Cabo de Sao Vicente to Sagres Photos

I enjoyed the Portuguese cliff-face walk from Sagres to the Cabo de Sao Vicente (Cape Saint Vincent) monastery and lighthouse in hot dry sunshine. I bought an ice-cream, sat down and ate it. Then I  continued a little past the tourist attraction, and headed back. On the way, I went for a swim at Praia do Beliche. I took the bus back from Sagres to the Good Feeling hostel. Here’s some photos:

Sagres to Cape Saint Vincent Photos

 

Marc Latham’s central site is the Greenygrey (http://www.greenygrey.co.uk), and he has books available on Smashwords and Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/author/marclatham).

Sagres and Vincentine Coast Portugal Photos

The next morning I took the bus to Sagres, which is the most south-western point in Europe. It was an important place during the Portuguese Age of Discovery, with a nautical school set up there by Henry the Navigator.

Sagres to Cape St. Vincent Lighthouse

After looking around Sagres I walked out to the fort (visible above the beach in photo 2) and then up the Vincentine west coast to the Cape St. Vincent lighthouse and monastery. Here’s some photos:

Marc Latham’s central site is the Greenygrey (http://www.greenygrey.co.uk), and he has books available on Smashwords and Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/author/marclatham).

 

Portugal Algarve Beach Walk Photos

I left Faro for the Good Feeling hostel a little inland from Sagres and Lagos. The first afternoon I just walked inland a little, but finally reached the beach the next morning. In fact, I went to two beaches and saw a megalithic stone on a circular walk to the south. Here’s some photos:

Marc Latham’s central site is the Greenygrey (http://www.greenygrey.co.uk), and he has books available on Smashwords and Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/author/marclatham).

Hiking Inland from Faro, Portugal

On the Sunday I went for a stroll inland. I enjoyed the quiet roads and strong sunshine, so continued farther than intended. I could see a town in the distance, just before the mountains that constituted the horizon (as seen in the second photo). So I carried on to Conceicao, which took a couple of hours.

Faro-Conceicao, Portugal Hike

I did that for no other reason than because I was enjoying the walk, and its position at the end of the plain provided a tempting target distance.

I had avoided the beach because it was a bus ride away from Faro, and sun cream was very expensive. I’d thought I could gradually brown, but by the time I reached Conceicao I was already burning!

The last bus back to Faro was leaving just after I arrived. I didn’t take it. I walked around the village, seeing the crowd after a church service (penultimate photo), and some mansion gardens that were closed (last photo).

I had a couple of beers in a cafe and hiked back, sheltering my face and neck from the sun as much as possible! It had been a nice day and walk, but I was left with a red face!!

Marc Latham’s central site is the Greenygrey (http://www.greenygrey.co.uk), and he has books available on Smashwords and Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/author/marclatham).

Faro, Portugal, Old Town Photos

Faro, on Portugal’s Algarve, has an historic quarter, with an old fort, cathedral and statues. The statue in the last two photos is in the centre of town, near the marina.

Here’s some photos, also featuring the flowers (1st photo), swallows (3rd photo) and stork(s) (last two photos) seen in previous blogs:

Marc Latham’s central site is the Greenygrey (http://www.greenygrey.co.uk), and he has books available on Smashwords and Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/author/marclatham).

Stork and Swallows in Faro, Portugal

Faro’s evening air was awakened by swallows darting and chirping in their thousands. Storks flew in the same air space. The roof of the Faro Lounge hostel was a good place to view the aerial spectacle. Here’s a couple of videos of the bird bonanza.

Storks of Faro, Portugal Photos

I didn’t know much about Faro before I arrived, so I was amazed when I saw storks nesting on top of a church. I took a few photos as I thought it would be rare, but I soon saw them nesting all over the town. I took a few more photos of storks in the air and on a lamppost.

Storks Info and Photos 

I later saw the storks’ migration in a documentary, and there’s a lot about it on Wikipedia. They winter in Africa, and sometimes a pair use the same nest for several years.

 

Marc Latham’s central site is the Greenygrey (http://www.greenygrey.co.uk), and he has books available on Smashwords and Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/author/marclatham).