We planned to have a beach day, however when we woke up there was hardly a hint of blue in the sky and a chilling breeze…in fact it was a jeans day rather than a shorts and t-shirt….or so John informed me and he was right. Just as we were having breakfast we received a phone call asking if the management could bring a photographer around. A building is planned for the plot next to our apartment and they wanted photos incase the new building caused cracks in the apartment. We agreed to let them come as we weren’t going out for a while. The General manager was a nice gentleman and asked how our stay was going. We explained that we really liked the luxurious, massively spacious apartment. During the day there is the sound of traffic from the Lagos road but at night it was very peaceful. There was no noise from other residents, if indeed there were any and we loved our door step guests, the swallows. We did explain that although we had been a bit put out by the receptionist’s attitude, when we arrived, we were actually delighted by the peace and tranquility of being so far away from the complex’s main amenities. We can’t fault where we are. They soon finished their business and off they went, shortly followed by us.
We took advantage of the cooler day and drove along the coast to the west. We took the A22 and then the N125 to Vila do Bispo where we turned south on to the N268 to Sagres. Sagres has been known for many years as the most Southernly point of Europe – although the mudflats near Faro are now a national park and they do protrude a little further south, however they are not inhabited. So I think it’s fair to say that Sagres which jots straight out into the Atlantic is the most southernly inhabited place in Europe. Although surrounded by the Atlantic it does have a Mediterranean climate.
At the end of the peninsula is a fortress and then a lighthouse. We did a reccy and found a parking space. All the car parking is at the bottom of the hill……We wandered up the cobbled footpath to the entrance of the Fort.
We queued a short while and then paid our €10 for two senior admission tickets…we were asked our ages because obviously we look so youthful….. in we went. It was a large courtyard with a museum, a chapel, toilet block, steep ramps up to the fortification/ fort’s outer wall. There was a long cobbled path straight down to the light house and a smooth foot path going down both sides of the top of the peninsula. We opted to go straight down the middle. It was a strange landscape. It was described as limestone pavement – but nothing like the smooth walkable ones we get in Yorkshire- we thought it looked like how we would imagine a “Luna Landscape”.
On reaching the point we decided to take different paths back. John took the more northerly path which was much longer. My little legs were feeling tired so I decided to take the more southernly shorter, smooth path back and we would reunit at the fort. Both sets of views were magnificent. There were information boards all the way around, describing the fauna and flora. I could see John most of the way around and some 4000 steps later we met in front of the fort. By now the sun had burnt the clouds away and the heat of the day was tiring, so we made our way back to the car.
We retraced our drive back to Luz, stopping firstly at Lidl ( they get everywhere!) and buying some lunch, then dropping down into the fishing village and beach area of Salema. We struggled to find a parking spot and in the end we drove onto the cliff road. Here we found a seated area overlooking the view of the village. An ideal place for our late picnic lunch.
Returning to Luz we drove to the beach and indulged in an ice cream. After a siesta back at the apartment, I prepared the evenings meal. This time it was very large prawns – which took me longer to clean and peel than it did to eat – and salad. It was yummy, the prawns very fresh and meaty, the beetroot sweet and the cherries to follow delicious. ..oh!! I forgot to say on returning to our apartment there was a half bottle of Grahams 2017 Late Bottled Vintage Port , two port glasses and a message of thanks for letting the photographer in, from the General Manager, whom we had met in the morning….what a lovely gesture.
What can one say…another day in paradise….oh!!! just remembered we passed Guadelupe on our trip…but because it’s missing an “o” and it’s in Portugal and not the Caribbean, there was no “Death in Paradise” and we didn’t see Selwyn !!!!!
2 J's World of Adventure 