At World's End

For those of you who are getting really excited, thinking that we've spotted Kiera Knightley somewhere in London, my apologies. No, no, sorry to disappoint, I'm just talking about the most amazing sunset we witnessed over a place called Cabo de Sao Vicente. It's the south-easternmost point in Europe--and it is a sight to behold, especially when you realize thousands of miles worth of Atlantic waves are pummeling the ground below you. This point has had several names, from Greek to Roman to Early Christian (this is the one that stuck--Cape St. Vincent). The Romans believed this was the edge of the world--and when you're standing, watching the sun sinking, hissing into the ocean, you can see why. We just happened to catch the cape, and its lighthouse, at the end of sunset one evening.

(For those of you who care (Kent), it boasts the most powerful lamp in Europe, and can be seen at least 100 km out to sea. In 1908, the most recent rebuilding of the lighthouse, it included the installation of one of the largest Fresnel lenses ever built).

We actually had intended to be here at Sunset, but nearly skipped it, because we had gotten so caught up with other things--Punta da Piedade, hidden beaches, forts along the coast, etcetera, etcetera. It was already mostly dark as we drove along the southern coast to the point--but we made it just in time to see the end of sunset, partly masked by a rain storm sweeping across the dark waves to the East.

More Algarve Pics

Laura on the coast near Sagres, pretty much the very southwestern tip of Portugal. There were some really big waves here and a lot of surfers spend the warmer months in this area. Also, she's facing a big fort which was commissioned by Henry the Navigator.

Another Great Beach

This guy was just waiting for unsuspecting tourists near the town of Monchique in the mountains. He didn't speak English, but he could make hand gestures for "take a picture" and for "money."

I got a picture too.

Another great beach, this one on the western coast and also a popular surfer hang out thanks to the waves.

The sunset over the above beach.

The Moorish castle we toured in the town of Silves.

Punta de Piedade Cove

This is at the bottom of that staircase in the picture below. It was a pretty long walk down there and I was a bit warm so I opted for a dip. You'll notice my fine olympic like diving form. Laura wasn't able to get any pictures of me as I cut through the air due to the sheer speed of my triple front flip double twist, but I assure you, it was a thing of beauty. Those guys at Casa Bonita got nothing on me. In any case, it was really cool down there. The whole cove was protected nicely by the pillars and arches you see in the background, but some waves still came in and they would fill up various pools and tubes in the rock behind us creating this really deep sound of rushing water moving through the sandstone. It was a pretty incredible place, essentially playing out the processes of erosion that have created the Algarve's amazing coastline.

Punta da Piedade--a Photo Journey

Between the cliffs, and protected by the pillars of sandstone, we found a beautiful little sandy beach, complete with tunnels through the rock to other parts of the beach...

Another view from the top of Punta da Piedade, looking back toward the Northeast.

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!

Catch of the Day

For all of you who are wondering, we did, in fact, spend a lovely long weekend in Portugal's southernmost province, The Algarve. I know, I know, we spent a lot of time before we left hyping up this little vacation. We were rather excited for our first trip outside of England. So, yes, it is now February, and we are (finally!) reporting on a trip that we took at Thanksgiving. But, give us a break--we were back home over the holidays, busy visiting all of you lovely people!!! :)

So, Portugal: final word on it is if you ever get a chance, GO. The people there are as friendly as can be (and most of them speak English, and if you have a basic understanding of Spanish it'll be cake to get along), and it's absolutely staggeringly beautiful.

We took over 400 photos, which was miraculous because we had forgotten to pack the camera charger. We made it to the very last sunset, got one shot of it before the camera made a pathetic whirring sound and died. Otherwise, most of these photos speak for themselves but we'll give a little caption on each.

Above photo: This was our first night in Portugal. We had just checked into our hotel, a quaint little place off the beaten path called Montinho del Ouro (pronounced Mon-teen-yo del Or-o) (which means, we think, Mountains of Gold). The Portuguese language is absolutely beautiful--some of it sounds very similar to Spanish, but written it looks a bit different. Anyway, the town in the background is Luz, which was just five minutes from our hotel. There were a few other people walking along this beach just before sunset, including some fishermen who were bringing in their catch for the day. You can buy fresh fish, caught the day before, that are grilled in the markets, and supposedly they are delicious...