{"id":171,"date":"2016-10-23T15:49:39","date_gmt":"2016-10-23T15:49:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bootsnotroots.com\/?p=171"},"modified":"2021-12-01T20:11:35","modified_gmt":"2021-12-01T20:11:35","slug":"hiking-the-edge-of-europe-in-portugal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bootsnotroots.com\/hiking-the-edge-of-europe-in-portugal\/","title":{"rendered":"Hiking the edge of Europe in Portugal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>We walk a lot. We even hike sometimes. I would even dare to say that I have strong hiking legs. So when we had the opportunity to hike through Cascais-Sintra Natural Park with&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.portugalwalkhike.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Walk Hike Portugal<\/a>&nbsp;we couldn\u2019t turn it down. What we didn\u2019t know when signing up for this adventure was that we would experience a number of emotions all at the same time. Relaxation combined with stress. Joy combined with fear. Boldness combined with caution. Courage combined with timidity. But the emotion that stood out the most? Appreciation for the amazing world around us. This hike with Francisco and Teresa will be one we remember for a lifetime. Hopefully, this post inspires you to embark on a journey with this amazing team the next time you trek to Portugal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is Walk Hike Portugal?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The team at&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.portugalwalkhike.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Walk Hike Portugal<\/a>&nbsp;is made up of a team of 7 avid hikers, walkers, and even a wine consultant! Their hiking experiences range from day hikes to multi-day experiences focused around the Sintra\/Colares region in western Portugal. From WalkHikes along the edge of Europe to WalkHikeWine adventures you can\u2019t go wrong with this team. Next year they will be expanding to the Azores and you can bet we will be reaching out to book a multi-day experience&nbsp;when we make our trek out to these amazing islands in the coming year or two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What should we bring on the hike?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Hiking boots<\/li><li>Camelback or some type of water carrier<\/li><li>Hiking boots<\/li><li>Sunscreen<\/li><li>Hiking boots<\/li><li>Sunglasses<\/li><li>Hiking boots<\/li><li>Hat that stays on your head no matter the wind speed<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you see a theme here? I thought I could get by with my dingy running shoes. Wrong. A soft shoe is not the place for these hikes. Teresa and Francisco had a whole extra level of stress added because of my poor planning. They\u2019re such good people so please just bring hiking shoes so you don\u2019t worry them any more than they need to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">This seems intense. How in shape do I need to be?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20161023022928im_\/http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/bootsnotroots.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Rock-faces-on-hike.jpg?resize=697%2C523\" alt=\"Hiking in Cascais-Sintra Natural Park is one of those experiences you will never forget. With WalkHike Portugal you can experience a part of Portugal that most never have the opportunity to see.\" class=\"wp-image-1844\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>All depends on the level of difficulty of the hike you book. You could book an easier stroll through the forests of Sintra or a harder hike along the western european coves. We went on the \u201cSoft Version\u201d of the&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.portugalwalkhike.com\/experiences-calendar\/tour\/western-europe-coves-walk-hike-sintra\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Western Europe Coves<\/a>&nbsp;adventure and it was rated at \u201cmoderate\u201d. If we would have had proper hiking boots (see my notes in the last section) and a camelback we would have been perfectly fine. However, because we didn\u2019t come properly prepared and the wind was out of this world (more on that later) we struggled quite a bit. Before heading out just ask them what you will need and heed their advice. &nbsp;They will keep you safe no matter what, but to have the best experience you should come prepared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hiking on the edge of Europe<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20161023022928im_\/http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/bootsnotroots.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Cove-in-Sintra.jpg?resize=697%2C928\" alt=\"Hiking in Cascais-Sintra Natural Park is one of those experiences you will never forget. With WalkHike Portugal you can experience a part of Portugal that most never have the opportunity to see.\" class=\"wp-image-1840\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The hike we went on allowed us to walk literally on the edge of Europe. Off the main trail that is further away from the cliffs we trekked along the edge of cliffs overlooking some of the most gorgeous scenery I have ever had the fortune of laying my eyes on. The hike started off nice, flat, and easy but as you continue on there are quite a few ups and downs making the scenery more dramatic (and beautiful). The guides (in our case Teresa and Francisco)&nbsp;know this area backwards and forwards and will tell you all about the various scenery (and rocks!) as you move along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20161023022928im_\/http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/bootsnotroots.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Guide-holding-rock-in-Sintra.jpg?resize=697%2C525\" alt=\"Hiking in Cascais-Sintra Natural Park is one of those experiences you will never forget. With WalkHike Portugal you can experience a part of Portugal that most never have the opportunity to see.\" class=\"wp-image-1841\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, this massive rock below is known as the \u201ccheese rock\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20161023022928im_\/http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/bootsnotroots.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Cheese-rock-in-Sintra.jpg?resize=697%2C523\" alt=\"Hiking in Cascais-Sintra Natural Park is one of those experiences you will never forget. With WalkHike Portugal you can experience a part of Portugal that most never have the opportunity to see.\" class=\"wp-image-1837\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the tours are all small the pace can be adjusted to your comfort giving you the unique opportunity to really enjoy everything around you. In our case, the winds were crazy strong (over 30 km\/h) and Francisco and Teresa altered our route quite a bit to ensure we were safe from flying off of these massive cliffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20161023022928im_\/http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/bootsnotroots.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Hikers-walking-on-cliff-face.jpg?resize=697%2C639\" alt=\"Hiking in Cascais-Sintra Natural Park is one of those experiences you will never forget. With WalkHike Portugal you can experience a part of Portugal that most never have the opportunity to see.\" class=\"wp-image-1842\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>As we started to walk inland to avoid the wind, Francisco and Teresa continuously reassured me that they would keep us safe and lo and behold they did. Sometimes you just need a little bit of fear of flying off of a cliff to light up that courage deep down and keep moving forward. It should be noted that at no point were we actually in any danger. I\u2019m just a scaredy-cat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20161023022928im_\/http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bootsnotroots.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Teresa-walking-along-the-path.jpg?resize=697%2C928\" alt=\"Hiking in Cascais-Sintra Natural Park is one of those experiences you will never forget. With WalkHike Portugal you can experience a part of Portugal that most never have the opportunity to see.\" class=\"wp-image-1846\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Eventually the call was made that we couldn\u2019t continue due to the extreme winds and although we couldn\u2019t finish our entire hike we felt a sense of accomplishment for making it as far as we did. Looking back towards the cliffs we had climbed the hubby and I hugged each other and felt a deep sense of appreciation for how amazing nature really is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20161023022928im_\/http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/bootsnotroots.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/View-from-end-of-hiking-path.jpg?resize=697%2C347\" alt=\"Hiking in Cascais-Sintra Natural Park is one of those experiences you will never forget. With WalkHike Portugal you can experience a part of Portugal that most never have the opportunity to see.\" class=\"wp-image-1847\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The experience with Walk Hike Portugal reignited a sense of adventure in me that I hadn\u2019t even realized I had lost until this hike. We are looking forward to joining them in the Azores in the near future to experience these majestic islands in a different way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Happy Trekking!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2013 Boots not Roots<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Like this post? Why not pin it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>**Special thanks to&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.portugalwalkhike.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Walk Hike Portugal<\/a>&nbsp;for hosting us on this hike. As always, my opinions expressed are 100% my own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We walk a lot. We even hike sometimes. I would even dare to say that I have strong hiking legs. So when we had the opportunity to hike through Cascais-Sintra Natural Park with&nbsp;Walk Hike Portugal&nbsp;we couldn\u2019t turn it down. What we didn\u2019t know when signing up for this adventure was that we would experience a &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"Hiking the edge of Europe in Portugal\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/bootsnotroots.com\/hiking-the-edge-of-europe-in-portugal\/#more-171\" aria-label=\"More on Hiking the edge of Europe in Portugal\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":172,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bootsnotroots.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bootsnotroots.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bootsnotroots.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bootsnotroots.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bootsnotroots.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/bootsnotroots.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":359,"href":"https:\/\/bootsnotroots.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171\/revisions\/359"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bootsnotroots.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bootsnotroots.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bootsnotroots.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bootsnotroots.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}