Praia Odeceixe

If someday I run away from home, this where you'll find me, ensconced at a cafe table sipping cafe com laite and eating pastel de nata. I wanted so much to come here, and I couldn't articulate why, but when we woke up that morning I'd already come to grips with the fact that we wouldn't have a car all day and I wouldn't get to see it. After all, our precious Golf was dented and it would take all day to fix. Resolute, we drove into Sao Teotonio, twisting and turning through the tiny streets to Manuels shop, where he'd agreed to meet us at 9:00. When we arrived, he promptly handed over the keys to his personal car, covered in an inch thick of orange Alentejo dust, and said, "here you take! Zambujeira do Mar!" This is their beach - everyone who lives here insists it's the best and only. This is how incredibly generous the people of this region are. After he demonstrated how to turn it off without draining the battery, we climbed in and headed to the coast, past cork forests and Eucalyptus groves.

Praia Odeceixe is only about 8km from Zambujeira do Mar, and it's situated right where the River Mira meets the sea. At 10 in the morning, there was plenty of parking and the beach was misty, wild, and nearly deserted. It's a pretty popular surfer beach, so guys in wetsuits were well into the water, but for us, we were free to explore the caves accessible at low tide and play in the river. As we were completely unprepared to have a car, the kids weren't in bathing suits and ended up swimming and rolling in the sand in their shorts. Husband and I retreated to the cafe up the cliff, which had a commanding view not only of the seascape, but also the shenanigans below. It was simply an incredible morning.

Alas, it was our last day in Portugal and there was much laundry, cooking, and packing to do back at the house. The last day is always this way - I cook everything in the fridge that we havent eaten because I can't stand waste. But first, a trail run along the goat tracks leading the main Rota Vicetina trail - alone and free, the uphills nearly killed me, but it was totally worth it. This is as close as I get to a religious experience.

We had patatas bravas for lunch and kefta, taouk, olives, tzatziki, and cheese for dinner. We ate on the terrace and said our goodbyes to this beautiful country.