Hi everyone :)
Still discovering the Vincentine coast, located in the Nature Park of Southwest Alentejo we can find the quiet village of Odeceixe on the south bank of Ribeira de Seixe that marks the border between the Algarve and the Alentejo.
With an area of approximately 42 km², the village has a population of around 900, although this number varies greatly due to the bathing seasons that attract many tourists looking to spend a beautiful moment of serenity and tranquility in communion with nature.
We arrived after the festivities of popular saints, which are very characteristic of these rural spaces, but still in time to see some adornments that remained exposed to decorate the narrow streets that cross the village in zigzags.
With or without adornment, it will always be worth burning a few calories and taking a stroll through the village that presents us with a very picturesque architecture characteristic of the Algarve villages as well as beautiful cafes, restaurants and shops full of souvenirs and typical marine-inspired crafts such as jewelry. ethnic, bags, hats etc
There we can also find a wine museum, which was closed "unfortunately" during our visit.
There is also a windmill well known on those sides.
Usually people enter the village from the bottom by the Ribeira de Seixe, and to visit the windmill you have to take a long walk uphill, as the mill is at the highest point of the village and along the way you can see up close those little houses painted white with blue yellow or purple lines around the windows and doors and at the end of the climb all the effort is rewarded by the view across the valley.
The mill was built in 1898 and is still used today to grind corn and wheat.
In our case, as we came from Aljezur, we already reached the top of the village and it was just taking advantage of gravity to let us take the slope down to the center where we had a beautiful seafood lunch and let ourselves rest and digest, left over, sure :)
Even there in the village it was possible to become aware of a reality that raises serious concerns, not only for the locals but also for all those who worry about the environment due to the news about the intention of oil prospecting in the Algarve.
Fortunately the Court has halted oil drilling but environmentalists promised to continue the fight ... hopefully whatever the final decision, the environment will not be harmed once again by negligent human action.
This is the perfect place to sunbathe, lying on the sand without moving a muscle, moving on for a nice swim in the choppy waters and doing some nautic sports like surf...
...or choosing to turn right into the river and enjoy the calm and warm water where we can usually practice Stand Up Paddleboarding, canoeing or kayaking between many others activities..
There we have 2 realities in one ... I already forgot, we can also turn left, in fact, we can always turn left, but attention, in this place turning left is only for the bravest because there, separated by some rocks, located just south of Odeceixe beach we have Adegas beach...
...an official nudist beach... and to get there just walk a little at low tide, because there is nothing to stop you from going there except for high tide, and without knowing it was there that we ended up: P
As it is understandable, there are no photos to share :( :P
Already with our feet out of the sand, we can walk through the fishermen's trail "Trilha do Pescador" consisting of four sections and five additional circuits along the cliffs with a total of 120 km, not advisable to those afraid of heights.
There is also the historic path " Caminho Histórico" which links towns and villages along a rural trail.
Whichever trail you choose, the nature park is a great place to go hiking.
That´s all for today :)
See you soon
Thank you for watching :)
All photos presented in this article are my own
@aleister
