertake after a rainy, cloudy, incredibly windy day? Unwind at one of the myriad volcanic hot springs on the island (we'd end up visiting three of them over the weekend) - that is, if you don't mind the smell of sulphur. Seeing the "caldeiras" makes you realize how powerful the inside of the earth is - gotta love that geothermal energy!

Sao Miguel Magic

Sao Miguel was a magical place (it's also where Cait and I decided to become exclusive), ultimately our best memories from the weekend were places we'd stopped along the road that looked interesting. For example, we pulled over beside a chunk of an old aqueduct - which we'd later discover was a UNESCO site - and across the road was a winding trail that led up the side of a hill - from the top we could see the entire island - we were whipped violently (nearly off of our feet) by the wind, and pelted by a sharp rain as we descended, soaking wet as we flopped into the car, breathless and exhilarated.

Sao Miguel, Azores

Porto Covo & Fisherman's Trail

We rented a car from the Lisbon airport and headed south with some incredibly sunny and warm weather at our backs (although this nice weather would be somewhat short-lived!). After a short drive we arrived in the sunny, windy, sleepy town of Porto Covo. Although I've never been to Greece, the white buildings with blue trim shining in the sun could have easily transported us there. In fact, Porto Covo is so sleepy, that when we got up the following morning to find some breakfast, everything was still closed. This was on a Saturday morning! Things didn't really get started until after 10am. We managed to scrounge up some bread, meats and cheeses and had an impromptu breakfast charcuterie board.

In any case, we set out on the Fisherman's trail at a leisurely pace as we'd stop often to marvel at the stunning rocky coastline and violent waves crashing against it. We decided to walk the Porto Covo > Vila Nova de Milfontes stretch of the trail - although that day we only made it about 8 kilometers along the 20 kilometer stretch.

One of my favourite spots along this stretch of trail was the Praia da Ilha do Pessegueiro, a scenic beachfront spot in front of the Fort of Pesseguiero, built in 1588 with an adjacent island fort. While the fort was locked up, we were able to marvel at the peacefulness of the surrounding countryside and meditate on the storied history of this region. We laid out towels on the rocky beachfront, shook the sand out of our shoes and made a pleasant lunch of some local cured meats and cheeses, before heading back, as the weather was clearly starting to turn with an electric feeling in the air.

Follow Your Instincts

While it's great to have a plan and an itinerary while traveling, what I have learned from these adventures in Portugal is that it's important to remain flexible and spontaneous, as the best adventures have come from following less-trodden paths and going with my gut. It also helps to have a traveling partner who is up for anything. If you find one of these people hold on to them and go adventure out into the unknown.