Punta de Piedade

On our second day, we visited the town of Lagos, on the Barlavento (windward) side of the Southern Coast, and then, taking the advice of one of our guidebooks, went to check out Punta de Piedade, a little peninsula jutting out just southwest of the city which was supposed to offer some nice views. It was UNBELIEVABLE. Neither of us expected what we saw: beautiful pillars of rust and mustard-colored sandstone jutting up out of the ocean, holes and arches carved into the stone by eons of wind and wave. The cliffs and pillars spread out in a v-shape from the point, in both directions.

The above photo: Just to the east side of the very tip, a set of stairs had been carved into the stone (you can see the staircase in the bottom left of this pic). It was an afternoon when things just kept getting more and more shockingly beautiful--in fact, the whole trip was sort of that way. We would find ourselves breathless, then turn around to catch a different perspective, which couldn't possibly be better than the first--but then, it was just as spectacular!