Sesimbra -> Cabo Espichel Hiking 12.4

//  Oh yeah, another part about "what I have forgotten to tell and post to you" was our (at least mine, I think lady Micha has done many of these in spring time ;) ) longest hiking in 12 of April. We took a bus to Sesimbra early in the morning and were going to hike to Cabo Espichel, about 20 km walk, and then took a last bus back to Setúbal. 

Like... something like that, but in a green areas :D I forgot that good hiking page Micha showed to me. 

The trouble was that the buses. There were not so many buses so the risk was that we would get stuck in Cabo Espichel if we can't make it to the last bus. Then we would have to walk looooong way home haha :D  Let's see how it went:   // 

//  Well, it started little bit differently than we thought. We had one GPS machine, where Micha had put the route, but then we have little confusion where to continue after beginning, walking up really high hills. Weather started to be quite hot, we changed shorter clothes and still sweated like pigs, huhh.. When trying to find the right route, others wanted to try their own route. So yeah, in the end and after long talking we all decided to try that others one. Can't say it wasn't interesting :D 

We, for example went trough some big excavation area, lot of sand and huge pits everywhere, empty buildings and nobody there. Then we saw some explosion warning signs, eeekeeek. So, we decided to follow the road but we had to cross the gates. Usually people try to break in, we broke out that day hahahha.. some jumped and climed over the gates, my and Karens style was more.. Earthy way:   //

..And then some people try to make it little bit harder to pulling you legs same time you try to move forward.

//  Ok, after this:

"walking-a-circle-going-endlessly-somewhere-aaagh-where-we-are-where-we-can-find-good-hiking-road-ohnooo-we-have-to-make-to-that-bus-on-time-aaaaagahhhhh... "

- We decided to find again the loaded route, otherwise we couldn't catch the last bus. I think we found the right route about after 1-2 hours when we had walked already 5-7 km. liek more than we supposed to hahaha. But then we continued looking the GPS. Longlong walk and we stopped couple times to have lunch. For me the hardest was that during all the hiking, there were no trees or shelter from the sun, so all day we spend in hotness under the sun. But look at the views, wow! // 

Putting sunscreen

//  And then we arrived to Cabo Espichel: 

Time to rest

//  Views were amazing, so amazing.. 

 So it was worth that 25-7 kilometer walking day :D But I learned also about myself that for me, maybe hikings around 10-15 km are more my thing than these long ones :D But gosh, I'm so glad I didn't missed this. I think I will remember for the rest of my life that view when standing there andthat feeling, looking these amazingly huge rocks that looks like some really big animal had clawed the edges. I felt myself so small,so small standing there next to them. Part of the rock pictures are from Rafal. // 

Abandoned houses

// And yeah, you were still wondering, did we catch the last bus? 

We did! We took the last one to Sesimbra and there we changed to another bus to take us back to home. But because that we didn't have any time to visit to see Cabo Espichel dinosaur footprint place, and for some that was very disappoinment, aaew. But later we heard that the prints are not that big, quite disappoinment, after all big advertising you should expect more. But still, I never have seen any dinosaur marks, I think that's still cool anyway. 

Way to home was quite quiet, people were happy but quite tired, dirty, maybe burned and little bit hungry. But this day I will remember a long time. 

Hiking in Arrábida

Arrábidan luonnonpuistossa tuli vihdoin käytyä maaliskuussa kun kunto alkoi taas pitkän sairastelun jälkeen olemaan pikkasen parempi ja antibiootit oli loppusuoralla. Ja teki kyllä hyvää, ainoastaan alun jyrkkä ylämäki pisti vähän hidastamaan tahtia, muuten pysyttiin selvästi elävien kirjoissa. 

Otettiin Gps mukaan ja lähdettiin etsimään 12:sta geokätköä maastosta, monille porukasta se olikin ihan uusi, tuntematon juttu. Ite oon kyllä tässä asiassa niin kärsimättömyyden sipuli. Jos ei loogisimmista paikoista löydy kätköä, luovutan ja annan muiden etsiä, hahaha. Joten tälläkin kertaa reissu meni enemmänkin chillaillessa, hengittäessä metsää ja nauttiessa jalkeilla olosta ja seurasta ja jätin etsinnän muille innokkaimmille, mulle riittää rinnalla jännittäminen :D Ja hyvin tuntuu toimivan, pari taisi innostua ihan kunnolla geokätköilystä!  

Arrábida tosiaan sijaitsee ihan Setúbalissa, vartti keskustasta köpötellessä niin olet jo metsässä (suomalaiset huokaa nyt ilosta). Ja niin erinnäköistä on kyllä kuin Suomen metsissä! Ei näy havupuita, mutta muutama kaktus ja tuommoisia ihania Afrikka-puita, miten minä niitä nimitän hahah. Aivan valloittavia, kun ne törröttää tuolla tavalla yksitellen kukkulalla. :D Ja tosiaan on hyvin kukkulaista, näkee kaikki hienot vuoret/kukkulat jotka ympäröivät Setúbalia. Maaperä on sellaista keltaisen punertavaa ja paikoittain hyvin pehmeetä. 

Taivas ei kuvien puolesta ollut otollinen, oli tosi pilvistä ja harmaata, joten kuvat voivat näyttää vähän puhkipalaneilta yläosista.

Reitillä tuli vastaan niin maastopyöräilijoitä kuin enduroajajiakin. Ja kaikki moikkkaa, tervehtii, toivotti hyvää huomenta, tai vähintään heilauttaa kättään ohimennessä. Vitsi miten hyvät, lämpimät tavat täällä on, vaikka olisi tilanne päällä, kädet tangolla ja jyrkkä alamäki ja 15 pöllämistynyttä Erasmulaista vastassa, niin silti tervehditään kuin tuttuja. Voi kuulostaa pikkiriikkiseltä jutulta, mutta Suomessa tämä olisi aivan mahdottomuus. Jos moikkaa, moikkaa vain tuttuja. Täällä tämä avoimuus ja avuliaisuus on kyllä niin toista, ai että tykkään. Tämä päivä taisi olla yksi niistä ensimmäisistä kun aloin tajuamaan, että paluu Suomeen alkaa pelottaa, päivät lentää nyt tosi nopeaan. 

//  In the middle of the March we went to hiking in Arrábida, National Park of Setúbal. Or well, it was more like geocathing this time but for me it was more just walking and try to stay alive after I had been sick a long time again. And for me it needs too much patience, I get frustrated very fast and then give up if I can't find it in 5 minutes, ahhaha. So I enjoyed more the views, company, and smelling this beautiful nature and let the others look the catches :D perfect solution!

So, Arrábida. I'ts right next to centrum of Setúbal, from main streer Louisa Todi you walk there about 15 minutes, not bad at all (and here is the time when Finnish people sigh [because most of us love forests and nature and even better if it's close to us all the time]). But yeah, nature and soil is beautiful and so different comparing to Finland. There is lot of red, yellow and green everywhere. And these cute trees that looks like from some African pictures aaaw :D They are the cutest when they are like single popped out on top of the hill, like you can see in the first picture of this post. Awww. //  

//  We met also some mountain bikers and enduro drivers, and all of them waved to us or greet us saying good morning etc. It felt so happy, they were so non-Finnish, so nice for straingers like us and we greeted back. People here are so warm, so nice and also helpful. Especially when you look like you're lost, you just have to give that one dear-look and here they are. Oh I was so happy. I think these days were the first I really started feeling like I'm little bit scared to return back to Finland, where people are sometimes too tensed and careful about everything.. I think they will start to scare me too after Portugal , if I start to greet strangers on the street and touching and kissing everybody like here :D Ahahah. my lovely, dear, but sometimes really weird country ♥  //

Picture from Michaela

Hiii Setúbaaal!