This is one of my first, last, and only Facebook posts of the year. Posts, likes, shares, stories... this is not what it's about for me. The real thing lies out there, in the experience... and it's been another amazing experience for me this past year. Thank you to everyone who shared a moment of it with me on the West coast. It is your real-life likes, shares, and stories that motivate me, and make this such a fulfilling way to spend my time. This photo was taken just before the final sunset of my final tour of the year this past weekend. Think the photo is cool? Imagine the real experience. It was like Nature's farewell to me, and now mine to all you, for now :) I'll be back again in the Spring with an even bigger, better West Coast experience to share (currently in the making). Happy travels and adventure well! -- tj.

The West coast is but 25km from Lagos on the map, but a world away in every other dimension. A trip out here is a journey, from charming to elemental, from quaint to formidable, from familiar to mystical. Add a blanket of fog and a day of hiking, and the sense becomes simply palpable. This shot is from just last week... does it look like any other photos of sunny, summery, postcard-perfect Algarve that you see around? #westcoastlagos #gowest #lagos #algarve #portugal #hiking

"So you dear reader, next time you are in the Algarve: Make this tour! If you want to get to know Portugal's West coast far from the hustle and bustle, and have no problem sweating and getting dirty, here you will discover the coast's most special places in an inspiring way." Some very kind words by Choices-of-Life Travel Blog. Happy to hear you enjoyed the experience!

Timeline Photos

"The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels. How worn and dusty, then, must be the highways of the world, how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity." --Thoreau. And so too the paths of the Algarve... So then let's go beyond them. Let's go passed the beach cafes, let's look passed the last paved road, let's go where no one else goes... and let's discover the Algarve's wild side, a place full of adventure and surprise. 2017 is going to be a good year :) [Photo captured April 17 on the Algarve's wild West coast. Look carefully and you will see us hiking on a trail with no name.]

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Cheers, saúde, and obrigado to oh-so-many of you for another awe-some year of adventuring. To everyone who's joined me, thank you for allowing me to share this experience with you: You are what makes my job so fun, and the reason I'm constantly inspired to continue improving, crafting, honing, and growing this little experiment I've called The West Coast Adventure Company. Looking back on the past three seasons, I can see how the experiment has grown each year in fresh and unexpected ways. As I have grown, so has it. After a winter of exploring and inspiration-gathering in a faraway land, I will be back again next year to continue the process. I can't wait to see where it goes. In the meantime, travel well, travel far, and keep adventuring! tj.

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Summer sunsets are great, as clear and crisp and crystalline as a cloudless sky. But Autumn sunsets, they have character... textures, colors, layers, dimensions. Autumn is here, and it is a lovely time for some hikin'. Thanks Alvaro Gallego for this awesome shot of my adventuring crew on the first day of October.

Photos from The West Coast Adventure Co.'s post

I recently had the great pleasure of taking the awesome staff of the Bura Surfhouse out on an end-of-season adventure. We went old-school and off-script of my "normal" tour to explore new stretches of coastline in search of wild beaches and big views. I believe we found them. Thanks to all of you -- Michael Eisenstein Thibault Dels Kevin James Keenaghan Olly Robert Sett Carroll Sarah Pyman Nicholas Gillott Katie Pomeroy Rebecca Jayne Foster Gianluca Sabbatini Ellie Rose Hayley Miley Kelsing Clementine Gray -- for an awesome day, and an awesome summer!

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To all those sea captains of past who steered their ships straight into this mysterious, wide open ocean: Aye aye! From a September adventure along the tallest, most rugged cliffs in Portugal, the last land those captains would have seen before it became all blue for a very long time...

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For thousands of years, people looked out from these clifftops into an unknown: certainty of the globe ended here, at Europe's most southwesterly point. What lay beyond was a mystery: Was there anything out there? Where did it end? Did it end? It is a wonderment difficult to fathom today, when everything is utterly known, and if it is not yet you must only pull a device out from your pocket to find out. Imagine, though, sailing off like they did, into mystery... Staring into a wall of sea fog helps to stir the imagination... -- From a foggy adventure just the other day...

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Adventure silhouettes. The play of light and shadow out here is a big joy of hiking at dusk on the West coast.

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When the rock you're standing on for the perfect photo suddenly becomes an island... From a splashy August 17 adventure with an awesome worldwide crew...