I didn’t have high hopes for the small village of Vila Nova de Milfontes but the location is perfect, halfway between Sagres and Lisbon which is our next destination on the trip so why not stay here for a night or two, we are in no hurry. The village which is located next to the west coast is divided by the Mira river and interestingly I read on Wikipedia that the community was founded by prisoners convicted of minor crimes in the 15th century, in 50 years they grew to a little more than 10 families and now, 600 years later there are almost 5000 inhabitants here, probably not all of them are convicted of crimes these days.
This is one of the first villages we visit where you actually feel that people really live here and they are not just there for the sake of tourism. Of course there is a lot of tourism here too. The surf shops, hotels and houses for rent replace each other but the majority are still inhabited and when you walk around the narrow streets you have to watch out because suddenly there may be a drying rack in the middle of the street because someone has a laundry day. On the morning walk this morning every “café” was packed as everyone would drink their morning coffee, smoke their cigarette and talk a little bit of shit before it was time to go to work. I, who walked around in a T-shirt and shorts, really stood out as leather jackets and hats were the most common clothing among the locals.
Something else that stands out is the proportion of cats, I see cats everywhere and even if it is unclear whether they are wild or not, they are lying on the roof of the car, sunbathing on the street or just sneaking around the alleys in the city. A strange feeling that I have seen this before, in Istanbul arises but whether this is really so or if I am influenced by the fact that the Arab culture has a strong foothold here, I will leave it unsaid. Regardless, this is probably the new favorite in Portugal. There is not a lot to do here but it is a beautiful, cozy and nice city and as I said, it feels authentic and not a touristy city.
