Author: Jyri Manninen | Kajura

I was filled with bravado, as I departed Silves, and I was looking forward to a relatively short and easy stage of 32km to Monchique. However, the rookie mistake of not considering where I would next have access to water, added to my lack of sleep over the past 24 hours, was going to very abruptly slap that sense of invincibility out of me within just a matter of hours.

The day’s stage had started well enough as I crossed over Monte Branco to have the Castelo de Silves fade away on the horizon. But after just 1.5 hours, my energy levels had suddenly dropped as the heat of the day ramped up very quickly, even though it was only about 10am. I was able to keep a steady pace as I negotiated the Serra de Silves, but as I descended down on its northern side, I was already approaching my limits; and the intense glare from white gravel road was almost unbearable. 

Now, to cut a potentially long story short, as I started my climb up Picota at around the 22km mark, I was well beyond my limits of comfort. Truth be told, I’ve never, even in any extreme endurance competition, been this close to passing out from pure exhaustion and a lack of fluids, as I had in that moment. I actually started to worry whether I was even going to be able to complete the stage before sunset.

Very fortunately, after an hour or so of climbing, I reached a small village, where I found a man working on a car in the front yard of his cottage. At first, he seemed quite taken-a-back as I interrupted his moment of mechanical zen by requesting water. However, after I had explained, in my very shitty Portuguese, what I was doing, he smiled widely and graciously offered me all the ice-cold water I could drink and fill my water bottles with.

As I closed in on Picota, just some 30 minutes later, I was well back on the way to the land of the living; and as I summited, with majestic views over almost the entire expanse of the Algarve, I felt my soul rise, in a sense, detaching itself from my physical body. I had transcended extreme fatigue, and was now being rewarded with an extreme shot of endorphins!

Still I saw your light,

as I wallowed in despair.

High, my soul will rise.

‘Soulrise’ by Jyri Manninen

In that moment, the accompanying mental and spiritual clarity was also at a level I’d only ever experienced a few times in my life, the last time being some 11 years ago, as I stood in solitude in the sands of the Moroccan Sahara Desert, just outside of our camp, on the penultimate evening of the Marathon des Sables.

Upon arrival in Monchique, I still had enough sunlight to explore the town a little. However, all the while, I couldn’t escape thinking about the following day’s stage. At the start of this day, I had flippantly remarked at how easily 32km would go. Well, what was that now going to mean for tomorrow with over 50km on my plate?

Be blessed,
Jyri

In the last week of November of 2021, I departed Finland for Portugal to undertake the Via Algarviana camino, a 300km walking trek across the Algarve region in Southern Portugal. However, my journey was halted in Silves after 6 days and about 190km when Portugal abruptly reintroduced strict plandemic restrictions. I’d just have to come back sometime later to complete this adventure … and now was the time!

Once again, I departed from Helsinki, but this time not in a crazy snow storm. Instead, Finland was having an awesomely warm summer that momentarily had me wondering why I was headed to somewhere even hotter! But, it was now high time to put this baby to bed. 

If heading west, the Via Algarviana begins in the town of Alcoutim, right on the border with Spain, by the Rio Guadiana. From there, the destination is the majestic Cabo de São Vicente on the Atlantic coast. I now had to return to the city of Silves to continue at the same point I’d stopped the first time.

To get to Silves, I had to go via Lagos, where I’d catch the early morning comboio, with the trip only taking some 50 minutes; and that ended up being the easy part! To first reach Lagos, I had to catch an overnight bus from Lisbon. To add to the expected sleep deprivation that would bring, I also had to do some serious running at the airport and in the metro system to make this bus, as my onward flight from Madrid had been delayed. Ultimately, I arrived at the Sete Rios bus terminal with just 20min to spare! At this point, I was already feely quite exhausted and a bit crappy, but I’d have felt way worse if I’d missed the bus, as I already had all my accommodation to cover the final 3 days of the trek booked in advance. In other words, all that would have been completely screwed up if I’d have been even 12hr late to restart my walk. I vowed to definitely leave more buffer room next time!

Away I have been,

from the righteous path of light.

Let us walk again.

‘Reunion’ by Jyri Manninen

I arrived in Lagos about an hour before sunrise, and I could now finally relax a bit, and to start looking forward to reuniting with the Via Algarviana in Silves. Very soon I’d, once again, be out alone on the trail, which, to be completely honest, is when I’m at my happiest. Then, after arriving at Silves railway station, I still had a 2km hike to reach the city centre, but since the stage to Monchique would only be 32km, I wasn’t too bothered with this small extra distance, even though I was now already feeling quite fatigued. At this point, I’d essentially been without any meaningful sleep for over 24 hours. As Silves came into view, that was all forgotten. I felt instantly re-energised, as I began to mentally and physically reconnect with the features of this familiar environment; and, very shortly, I was to be fully reunited with the Via Algarviana camino trail, and I couldn’t wait!

Vamos! It was finally time to go. However, despite now actually feeling quite good again, it would end up being a relatively short period of grace. I’d expected this shortish 32km stage to go rather easily, but after just a few hours of walking, I was going to find out that the Gods had made other plans for me.

Be blessed,
Jyri