Day 8 – EU – Portugal [Almodovar to Salir]

13/12/19

38km

  From Almodovar (Portugal) to Salir (Portugal)

Europe

Mountainous, cloudy, lonely

I was very happy to be back on the road today. I did not feel like I needed the rest day yesterday, it was too early and I had a good momentum going. But I took it in my stride, and who knows, maybe my body is glad for it.

I left Almodovar at 7:30 this morning and I knew it would be a long day, as there would be loads of uphills, and I would likely have to walk the steepest uphill parts. I also knew I would not meet a single village till I reach my destination in Salir.

I weighed everything before I left this morning, and we had:

  • BoB = 12kgs
  • Bag of equipment = 15kgs
  • 2.5 litres of water = 2.5kgs
  • Stash of food = 0.5kgs

Total = 30kgs

I will need to cut 5kgs from my equipment. I am currently carrying running gear covering cold climates and hot climates. I also have maybe too many duplicates of gear, too many little things… It’s really not much, but I target 5kgs down by Christmas time. We will be lighter for the rest of Europe!

Today was another cloudy day, with a low and dark grey sky. It was cold at times, as the wind blew quite strong.

I came across this interesting direction board today…. Who knew there was a shortcut from the middle of Portugal to California, by road… now you know!

And as for the food here, something interesting: they serve the meat with sides of rice and fries. What a combination! I am trying to get some veggies in, but they serve them only cold in salad… Maybe I get luckier tomorrow in Faro, once I hit more popular and touristic spots on the coast?

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: