Portugal 2023 - Boat Tour

Winter weather is iffy, and even if the day is sunny, sometimes the sea is rough! After a week of checking, finally all the weather lined up - the boat tour was on!

Benagil Cavern 

Here's the first arch we drove through...

Then we went between the cliffs and the rocks!

To see the "baby elephant"

We saw more cliffs

Caves with hidden beaches

And "our beach" from the water!

Algar Seco from the water too!

See the people in the window?

Here's Skull Cave 

More caves...

Huge!

Heart Cave

Ghost Cave 

On to Benagil Cavern!

More beaches and caverns

Recently collapsed "window"

Kayaks

Even a crocodile!

And The Big Elephant!

Fantastic Rocks!

(Those are birds!)

On the way back, we got a last look at the lighthouse...

~~~ Details ~~~

I called a bit after 10am, and was usually told "not today" - this time, I got a reservation! I arrived at Carvoeiro beach at 11:45, paid 35€, and waited for the van to Portimão. The boat went eastward to Marinha Beach, then back to Portimão. I was back at the apartment by 3pm

Map: Portimão on the left; Carvoeiro black dot; Marinha Beach red marker 

Route showing stops

This was the weather at 9am - super foggy!

See a *ton* of photos in the Portugal 2024 Boat Tour album.

Portugal 2024 - Cape St. Vincent

We did it! We went to Cabo São Vicente, aka Cape Saint Vincent, and stood on the Southwestern-most point in Europe 🤪

The cliffs in this corner of Portugal are *huge* - 75 meters high; that's ~250 feet, or 25 stories!

View from Sagres (see the surfers?)

Lighthouse at Cabo São Vicente 

Cabo São Vicente; Sagres way in the distance 

Cliffs at Cabo São Vicente (there are people there!)

Beach between Sagres and Cabo São Vicente 

Just for my cycling friends - this is kilometer zero for the EuroVelo Atlantic Coast Route

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On the map...

See more photos in the Portugal 2024 album 

Portugal 2024 - Algar Seco

We went back to Algar Seco; this time, I went into the cave, and then along the boardwalk - it's a whole different world!

Then we drove to the lighthouse (closed except on Wednesdays)

Then stopped at a beach on the way back (that's not us - we didn't go down the stairs 🤪)

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It turns out that "Algar" doesn't mean seaweed / algae - it comes from the Arabic (cave) and Phoenician (abyss), and refers to natural sinkholes.

See more photos in the Portugal 2024 album