The Ham Nomads

8 Feb 2015. <PT> Praia de Carvoeiro, & Cabo de São Vicente, & Ponta de Sagres, Algarve —

Driving through the Algarve is a delight! Along the way, around lunch time, we dropped off to Praia de Carvoeiro (Carvoeiro Beach). It was a lovely sunny day, and we wandered the town and down to the beach. Mostly Brits there, escaping the winter cold! We decided to go into a bar for coffees, and treated ourselves to an icecream sundae for Lilly's second birthday — Happy birthday Lilly!

The one thing we have found about Portugal is that everyone who serves you in a shop can speak English! — probably a result of the aforesaid Brits escaping the winter cold!

A pottery shop
near Cabo de São Vicente

We drove out to Cabo de São Vicente, the westernmost point of the Algarve, and the point from which Vasco da Gama set off on his voyage of exploration round the Cape of Good Hope to India. There's a lighthouse here, and cliffs. Quite a few recreational fisherman at the top of the cliffs — their lines must have gone down at least 60 meters before finding the water! It was a beautiful day — calm, very little wind — the perfect day to come here!

Then we went back to Ponta de Sagres, a little eastward and a little further south, passing a little clifftop church on the way. Not far away. There's a fortress on the point, dating back to the time of Prince Henry the Navigator, and we will visit this tomorrow. This place has a link with Christopher Columbus -- when he was 24, he was in a Genoese fleet attacked by pirates, his ship was sunk, and he swam six miles to come ashore at Ponta de Sagres. This whole area is chock-a-block with history!

Distance driven — today, 82 miles ( 132 km ); to date, 12,621 miles ( 20,312 km )